It's the end of a long weekend and the start of a new month. The weekend was busy, and the month will be more than hectic as well. I know I'll look back at the end of this month and wonder why it seemed so short, but looking ahead it seems a long way to go. That's an illusion, I know, because the days come and go faster and faster as we get further along. At least, that's the way it's always been.

The sense of anticipation in the air as we move into December is helped along by the music of the season. I love these songs, even though I've never roasted chestnuts or ridden in a sleigh. I've never even made a snowman, and the only snowball fight I've ever been in was in the summertime, high in the Rocky Mountains. There's no way I could legitimately dream of a white Christmas.

Besides, snow is cold, and I don't like the cold. I live in a place where the sun shines, and this year it seems to be brighter later in the year than usual. I'll take that over dark, cold days any time. The sky today was hazy but definitely blue, and the air felt warm on my skin.

That being said, I do sort of daydream about a white Christmas sometimes. I watch movies like Holiday Affair or Miracle on 34th Street, and it can seem as if that's the way December is supposed to look, all white and flaky. But then I wouldn't be able to get outside between football games on a Sunday afternoon and pull weeds. Maybe I should write a song abut that.

Something I don't see every day is a ring-necked pheasant walking placidly through my garden. I caught a glimpse through the window of something moving, and I knew it was bigger than a scrub jay. It wasn't moving like a cat, which is the only other creature that size I'm used to seeing in the yard, so I went to the window and watched it walk by.

And then I blinked and it disappeared. I grabbed the camera and walked outside, but I found no sign it had ever been there. I swear it was out there, though. The trouble now is that I can't stay away from the window, watching for another sighting. That could cut into my productivity, such as it is.