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Fall may be the best time of year in Wisconsin.

The humidity is gone. The mosquitoes are losing interest. The trees are turning red, orange and gold. It’s cool enough to open the windows, but not yet cold enough that going outside requires a strategic plan.

So enjoy it.

Take a walk. Go for a drive. Sit outside with a cup of coffee. Admire the leaves while they’re still attached to the trees.

Because eventually they fall off.

That’s when Wisconsin homeowners start looking at their yards and making a list. Leaves need to be raked. Gutters need to be cleaned. Outdoor faucets need to be winterized. Patio furniture needs to be stored. The snowblower that hasn’t run since March needs to be coaxed back to life.

If you live at The Oaks at 8100, congratulations. Most of that is handled compliments of Decker Properties!

Unfortunately, we can’t do everything.

At least not until Decker Properties starts leasing cars.

Your Car Still Belongs to You

Winter has an interesting way of exposing everything you’ve been meaning to fix on your car.

That battery that’s been getting a little sluggish? It may have an opinion about starting at 7:00 on a January morning.

Those tires that probably have another 5,000 miles left in them? Snow may offer a second opinion.

Fall is a good time to have your battery, tires, antifreeze and other basics checked. Make sure your windshield washer fluid is rated for freezing temperatures. Find the ice scraper you threw into the darkest corner of the garage last spring.

Put some gloves in the car. A small shovel isn’t a bad idea either.

Until Decker Properties expands into the automotive business, this part is on you.

Get the Apartment Ready, Too

The good news is that this list is considerably shorter.

Dig out the winter clothes. Find the boots. If you’ve accumulated things on your patio or balcony over the summer, decide where they’re going before they’re covered with six inches of snow.

And don’t wait until the first subzero night to discover something in your apartment isn’t working properly. If you notice a draft, a heating problem or something else that needs attention, let us know.

We’d much rather hear about it in October than at 2:00 a.m. during a January cold snap.

You probably would, too.

Enjoy Fall While It Lasts

Wisconsin has a habit of moving rather abruptly from beautiful fall afternoon to where did I put my winter coat?

So don’t spend all of October preparing for January.

Enjoy Oak Creek in the fall. Walk through the changing leaves. Get outside on those crisp sunny afternoons. Enjoy dinner or a drink outside while restaurants still have their patios open. Take the scenic route home once in a while.

Pretty soon the trees will be bare, the temperature will be 12 degrees and we’ll all start wondering why our ancestors stopped here instead of continuing south.

But if you live at The Oaks, there is consolation.

Somebody else will shovel the snow.

Somebody else will worry about the landscaping.

Somebody else will deal with the parking lot.

And that snowblower that hasn’t run since March?

It’s somebody else’s problem.