Karen Wils photo A red squirrel finds a meal after Thanksgiving.

ESCANABA — The refrigerator is stuffed.

Half-eaten pies line the pantry shelf. The house is a little disarray from yesterday’s big feast. Thanksgiving is over.

Everybody heads off down a different trail.

After the feast and the family festivities, it’s time for some folks to go back to deer camp. Some of the guys pack up leftover turkey and potatoes and grab their hunting gear and back to the woods they go.

The second week of deer season can be so different from the first. After Thanksgiving, the snow and the cold become more real in the U.P.

The wild world is slipping into its winter slumber now. The cold, crisp snow-capped woodlands are a beautiful place to be in late November, whether you’re hunting with a gun or camera.

It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and it is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Many folks head off to the stores and shopping malls bright and early.

A circus-like atmosphere fills the air. Everyone is excited to get that “great buy. It is time to get their Christmas shopping nearly done.

To some, it’s a contest to see how many stores they can visit and how much money they can save.

All in one day, it’s changed from pilgrims and thanksgiving prayers to Santa and Christmas trees.

From early November until after Thanksgiving our wardrobe changes from sweatshirt-hoodies and tennis shoes to sweaters and boots.

The rake is replaced by the snow shovel.

One of the best things about the day after Thanksgiving is scrumptious leftovers. Turkey, dressing and gravy tastes even better when reheated. Now it is time to change the kitchen into a Christmas cookie factory.

After Thanksgiving, company heads back home.

It’s time to pull those last pumpkins off the porch and feed them to the wildlife.

Even the church season changes after Thanksgiving. Now we enter Advent, the season of preparation for Christmas.

So go to your refrigerator and fix a snack, put on your woolen socks and fix a hot cup of coffee, after Thanksgiving is a time to rest.

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Karen (Rose) Wils is a lifelong north Escanaba resident. Her folksy columns appear weekly in Lifestyles.