While fall weather seems to be hanging on this year, there is no denying that, to quote “Game of Thrones,” “Winter is coming.”

For many of us that is unwelcome news but whether you like it or not, it’s coming. Take this as a reminder to give your snowblower a tune up and make sure it’s ready to go before you wake up with 2 feet of snow on your car. Head out to the garage, find your shovels, put your ice scraper in your car and make an offering to Heikki Lunta.

It may be hard to believe, but many of your neighbors are counting the days until the snow is falling and for those people, the Upper Peninsula is heaven.

Before you know it, the ski hills and snowmobile trails will be abuzz with bundled-up outdoor enthusiasts. We encourage you to join them.

The winter months in the U.P. are long and, if you don’t have an activity you enjoy, can lead to depression and unhealthy habits.

This is why we suggest finding a hobby to get the most out of the long winter months.

In fact, you can get started tonight before the snow is even here. Lakeview Arena in Marquette already has open skating every day and senior skating on Fridays. If skating isn’t your speed, snowshoeing is a (relatively) cheap way to get outdoors and enjoy the natural beauty of the Upper Peninsula winter.

Another winter activity that has been exploding in popularity in recent years is fat tire biking.

While it may seem cost-prohibitive, there are multiple businesses around the Marquette area and the rest of the U.P. that allow you to rent bikes for a fraction of the cost.

While this is no means an exhaustive list of winter activities, we recommend taking a walk around downtown Marquette to get some ideas from the many businesses that specialize in these hobbies.

Who knows? You may even end up one of those crazy folks that want summer to go by as fast as possible!