I hate to admit it, but winter is on the way! This morning one of the weather prediction sites said that we could have “intermittent snow” next week.

I have never been a big winter guy. I think I would be happiest if we had continual rotations of spring and fall – but such is not the case. Winter is a reality, especially around here.

A good friend calls me about this time every year to discuss the shortness of days. We both get a little down as the daylight hours get shorter and the nights become longer. But, she is an optimist, and I am more of a pessimist.

“Just think,” she says, “next month we will have the shortest day of the year, and then the days will start getting longer!”

To which I retort: “Don’t forget, that day is also the beginning of winter, and then we have the cold of January and February after that!”

Of course, we are both right – but she sees the upside more than I do.

Another harbinger of the coming winter is the insufferable change from daylight savings time to standard time. I like the fact that the sky is lighter in the morning now but then I have to remind myself that the sun is setting earlier in the afternoon – a bummer!

Interestingly, our dogs have a hard time when the time change comes. They are used to having their evening meal at about 5:30 p.m. After the change to standard time, they started whining for food at about 4:30 p.m. Where is it? Did you forget to feed us?

We have tried to explain it to them…but to no avail. We finally cave in and split the difference. They will now be fed at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

But, again, the time change means that winter is coming, even for the dogs. They will, of course, love it. There is nothing like a couple of dogs playing in the snow.

And, the snow, the beloved snow. It will soon be here. Lake Erie is still warm and that means that the first cold air coming over it will pick up a lot of moisture which will miraculously turn to snow when it sweeps over the cold ground.

Usually, this means that the north-county, along the lake, will get hammered by the first snow falls…so standby Dunkirk, Fredonia, and Westfield – it is coming!

Then, slowly, the big snow falls will move into the hills where we live. The rising winds will wait to release their snow on the rest of us.

So, get your galoshes out, your hats and mittens ready. This is Chautauqua County. If you think you can avoid winter around here, you have another thing coming. Winter around here really means “winter.”

Since we can’t avoid it, we might as well enjoy it!

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.