It’s fall. It officially started on Saturday, Sept 22.

I have to confess fall is my least favorite time of the year.

I know, I know. It is the favorite season for a lot of folks. They love the crisp air, the leaves changing color, the pumpkins and Halloween.

But you know, all those leaves seem to end up in my yard and need to be raked and hauled to the Blue Earth City Brush Site.

Perhaps my dislike for fall is that it is the harbinger of winter. No matter how much you sugar-coat fall, I still know what is just around the corner.

Cold and snow.

And yes, I am no fan of cold and snow. So I don’t much care for winter either. But somehow, after living in Minnesota for so long, I have grown to accept winter. I hibernate inside as much as possible, trying to spend time in my basement man cave and plan where to go in March that is warm.

I do go outside once in a while to shovel the snow, of course.

But fall is different. There is just so much to do, and it always seems like there is not enough time to get it done.

Oh yes, there are those leaves to be raked, as already mentioned. And just to add insult to injury, this year I’ve already raked my entire yard not just once, but twice.

After the storms we had during the summer, there were so many leaves and branches down that the only solution was to rake and haul it all to the brush site.

But, I digress.

In the fall there are also all those outside projects you thought you were going to get done this summer but never did.

Fixing that door, adding weather stripping, cleaning out the garden areas, cutting down dead tree branches.

For some of us there is also finding the time to get the boat out of the lake, pull in the dock, winterize the camper and a dozen other chores.

You get the idea.

But, I think with all that I really don’t have a reason to do all this whining.

After our most recent storm (I’ve lost track of what number it is), there was a big mess in the area especially in Granada, Riverside golf course and Easton.

What was amazing was that the amount of cleanup needed to get done looked almost daunting. But, in typical Minnesota fashion, people just showed up with chainsaws, trailers and rakes in hand and dug in to get rid of the mess.

It was amazing to see.

Then there are our area farmers. I don’t know how they do it.

They are showing signs of concern that this summer of too much rain is continuing into fall, and they need to get out into the fields and get that crop harvested. And they are wondering just when they can get it all done before that dreaded old Man Winter shows up.

It would be too much for me. A normal fall is a lot of work for a farmer. Add in delays due to crummy weather and well, it adds to the anxiety of trying to get it done.

Then there are those city and county officials wondering if the construction crews are going to be able to finish up all the projects going on around the county. There is a lot of street work in the cities and rural areas this year. And with rain on and off all summer long, the crews are starting to panic a bit.

They think they will get it all done, but just in the nick of time.

Construction work on the Blue Earth new Chamber Welcome Center Giant Museum seems to be getting near completion, as well as the new city Public Works garage. And roofs all around Blue Earth are getting re-shingled this fall due to the hail storm. Those crews are working fast and furious on the days there isn’t any rain.

And, of course, it is hard to predict what the weather will be. Maybe October and November will be very nice, allowing everyone, from farmers to construction crews to even me, to get all our fall work done.

But I doubt it.

Nope, I just don’t like fall. I mean, I don’t even like the word fall.

When you are a senior citizen like me, you don’t want to hear the word fall. It is something we try to avoid falling and getting hurt.

OK, now that I think about it, I guess I really don’t have it so bad. A little bit of raking the yard and I can call it good. There are others with a whole lot bigger problems than that.

I?hope you have a wonderful and safe fall, find some time to enjoy the leaves, and also find the time to get all that work done.

Good luck.