I think my brain has slowed down this week. At one point the temperature dipped to -20° F. (about -30° C), and I was completely preoccupied with trying to keep heat and water in both my house and the guest cabin.

There was one bad moment about ten o’clock at night a week ago when, due to a series of unfortunate events, a pipe did start leaking dramatically, spraying water into my basement.

I had to wade through the spray to shut off three valves, more or less by feel, and all I could think was, “I’m in a submarine movie.”

Life imitates art, as usual. Just as “myth” (the explanation) follows “ritual” (what you do).

And it’s snowing a lot. Earlier in the winter, this part of the Colorado foothills was short of snow. New York City had more snow than we did.

But we are catching up. I think we got November’s snow on Saturday night (a foot) and more is falling now. And it is normal for it to keep falling through April, when those New Yorkers will be looking at spring flowers.

The problem is that at some point (probably around 0° F.), I stop wanting to just hole up and work at my desk, instead starting to fret about what is going to break or freeze next. No fun.

Or I go to the hardware store looking for a machine to help me deal with it all.