I lucked out with my friend and neighbor Jack Macmillan. He lives just down the road and I have called him many times this year. When the path to the outer pasture flooded. When the tires on my mower went flat. When I ran over a garden house last week and gummed up the mower blade. Jack comes and helps with crowd control at our Open Houses, he advises me on granting hunting rights, he gave us a peach tree, we have dinner almost every week with Jack and his wife Kim, who works with Maria making scarves and potholders.

Jack was the County Transportation Director for many years and he knows stuff and one of the things he knows is how to run a tractor. We are having water and draining problems in the Pole Barn, the ground slopes down and when it rains or snows, water comes pouring in to the space where the animals go to seek shelter. I had a truckload of dirt delivered and Jack showed up with his tractor to bring the dirt into the Pole Barn.

This is the time of year when I am thinking winter. The light is beginning to turn, the grass is browning, the nights getting cool. We have enough firewood, Nelson Green say she has square bales of hay for us, and Jack is helping us get the Pole Barn ready for some snow and ice. A farm is like a chessboard to me, moves and counter moves. Having friends and neighbors like  Kim and Jack is a very good move.