I spent Sunday picking apples, roses, and tomatoes, preparing for the killing frost that is headed our way this week. I enjoyed one of my best gardens ever, as a result of the long fall that we were blessed with. Sorta bittersweet to look out the bedroom window on the upper floor to see all the flower colors this morning, knowing that the scene will be frosted over. But the wood's in. So I'm as ready as I'll ever be for my 34th winter in the Inland Northwest. I'll put the studs on our vehicles with much fanfare next month, to ensure that I get the usual reaction from the anti-studites among us. Now for your first Wild Card of the work week ...