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Have Some More

“Autumn Sycamores” by Michael Brown (click to enlarge)

A couple of weeks ago, I had the good fortune to attend a wine dinner at Acme, one of the sort of stuff-yourself-to-the-gills and stumble-out-the-door events that our local restaurants host from time to time.

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Featured

FAUNA: Foxes and Failures

by Mary Parker Sonis
For the past few years, I have wanted to photograph our native gray fox, but the habits and habitat of this particular canid have made it quite a challenge.

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Featured The Eater

THE EATER: In praise of local clusters

by Kirk Ross

Oyster season is upon us. The beds opened on Oct. 15, and bins filled and emptied at fish shacks of all sorts throughout the state.

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Featured

CAUGHT ON FILM

Student filmmaker spotlight: Matthew Krieg
by Margot C. Lester
Seventeen-year-old Matthew Krieg wants to be a director and a screenwriter. Not content to daydream of being honored at the Golden Globes or winning an Oscar, he’s actually developing his craft while still attending Durham’s Riverside High.

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Featured Food

TASTE OF THE TOWN

Elaine’s on Franklin

Located in the heart of West Franklin Street, Elaine’s has been delighting diners and critics alike since 1999 with chef/owner Bret Jennings’ unique regional American cuisine, a fusion of bold flavors and classic preparation.

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Featured Food

HOP LINE: Vive la Bièr de Garde: A beer for hearty holiday fare

by Jason Cole and Evan Crouch

Style
Bièr de Garde is the quintessential French beer. In a land known for its wine, Bièr de Garde stands out as a style with complexity to rival its vinous counterpart.

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almanac

ROSS’S ALMANAC

Compiled by Kirk Ross

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin’ of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries — kindo’ lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin’ sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill.

— James Whitcomb Riley, “When the Frost is on the Punkin”

November is when the deed is done, when everything annual that’s still kicking comes to a crashing end as the average low plummets from 43 to 31degrees. The month commences with All Saints Day and Día de los Muertos, then very quickly kills off an hour of daylight in the afternoon with another of man’s infernal meddling with the clock. Daylight Savings Time, as its fans like to call it, ends Sunday morning, Nov. 6. Fall back if you must, and please note that it messes a bit with the following sunrise/sunset item.

Nov. 1 – Sunrise: 7:38 a.m.; Sunset: 6:20 p.m.
Nov. 30 – Sunset: 7:07 a.m.; Sunset: 5:02 p.m.

Moon Phases
First Quarter – Nov. 2 Full Moon – Nov. 10
Last Quarter – Nov. 18 New Moon — Nov. 25

Planets & Stars: November is all about the Leonids, one of the biggest meteor displays of the year. They typically run around Nov. 10-21, with the peak around the 16th or 17th. Look in the western sky near Leo.

November is Child Safety Month, Good Nutrition Month, Latin American Month and National Adoption Month.

Significant Dates
• Nov. 1 is All Saints Day and National Author’s Day
• Nov. 2 is Día de los Muertos
• Guy Fawkes Day is Nov. 5
• Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8
• Veteran’s Day is Nov. 11
• Homemade Bread Day and Take a Hike Day are Nov. 17
• Nov. 20 celebrates the Mexican Revolution
• Thanksgiving is on Nov. 24

For more of Ross’s Almanac, please visit rossalmanac.com/journal

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Arts & Music

SPOTLIGHT: Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings

As the heat index settles into the double digits and the leaves begin to undergo their annual identity crisis, autumn is once again making its presence felt in the Piedmont. What better way to celebrate than with lively music, local crafts and delicious food? The eighth annual Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance will be held Thursday, Oct. 6 through Sunday, Oct. 9.

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Featured

Busy Times

Ron Liberti

So September seemed kinda busy, what with school having just started back and all, but summer’d just ended, and really, it’s all relative. October is awfully busy.

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Featured

FAUNA: The Undaunted

by Mary Parker Sonis
When I was a little girl growing up in Virginia, my weekdays were filled with school activities. We rarely left the neighborhood, and never even got into the Country Squire station wagon that my parents shared; but when the weekend came, the road adventures began.

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Featured

All eyes on Chapel Hill

by Vicky Dickson

It was standing room only for the launch of Eno Publishers’ collection 27 Views of Chapel Hill at Flyleaf Books last Saturday, where attendees who’d braved the afternoon’s heavy rain showers were rewarded with an impressive display of local literary talent.