Winter ys icumen in

I won't follow up with Ezra Pound's profane comment on the return of cold weather, but we, like everyone else, it seems, have been suffering through a bout of what seems unseasonable cold. If we had any pumpkins, the frost would definitely be on them. But there are compensations for the cold:

• Outside work slows down. If the plants aren't growing, they don't need to be mowed, deadheaded, or weeded.
• The birds put on a show, feasting on the seedheads of the now-dead perennials and coming to the feeders in greater numbers.
• A few trees keep their leaves after most of the others have gone, extending the fall show and making us appreciate them more than when everyone is showing off.
• Sycamores come into their own when we can see their elegant bark.
• The juncos come back from the boreal forest to spend their winters with us.