The temperature hovered around 30°F as the sun crept over the horizon. As I went to release the ducks and chickens in the early dawn light, I noticed wood smoke in the air from the neighbor's chimney. Heating season had begun - at least for some. Returning inside, I checked the thermometers scattered around the house - 65 in the kitchen window well, 68 in the living room, 69 in the computer room. No need for added heat yet - our thick ICF walls kept us comfortable for now. The investment we'd...

The countertop was a kaleidoscope of color, with a mix of fruit, flowers, and vegetables crowding the space. The neighbor children had come with bouquets from the garden, and the harvest bounty always took over for a bit this time of year. Outside, the last leaves clung tenaciously on the poplar tree near the house, fluttering in the wind like dozens of golden butterflies fanning the sun. The nights were cool, but the days were unusually warm. Tomorrow more seasonal highs would return, but...

The first hard frost of the season draped the lawn in a brittle white blanket, crunching under my footsteps as I tended to morning chores. On the garden trellises, the tomato plants and pole beans hung as if in suspended animation. They seemed untouched by the frost at a glance, but once the sunlight reached those garden beds, the damage would be clear. Cell walls ruptured by the cold would allow the cells to drain as they thawed, leaving plants limp and lifeless. Another growing season was...