As much as I want to ignore the fact, winter will be here soon.

I have no idea if it will be a long, hard winter, or an easy one this year.

Will the virus shut us down and force us to remain inside regardless of the outside weather?

Whatever happens, I hope I will be prepared for it.

The garden is coming to an end.

After a recent light frost, I noticed my pumpkin and gourd leaves had turned black.

I immediately picked the few gourds that made it through the dry summer.

I had only four pumpkins about the size of softballs grow this year, and all of those died on the vine.

My lima bean plants are still loaded with blooms and bean pods which haven’t filled out yet.

The leaves on them were hit by the frost. I’m hoping they will live long enough to get some more pods filled out to add to my freezer.

The pepper plants also were damaged by the frost.

They still have many peppers on them and maybe they will continue to grow.

About half of my luffa sponge plants show frost damage. A few are ready to pick and maybe the rest will continue to grow.

I recently picked my peas for the first time and they are still loaded. A light frost doesn’t usually bother pea plants.

The frost wiped out my sweet potato plants and I need to dig them soon.

Since we didn’t go anywhere in our motorhome this year, I won’t have to winterize it again. That eliminates a whole afternoon chore.

The next job will be taking down my two miniature greenhouses. This takes about ten minutes. I just have to pull the plastic cover off the metal frame, fold it up, and store it in my shed. Which brings me to another problem.

I have to clean the shed.

In the spring, I have to take my riding mower, push mower, rototiller and assorted other tools out of the shed for use. Now, I have to reverse that.

The snowblower which has been inside all summer has to come out. Other small items such as my air tank, gas cans, snow shovel, etc. will be removed.

This year, I will take my turkey fryer and stand with the propane tank outside.

I will be using it to boil down the maple sap when I tap my tree in February.

Then, my troy-bilt tiller goes in first.

After the last mowing of the season, the rider fits in next and the push mower sits beside it. Smaller things are squeezed in, around, and on top of the large items. The snow blower will sit outside covered with a large tarp next to the garage. It will be ready to go if we get enough snow.

I hope I don’t need it.

My hummingbird feeders will come down, be cleaned, and stored on a shelf in the shed waiting for the arrival next spring of the tiny birds.

My other feeders will come out and be hung in various spots around the yard.

Bluejays are already showing up where I normally hang whole peanut feeders.

This and the grey striped sunflowers seeds are their favorite.

The squirrels, woodpeckers and nuthatches also like the peanuts.

Another feeder will be filled with black sunflower seeds. Cardinals, chickadees, titmice, finches, and other birds enjoy these.

I will have several suet blocks out for the woodpeckers.

While many folks keep their outdoor grills going all winter and use them any time the weather is warm enough to cook outside, I will soon be covering mine up until spring. Grilling in cold weather is not one of my favorite things to do.

If I want a good steak or ribs in the winter, we will go to one of our favorite restaurants.

That takes care of most of my outdoor chores.

I got ready a few days ago for a long winter. We went to the local home maintenance store where they had 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles for about half the normal price.

I purchased 10 with assorted animal and scenery themes for $7 each.

I set up a card table in the living room for the puzzles. I can work them there while watching the birds dining outside our window.

If I have to spend a lot of time looking out the window this winter, I hope it’s because of a lot of snow and not because we are locked inside looking at another round of the dreaded coronavirus.

The author may be reached at [email protected].