I am anxiously waiting for fall, hoping the cooler weather, easy winds and colorful leaves start to make their appearance, as I have become a bit tired of summer. For the last 10-12 years we have gone south for the winter, so enjoying a full fall has not been on our radar for quite some time.

This will be the first year where I am not preparing for a five month departure from our main home, enjoying the mild winter temperatures of Southern Florida. To be honest, I won't miss it. Coming from a Northern European background, constant warm weather just seems to take some of my drive and enthusiasm out of me. My walks have been a struggle, although I do complete them, as the sun, humidity and temperature has beaten me up a bit.

I think living in Delaware, where you get one or two snowfalls (as was the case last year), is ok, since the snow and ice don't last for too long. I still remember one winter up in Mansfield where we could not get on the track for training purposes until April 20.

Meanwhile, the garden needs to be shut down slowly, but surely. Lots of weeds to knock down, various sections cleaned up and covered with black plastic to kill of perennial weeds. The one to two year old strawberry plants need to be cleaned up, as weeds have taken over despite using plastic weed barriers.

I have cucumbers, pickles and peas growing as a second season crop and they look decent. This will be my first attempt in getting some late season veggies. In the meantime, it seems that the grass needs to be cut three times a week. As the nights get colder, I will give the grass a shorter haircut, prepping the front lawn for reseeding.