I guess I’m just still not all myself yet and unable to think of a clever photo or story to commemorate today. Stay tuned for next year. We put the last bucket of corn in the stove tonight – it’s supposed to be our last below freezing night for the forecast period.

Got the tiller attached to the lawn tractor this afternoon.

Putting this beast off and on is one of my least favorite seasonal chores. It’s an older belt-driven model, so the mower deck first needs to come off, then the tiller and all belts and nuts and bolts attached. It’s unwieldy and usually leads to at least one bloodletting. Even worse is my ambivalence towards tilling. I really would like to get to a totally mulched and undisturbed garden, but change is slow and this year I have an alfafa patch to till up for flowers.

This turkey vulture got the chicken’s attention – it’s amazing the way they skee-daddle when the bird of prey shadow flies over.