Here in Elkhart County Leaf Burning is Still Legal

The Beauty of Fall in Northern Indiana

A showy display on the Indiana toll road, as seen on my way back from Chicago today.
My passenger took the photos -- my hands were on the wheel and my eyes were on the road.

~~~ The sassafras tree in our back yard is the most colorful spot in the yard right now. ~~~

Still Making Progress

One of the boards on our deck has been warped for the past several months. One item on our fall chores checklist was to replace that board. We did have an extra board to use, but Bruce found that a few screws solved the problem.

Crossed Another Fall Chore Off My List

Wow, what a difference this stain made on the cedar fence. We just put the fence up this spring and it had really faded quite a bit over the summer.

Someone that lives in a nearby neighborhood had such a beautifully stained fence that I knocked on their door to find out what they used on it to get that color. They happily shared the info with me and I picked up two gallons of the stain at the Osceola hardware store.

On Friday, it took me six hours to stain the front of the six panels of fence. Bruce helped me stain the back side on Saturday and it only took three hours.

I absolutely love Hardware Plus -- the Osceola hardware store. Their prices are competitive and they have knowledgeable employees on standby to answer any questions. In fact, they intercept you as you walk through the door and guide you through the store picking up everything on your list.

Let the Halloween Season Begin

When I was a kid, Halloween was just one day. Well, for my brother it was three days -- he'd go trick or treating the night before Halloween, on Halloween night and again the night after Halloween.
Now, Halloween is an entire season. It starts in late September as the back-to-school supplies are replaced with bags of candy at the stores. Then come the pumpkins doing disgusting things emails. Followed close behind by the neighbors decorating their homes with blow-up Homer Simpsons in skeleton costumes.

We've already eaten a bag of Halloween candy and are seriously considering opening another bag. Those little trick or treaters don't stand a chance.

New Fall Sweater

I haven't bought any new clothes since February and was hoping to make it to the cold weather without having to buy any season- transition clothes.

Turns out I didn't have anything light weight, yet warm enough for my Chicago trip. Too cool for short sleeves, but not cold enough for a winter sweater.

I found this light-weight, 3/4 length sleeve sweater with a built-in blouse collar and cuffs at Kohl's. I really like it and was tempted to buy it in multiple colors, but resisted the urge.

Mixed Up Seasons

Nature is a bit confused right now. There are still leaves on the trees because our first cold snap came quite late this year.

But, today we have about an inch of snow on the ground, and the branches.


We've dragged all of the Christmas decorations down out of the attic. Today would have been a good day to put up the outside lights, but we're holding out, hoping that tomorrow will be a bit warmer.

First Snowfall of the Season

I guess I should feel sorry for mom-in-law Judy as she seeks refuge from the bright sunshine of south Florida while we're enjoying the first snowflakes of the season here in Elkhart, Indiana.

Happy Thanksgiving

Spike and Grandma take a nap, as we all did, after the Thanksgiving feast.

Climbing up on the roof to blow out the leaves from the gutter is one of the last chores of the fall.

It seems like the leaves are very reluctant to let go of the branches this year... many are still clinging to life.

Our burning bushes are the last in the neighborhood to turn red. It appears that someone took a swipe at one of the bushes with a chain saw.


The chimney sweep came out earlier today to scrape the creosote out of our fireplace. Now we just need to put away the lawn furniture and stack the firewood on the patio. Then, we'll be ready to settle in for a long winter's nap.

Happy Halloween from FrankenSpike

Happy Halloween everyone. Don't you just love my costume.

Here's a version with one red contact lens and one green one.


I've been feeling much better lately and wanted to thank everyone for their words of encouragement while I was sick.

Fall Display

The first year we lived here we put mums, corn stalks, pumpkins, hay, a scarecrow and Indian corn in the woods in front of the house.

Then, every evening I'd drive around the neighbor hood just to verify that our house had the nicest fall display.

Now, four years later, I've gotten over myself, but still put out the display. It makes a nice transition between the summer flowers and the winter snow.

Spooky Video Just in Time for Halloween

Here is a very spooky video I found on YouTube today.

The back story: A production crew was filming this car commercial and when they looked at an edited cut, they saw something VERY strange.

Toward the end of the video, after the first corner, the car drives behind a group of large trees and is out of view for a second or two, but when it emerges from the trees, the film's editor saw a small white misty-like human shape following the car.

The video was shown to experts in the paranormal, and they concluded that it was indeed a ghost. I've watched this video tons of times, and I can see the ghost.

If you look very close, you can see it too. I had to get very close to my computer screen to see it though, so look carefully.

Halloween Comes to Elkhart County

We stopped by to visit former neighbors Paul and Judy today. They had been to the Halloween store and picked up a variety of outside decorations.

Hard to believe Halloween is just a few weeks away -- today's temperature was about 85 degrees.

10 Things I Want To Do Before The New Year

10. Wine tasting @ Tabor Hill
9. Visit Fernwood Botanical Garden
8. Paint garage door
7. Go to a haunted house
6. Yoga
5. Have a bonfire
4. Come up with a great idea for a new website
3. Buy new socks
2. Read (listen to) all of the books I downloaded from Audible this summer
1. Walk 10,000 steps a day (at least one day)

I'm Not Ready for Fall!

Not only are the leaves on the trees in our backyard starting to change colors, but tonight we saw a flock of geese flying south and pumpkins that are ready for carving.

Leaves Are Changing

Nearly every tree in our back yard is showing early signs that fall is on the way.