The first curtains are up in Emma's room, and they make a big difference in the space.

Fall-like weather has arrived. There are a few red maple leaves on the deck, and the sky is getting that "northern fall" look in the evenings, scudded with white clouds and a cool breeze. Our days are in the low 60s now, and sunset is creeping closer. We're back to needing the furnace at night, so a couple of days ago I plugged in the trailer and refilled one of the 30-lb propane tanks.

There's a skunk living under the deck this season. Last week he sprayed a visiting dog, and every few days we can smell evidence of his nocturnal prowlings. At night, when we are heading out to the Airstream in the driveway, I have to walk very slowly and cautiously until the motion-sensor light on the deck comes on, lest I surprise Mr Skunk in the dark and get a dose of perfume myself.

Skunks don't have good vision but they can hear quite well, so I make a lot of noise as I walk. For some reason, I'm always the first one out of the house each night. Eleanor and Emma follow ...

This is also the end of rally season in New England. There's one more Airstream rally Oct 6-9 in Townsend VT that we are hoping to attend before we head south. When we lived here year-round I always hated winterizing in October, but it's unavoidable: we will have freezing nights in three weeks. In the upper elevations of Vermont (2000 feet and up), there will be snow flurries toward the end of the month. It's amazing how fast Summer bows out and Fall flicks by.