Pedley's Ponderings

Fall’s march towards winter progressed in earnest over the past week. The wind is biting hard and it feels like it’s dark by 4 p.m. most days. You’d think we’d be used to this sort of thing – after all, it happens every year. Still, it always comes as an abrupt change of pace.

I’ve got plenty to do outside that I’m sure won’t get done prior to snowfall. Above all, I need to get our pumpkins to the dump and my gutters cleared out before it freezes. It’s hard to believe Halloween was already three weeks ago, but our jack o’lanterns sure are showing their age – I think they’re in their mid-60s in pumpkin years.

One of my lower-tiered priorities has been the mound of dirt in my front yard. Like most of my neighbors, I had a backflow valve installed in our sewer main. Its purpose is to prevent sewage backups, and though we lucked out during the summer floods, I figured it would be an added safety check in the future.

I finally started working on the pile last weekend. I dumped water on it and stabbed at it with a spade to help settle the dirt on Saturday, and friend moved some of it around with his yard tractor the next day. I think I’m mostly done for now – what remains unsettled will still be there in the spring.

Admittedly, our neighborhood is rather comical these days. Each yard looks like a one-grave cemetery with its dirt mound. One of my more clever neighbors stuck a fake skeleton in theirs for Halloween, which gave me a chuckle.

• Fight night dud

Like many Americans, I was pointlessly excited about the Jake Paul/Mike Tyson boxing match last Friday. I by no means follow boxing and have no clue what’s going on in the ring, but Iron Mike is Iron Mike.

Unfortunately, the night was a flub. Like millions of other viewers, our Netflix stream froze up prior to the fight and never recovered. We had to watch two announcers call the fight ringside on YouTube instead, which just wasn’t the same.

For his part, Tyson stayed off the mat but did not win. That’s better than I imagined he do at age 58 fighting a 27-year-old. I suppose there’s pride in not getting KO’d after taking 19 years off.

• A welcomed end to different season

Winter’s impending arrival will also bring an end to another season, and I’m looking forward to it.

My Iowa Hawkeyes have wholly disappointed me this year. While their offense has markedly improved from the last three seasons, their defense has been unexpectedly mediocre. The contradiction has led to a 6-4 record thus far.

Should the Hawks win out and prevail in their bowl game, they’ll be 9-4. I don’t really expect that to happen, though, as late-season injuries have started to pile up. All in all, I just don’t want to lose to Nebraska two weeks from now.

Things look a lot better over in Ames. While the Cyclones’ dreams of an undefeated season ended two weeks ago, they’re still 8-2 and could tally 10 regular season wins. That’s outstanding and it’s been fun to follow their progress, even if I prefer the Black and Gold. The success of Hartley native and former H-M-S standout Kooper Ebel has also given me a valid excuse to keep an eye on ISU. The Cyclones’ sophomore linebacker has logged 27 solo tackles, 26 assists and one sack this season.

While my Hawkeyes have been up and down, watching bad football is better than watching no football at all. As always, I’ll be tuning in bright eyed and bushy tailed until the clock hits 00:00 on the 2024 season.

Nick Pedley is the news editor and ad manager of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.