As I sit at my computer, typing this column, I see it is time to say goodbye to October and find out what picture is at the top of my calendar for November.

Unfortunately, whatever pretty scene appears, it just means winter is on the way. And with it, all the chores that must be done to get ready for another long, cold season.

Of course, my brother laughs at me when I call him and tell him it’s getting cold here, and we will have to shovel snow off the driveway five or six times again this winter.

I talked to him last January and said it was almost zero here, and we had three inches of snow overnight.

He said it was -40 where he lives (150 miles north of Minnesota in northwest Ontario).

But he did tell me it was supposed to warm up to -20 that day.

I asked if he had much snow on the ground. He said there was only a little over two feet then, but were supposed to get another foot overnight. I guess I can’t complain too much about Indiana weather.

But, back to the Pendleton area. I just finished winterizing my motorhome. I drained all the holding tanks and the hot water heater. I then fired up my big air compressor, set the gauge for 40 pounds of pressure so I wouldn’t blow up my hoses and fastened the air hose to my city water connection on the RV. I went inside and started opening my water faucets, cold water, then hot in the kitchen sink. I let the air pressure blow the water out of the lines until the faucet blew only air. Then, I went to the bathroom and did the same in the sink there, the shower, then the toilet. When water quit coming out, I did the process again. All good.

I have an outside faucet, so I drained those lines next.

Lastly, I pulled the plug out of the hot water heater to make sure it was also empty.

Then, I unhooked the cables from my engine battery and hooked a small trickle charger to it to keep the battery topped off in the winter. When I hook up the large battery in the spring, I turn the key and the engine immediately starts. I almost forgot to get a gallon of RV anti-freeze to pour down the sinks and the holding tanks to keep any water left there from freezing. All ready for winter’s worst.

My next job will be to empty my storage shed and get all the assorted junk outside that I have thrown in there over the year. Then, my big snowblower comes out, gets parked in front of the motorhome and covered with a tarp. It is then easy to get to if we do get any snow this winter.

Now, the floor of the shed is empty. I plan on mowing the yard once more in mid-November, mostly to chop up the leaves. Then the rototiller goes in, followed by the rider, then the push mower.

All of the junk, garden hoses (which have been thoroughly drained), bird baths, (except one heated one), and anything else I can throw in, goes in next. The leaf blower stays close to the door so I can get to it easily.

I purchased two bales of straw to place on our front porch, and then added two large pumpkins, some assorted gourds and ornamental corn for fall decoration. I tied up a couple dozen corn stalks to the railing to finish the scene. All of these items will be returned to the garden after Thanksgiving.

Our hummingbird feeders are already down, cleaned and stored ready for spring. My other feeders are out hanging on their hooks ready to be filled. I already have ears of corn out thanks to a friend who gave me several dozen ears. I have a barrel of seed ready to fill the feeders and still have to purchase some quality suet to keep the woodpeckers happy. The last item is whole peanuts for the bluejays. (The woodpeckers also like these, but they eat the seed out and leave the shell, while the jays take the shell and all.

Now I’m ready to sit back in my chair and wait for the garden seed catalogs to arrive.

The author may be reached at [email protected].