The forecast is sunny with temps in the low 60 degrees; just about as good as it gets in November in the upper Midwest. That means Mark will spend today cleaning out the pond of all the accumulated gunk in the bottom and trimming back the dying leaves of all the pond plants to prepare everything for the winter. The first step is to empty the pond and put the water plants in a stock tank filled with water so they don't dry out. The fish go in here, too, while the pond is drained.
Mark gets right in the pond — dressed in warm clothes, fishing waders and rubber gloves up to his elbows — and scoops out buckets full of muck which he hands off to a friend who has helped him with this task many times over the years. I'm willing to help but don't have the strength needed to lift the heavy buckets. Lastly the pond is refilled with fresh water and Mark adds a stock tank heater and an aerator to keep an opening in the ice that will form as it gets colder.
The decorative stoneware pots have all been emptied of rain-water and debris and most have been put in the tea house for the winter. My job is to decided which — if any — we want to bring indoors. Once there is snow on the ground it will be too dangerous to navigate the buried paths and rocks to walk up to the teahouse should we suddenly want a favorite pot indoors.
It is really a little early to clean the pond because not all the leaves have come down. The paperbark maple is still fully leafed out and just finally turned a glorious red, matching the Bloodgood maple that mirrors it across the pond. Both apple trees still have leaves as does the Acer dissectum which is currently a glowing ochre with undertones of orange and cerise. But we're worried it will snow if we wait much longer — which is what happened last year, and we never got the pond cleaned out.
On the other hand, we may have warmish weather for quite a while judging by my small, shrubby lilac which threw out a single big bloom not long ago. And the witch hazel has never looked so good. It's finally lost its leaves letting the flowers have their moment to shine.
