I think we have almost finished winterizing the acreage. All of the flower pots have been gathered and stored away in the machine shed, along with extra chairs and cushions and whatnot that we don’t want to leave out in the elements this winter. For the first time I called a local John Deere dealer to service our 420 that we use to clear snow. We have been here five years now and I figured it was time to have the pros look it over. They changed the filters, spark plug, oil and lubed it up. It runs great, so I think we are prepared for the snow to fly. I also bought a new snow shovel to replace the one with the broken handle from last year. Just hoping there is not another three day blizzard like last winter. We had our first measurable snow this season a couple of days after Thanksgiving. Around one inch fell, but the ground was still too warm to allow that to remain for long.

There was some action around our area a couple of weekends ago involving a fugitive. We noticed a Sheriff’s car closely, but very slowly, following a white pickup truck on our road. There were no lights or sirens involved, which left us wondering what was going on. A couple of days later Shelly was talking with a neighbor who explained what happened. It turns out there was a car accident on Hwy 20. One of the occupants was a service dog that was able to get out and run off. A service dog wearing a pink vest was spotted in our area and a family member of the dog owner (white truck) and a deputy went looking for it. Our neighbor was enlisted to help with the pursuit because his ATV could traverse the muddy corn fields. The chase went through the little town nearby, back out to the country, across fields and acreages (including ours) until they were finally able to corral the poor frightened dog under an old car parked behind an outbuilding on a nearby acreage. According to Facebook the dog, named Koda, was reunited with the owner and all are okay.

The fall harvest finished on our road around Oct. 20. With the corn gone our little hideaway is out in the open and we can see for miles all around us again.

Last month I wrote about the possibility of a carnivore roaming our acreage because of the lack of mice and rabbits. Well, if there was one it is gone because once again there are rabbits and mice aplenty.

A couple of weeks ago, during a mid-October evening, I heard a pack of coyotes very close, just behind our machine shed. I was walking from the garage to the house when they started up. Once on the back porch I stood listening to them howling and yipping for a few minutes until just as suddenly as they started they stopped. To hear them howling far off in the distance is lovely, almost romantic. To hear a pack just a few yards away from you is something different altogether.

A small wind storm blew through recently throwing dirt and debris at our house from across the field to our west. Just a little warning to us of what might be coming. We need to finish getting the place ready for winter. The weather forecast for this coming weekend looks like it might be a good time to take care of that.

As a kid when I would complain about being cold during the fall or early winter my dad would tell me I was not yet “climatized.” The more time you spent out in the cold, he would say, the more used to it you get. Well, sure enough, as winter went on what was a cold day in November felt like a heat wave in January. As I get older I dislike winter more and more, but I still look forward to becoming “climatized.” The only drawback is how much cold you have to endure to get there.