For the first time, not a single Trick or Treater…

Kinda sad.

It was chill, spitting rain. Most of the ones we ever got were little tykes with parents, and the occasional shy batch of early teens.

Nada last night.

The local churches put on a show for the little ones.

Spokane is getting to where adults have taken over Halloween. We could have gone in costume to a bar or a party we sort of wanted to go to, but Jane and I are on pre-turn-in edit, and I shut down the pond yesterday, well, mostly, except pulling the pump, because the weather’s dropping the temperature down where the fish need to start going to sleep. Getting into the 30’s at night. And once the water chills down past 50, they shouldn’t be eating. That’s your day-night average, which for us is 58 by day and 38 by night.

So I’m on the bridge trying to squidge the winter cover ( a floating round shield of sunscreen fabric held by a ring of irrigation hose, about 6′ diameter) under the predator netting.

Good thing I went out—we’d had a disaster with the lotus pond, a pipe coming loose, which was pouring water next to our foundation/basement. We had a little pond going right next the house. It dried quickly, however, once I cut that flow off: I’d been noticing the quince tree was acting incredibly happy this fall. Had to bail out the filter box on the lotus pond (its drain is covered. and I think I may put some tarp under its lid to prevent winter precip from freezing in the box.

Outside of that, and getting the garden tools in, we should be pretty good. Jane’s giving a close read to Tracker, and I’m doing things to keep her head free for that special kind of reading.

Cooked a big pot of stew last night: beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, can of tomato paste, pepper, salt, basil, oregano, and that’ll feed both of us several suppers this next week, from a crockpot kept on ‘warm.’ I way too optimistically thought it would be done last night. Nope. So it was pizza. But we’re set for the coming week. Cost about 35.00 for the makings, but feeding 2 people supper for several days, not so bad.