Grab your hat and hold on to it this morning or it will be in the next county. It is 40 degrees with a stiff wind this morning. We knew it was coming and it is about time. This is right on spot for a November day. It rained yesterday afternoon and evening. We picked up about six tenths of an inch. That certainly isn't a drought buster but it will help settle the dust.

Cardinals, finches, and red-headed woodpeckers are my guests this morning along with one squirrel that just shot up the poplar tree. There must be a cat in the yard somewhere. It is cold enough this morning that the birds are paying more attention to the suet and bark butter than they are the sunflower seeds. Although --- from here it appears that several of the sunflower feeders are empty. I guess I'll go out and fill those feeders a little later this morning after I'm done with my coffee.

Ms. Kate and I got a lot of stuff done yesterday. She is about half way through with her Christmas card making. It is one thing to sit and address and get all of the Christmas cards out; but she makes each persons card individually and it takes weeks of work to do that. She is one dedicated little elf! While she was doing that, (and she is back at it again this morning), I was out in the yard. I got the yard mulched and mowed for the last time this year and the back yard John Deere is put away in the shed. Then I worked on my garage some trying to clean it up. I made some headway in just one corner. Once I retire I'd like to maybe go back to doing some wood working again but at the moment every wood working tool I have is covered up with stuff and I can't even get to it. Stuff, stuff, and more stuff; we have too much stuff. But, I'm going to take care of that problem too.

Besides all of that, we went grocery shopping yesterday afternoon and got started on the list of stuff that Ms. Kate needs for Thanksgiving and company meals. She is also planning to start baking some cookies. I can help with that and in fact I enjoy that.  The girls are coming in for Thanksgiving or at least two out of three are and she wants to be ready for all of that. Their visit will be so short that it will fly by and they will be gone. Lisa and granddaughter Amanda will be here next Friday and leave after all of the retirement stuff on Sunday. Julie will be here either this coming Monday evening and stay through the week and also leave after the the retirement stuff. By evening on the 27th, life will be totally anti-climatic and we'll be sitting here wondering how it all came and went to quickly.

I finally have a visit from the pilated woodpecker this morning. It is out there making having a meal of bark butter and loudly announcing its presence. I'm thrilled. I haven't seen one around here most of the summer. I'm glad that I filled the bark butter feeders yesterday. Maybe it will stick around for awhile. So, while I'm offering up thanks for my blessings this morning; --- I'll throw in an extra helping of gratitude for its visit. Blessings don't have to always be large grandiose things. Blessing more often than not come in micro-packages and one has to take time to recognize them.

Time to fill the coffee cup again and check on Ms. Kate's cup too. Take time to enjoy your day today no matter where you are or what you are doing. God has something good in mind for you today. Knowing that should in itself brighten your weekend. Peace.