Read while weathering 'wintry mix'

A threesome of unusual real estate stories, topped by a home sold three times while a dead man sat inside. Where could such a thing transpire? In Chicago, of course. The Chicago Tribune reports that the buyers of a foreclosed home pried off the plywood and found the son of the former owner sitting in the kitchen, dead, with his dog, also dead, at his feet. I know this sounds unlikely, but the story involves mortgage fraud.

Our second selection is a Bloomberg story with an irresistible beginning: "Joe Lents hasn't made a payment on his $1.5 million mortgage since 2002." As you may have deduced, Mr. Lents is a litigious soul.

And finally, a local story from The Somerville News that could be titled "Man Fights Tree, Tree Wins." Although of course it's actually about deeper things.

The victorious tree is pictured. (An earlier Globe story on the same subject is here.)