We don a wetsuit and dry our eyes

This week, two things are pressing:

First, we're considering borrowing a wetsuit because our regular waders are never going to be warm enough for the work we still have to do on the pond. All of which begs the questions:

• Why do pumps always burn out at the worst time?!
• Why are we so attached to all the fish and frogs and birds that we feel compelled to keep the water aerified and an open space for drinking all year!?

Second, we're reminding ourselves daily that freezing is a quick way to go, so we won't reconsider our decisions about plants we've enjoyed, as we let the cold take them.

Hey, it's just reality: Every year some of these tender plants and houseplants get too big and we just can't keep them any more. It's a quick death, we tell them.