Fall Has Arrived In South Dakota. Now What?

Good-bye Summer, it was fun while it lasted.

Sure, there are nice days in early Fall. South Dakota likes to throw those at us just when we're convinced it's time to put the shorts away. But this is a good time to knock out a few things before the weather gets serious.

South Dakota Fall Checklist

1. Dig out the warmer clothes.

You don't have to pack away every T-shirt you own. Just locate the coats, sweatshirts, boots and other stuff you haven't seen since spring. It's much easier to find your winter coat now than at 7:15 on a Tuesday morning when it's 28 degrees.

2. Bring in the patio stuff.

There is always one more nice weekend. We all know this. That's how the patio furniture stays outside until the first strong wind sends a chair halfway across the yard.

Maybe get ahead of that this year.

3. Clean the gutters.

It's not exciting, but neither is discovering your gutters are basically a giant leaf storage system. Get them cleaned out while you're still willing to spend more than five minutes outside.

4. Test furnace and make sure it still works.

You don't need to heat the house to 75 degrees just to test it. Give it a few minutes and make sure warm air comes out. Because finding out there's a problem on the first really cold night of the year is not ideal. And don't forget to change the filter.

5. Get the car ready for colder weather.

Check the tires, washer fluid and battery. And find the ice scraper. You know you have one. You just have no idea where you put it.

6. Get a head start on the Christmas lights.

Yes, it's early. Really early, but the weather is still relatively cooperative.

Don't wait until you're standing on a ladder with frozen fingers, fighting a cold November wind while trying to untangle 200 feet of lights.

Hang the clips. Check the strands. Figure out which lights actually work. Then, when late November rolls around, you can plug everything in and pretend you planned the whole thing perfectly.

7. Put off thinking about winter for as long as possible.

You've done enough. The coats are out. The Christmas lights work. The furnace heats up. You're prepared. There's no reason to start talking about snow yet. Let's just enjoy fall while we still can.