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          Yesterday I hauled the canoes away from the creek bank. They’ll spend the winter nestled up against the garage.

              Having looked forward to the autumn for so long, how could it have passed so quickly? There’s a month left before the winter solstice, yet Mother Nature closed the door somewhat abruptly. I don’t mind the snow, but I could do without the prolonged cold snap that comes with it.

              Once the first snows cover the countryside, I find it hard not to think about Christmas. Remembering a cluster of bittersweet I came across during the archery season, I returned to fetch some for my wife. Minus the foliage, Claudia likes to use the vine with its red and yellow berries for Christmas decoration.        

            While snipping sections of vine I could hear geese honking, but the surrounding cover was so dense not much of the sky was visible. Looking up, I had no clue where they were.  

            After exiting the woods and loading the bittersweet into the back of the pickup I could see geese all over the sky. While the honkers flew about in all directions, the northwest sky became dark gray. Minutes later it began snowing once again. The snow intensified, and despite the squall, geese were still flying. One sizeable flock was landing in a grain field. With wings cupped and locked, they dropped lower to the ground in a driving snow.

            Watching the geese negotiating the elements, I thought of Zeke Kehlenbeck and his retrievers. I know he would have appreciated seeing those honkers in the snow. At the time those geese were touching down, Zeke was probably deer hunting with his dad, Aaron, and brothers, Tyler and A.J.

 In recent years we’ve crafted a corn stalk tepee for our grandsons. Seeing it cloaked in white tells me it’s nearly time to put up the Christmas tree - all three of them!