From the yellow light of October to the white light of November. Earlier this week, I was still enjoying the glinting sun, bright blue sky and crispy leaves underfoot. Then today, November woke up, and the sky went flat and bright. It reminded me of the light of diamonds, which in turn reminded me of this song.

So are these days diamond or stone? I tried to figure it out as I suited up to take Clementine on a walk.

• Having the cold wind slap me in the face as soon as we went outside: Stone
• Encountering the neighbor’s black cat Ace: Diamond. (In spite of this altercation, Clementine really likes Ace, and he returns the favor. Today he shows his affection by taking leave of his nice, warm porch and coming over for greetings, face rubs and courteous sniffs.)
• The end of birdsong: Stone
• The beginning of the sound of honking geese: Diamond.
• The smell of burning leaves: Diamond.
• Trying to figure out if this achy feeling is an oncoming cold: Stone
• Light that fades at 6pm: Stone.
• Streets unpeopled, yards with no children playing in them: Stone.
• Coming back inside the warm kitchen: Diamond.
• Cinnamon toast and mulled cider: Double-diamond.

So that puts the count at 5 diamonds and 4 stones. Phew, that was close. Thank goodness we saw Ace the cat or we would’ve been tied.