Why Why Why

Why do I always neglect to get the leaves cleaned out of the gutters one last time? Mind you, we get them cleaned about six times a year, but I always let it slide right before winter, thinking "at least it won't rain a lot over the winter." I forget that it does rain in the winter, and there is snow that melts, too. Then I spend the season helplessly watching water drip down the basement walls whenever it's wet out and thinking about moisture rotting our house.

There is a company in town that installs something called "leafproof gutters." I wonder if such a thing is really possible.

Here's our plucky little crabapple tree, encased with ice from the ice storm.