The last of our guests have gone. The closing is upon us. While we put the final touches on shutting her up for the winter, the lady bugs have been having a heyday in the warm sunny weather. They delighted in another day and swarm us as we step outside. I reset the wind gauge so we will know the off-season high gust speed. We strip the beds and store the linens away in the tin room - a mouse proof haven built some 50 years ago. We drape the glassware and china with old sheets and store the Keurig in the cold cellar. Long ago, we used to stock the cold cellar each fall for an anticipated winter visit. Now it holds paint and such, which can’t be frozen. We pull the porch furniture into the living room and clean and mulch the gardens. The old place breathes a sigh - she gets to slumber. And we, on the other hand, go to work planning new projects, prioritizing ones that didn’t get done this year and dreaming of nights in the sauna, dances in the barn and hikes to the ridge. Goodnight house, goodnight mouse. Sleep tight my friend, till spring arrives and wakes you from your slumber.