Benefits of getting a puppy in fall

1. Lots of leaves and such to chase
2. Still enough sunny days to get the lawn mowed to look out for deer poop and mushrooms
3. Puppies have to be on leashes all the time anyways, so it's a great time to learn not to eat mushrooms
4. Bed time is easy because it's dark by 7
5. Watch the sunset and sunrise every day with the puppy
6. See stars every night and morning with the puppy
7. It's still dark at 6am, so when I get up at 3 or 4 to take the puppy out, it's easy to imagine it's later
8. Just the right temperature out to leave puppy in the car while running errands, since she can't be left alone for more than a couple hours at a time
9. With gardening fairly dormant, there's lots of time to spend watching the puppy every second
10. Carrying around the puppy every day gradually increases strength as she gets bigger every day, getting ready for all the work to come on the farm
11. Puppies still take naps all day so there's enough time to cut wood for the compost bin, continue scooping up tree debris from limbing projects, and put the tractor to good use relocating piles of firewood. 
12. The puppy is comfortable in the kennel in the back of the truck making it easy to bring her with to do recycling and score some excellent windows for the barn. 
13. While many things have died back for the fall, puppy is still mesmerized by how new everything in the world is and is a reminder to pause and appreciate the beauty of birds flying and deer crossing the street. 
14. A puppy is the best icebreaker when moving to a new place and meeting all new people. Everyone loves puppies and somehow, they have a better time remembering her and her name than us humans. 
15. The  cold temperature while standing in the dark early in the morning and late at night ensure high motivation to train the puppy to pee right away and the flashlights are always handy! Plus, fashion woes are put aside by wearing both the pink-elephant-zip-up-fleece-onesie for extra coverage and a fleece robe to cover the elephants... and maybe a big coat over it all.