'Tis the season for UFO return

This was supposed to be the coolest evening since last spring, with frost warnings posted in some parts of the state. I decided to walked out on the deck to check out the moonlit sky before going off to bed. Looking to the East, I saw nothing out of place. The dogs over on the ridge, however, were barking at something, so I continued to watch.

From nowhere, a fairly bright amber colored object appeared just above the tree line. It moved silently in a northward direction, speeding up, then slowing down and almost stopping at regular intervals. At first, I thought the object's erratic movement to be a result of my own eye movement, but as I continued to watch, referencing the object's position to the outline of trees on the ridge, I concluded that the object was clearly changing its airspeed. The intensity of the object varied from moment to moment as it passed through the area.