Here's the latest fireworks update: IT'S A GO FOR TONIGHT!

Don Sherwood called about an hour ago, and after talking with the fireworks crew and President Dente, the decision is to take a chance that the weather will cooperate at dusk and give us a break long enough to do the fireworks. According to the forecast, rain is expected later this afternoon, with clearing and then more rain during the nighttime hours. So plan on getting here early for a good viewing spot (and maybe bring an umbrella).

Oops! Fred just reported there are rolls of thunder outside even though we have bright sunshine. That's ok - maybe a good thunder storm will clear the air and we'll have clear weather on the other side.

The fireworks will be set off from the rail trail at the north end of the pond - just east of the channel bridge. This is the same as last year. ENJOY!

Good morning, everyone!
At least it isn't pouring buckets of rain, and that makes it a really GOOD morning. When I checked my e-mail a few minutes ago (after I made my CoCoRaHS report), I found this from Tom and Camilla Dente - who got it from Joe and Pam Hebert, etc., etc., and like them, I thought it was fun, so I'm going to pass it on.
Click Here
When the new screen comes up, click on the middle green outlined button, and LOL.

The sun is almost breaking through the clouds. Let's hope things stay shower-free through the evening for the fireworks.

We walked quite early this morning, making it back just as the rain began. Even though We weren't actually in the rain, my clothing was as damp as though we'd actually been caught in a shower. The air was heavy with humidity, and probably because of that, everything smelled fresh. There was a hint of clover in the air as we came to the intersection of Cabot Plains Road and Bolton Road. We stopped by the pond at the school house so I could take a picture of an old dump rake - perhaps the one I used to use. I got to rake scatterings using a dump rake behind a horse. I don't think many farmers do that any more, but we always had to clean up any hay left by the baler - or a windrow skipped because there was a stone in the way or the hill was too steep or whatever. It was my job to get any leftover hay raked into rows where it could be picked up by the baler. There was a leaver and a foot pedal that worked in unison to raise the rake in order to dump the hay. It was a juggling act sometimes to hold the reins and manage the hand lever, but when the horse was cooperative, which was usually the case, we could get the work done in short order with few problems. This rake has been adapted for use behind a tractor, I think, and there seem to be some parts missing. But it brings back pleasant memories. Like the single row walk-behind corn planter at Ted Domey's, just down the road. Another story for another time.

We stopped by the brook at the bottom of Pinkham Hill. It's very cool and pretty with the water gurgling over the rocks. There was quite a bit of water coming down off the hill. It comes from the two ponds at the school house, and the water ends up in Joe's Pond, of course. There used to be some trout in there, but I doubt there are any now.

We're all hoping the weather clears for our fireworks display tomorrow night, but it actually seems pretty doubtful. We'll post any changes in schedule on home page, or you can give us a call. We'll keep the local stores posted, too.

A couple items for you tonight:

From Diane Langmaid -

Just to let all know!!!!!!
ARNOLD LANGMAID will turn 90 years young on July 5th.....AND....
We are having an OPEN HOUSE on Sunday - July 5th... at the North Danville School from
1:00 - 4:00

Please join us and let anyone else know that you think may not have heard.

It is Hugh Langmaid's 75th this year (brother)
and Joyce Bennett's 80th (sister) ..........but we'll try to surprise them!

And this from Joe Hebert:

Pamela and I rescued a small Kayak floating in the middle of the main pond today about 6 PM. It is a "Walden Experience" combination purple and white and tied to our dock a 489 Old Homestead Road. The owners are welcome to retrieve it at their convenience!

Joe and Pam Hebert

I guess with all the rain we've been having the pond is a bit high. If any of you are not at camp and think something on your waterfront might not be secure, you may want to ask a neighbor to check on it for you. Thanks to folks like Pam and Joe who keep an eye on the water, most things get re-tied, rescued or beached with no damage done, but we should all remember that wind and rising water cause float-aways and can sink boats and motors, so be extra careful to be sure your toys are secure before you leave camp.

We have a busy weekend coming up. There will probably be lots of people around on the lake and on the highways. Be extra careful on the water or driving, and remember to be considerate of your neighbors.

Remember also that the fireworks are scheduled for Friday, July 3rd, if the rain holds off, and if not they will be on Sunday, the 5th. The Joe's Pond Association Annual Meeting is at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Be sure to get your luminaries at Hastings Store, from Diane Rossi, Pam Hebert, Diane Sherwood, Patty Rubalcaba or Sue Bouchard, and place them on your waterfront. We may need to do a sun dance to get a weather change. The good news is - it isn't going to be terribly cold, so if our sun dancing doesn't work we can still get out there and play in the water . . . it's called "swimming in the rain."

There will be some new events at Cabot's Annual 4th of July Celebration on Saturday. In addition to the parade at 11 a.m., the rummage sale, yard sales, BBQ and exhibits at the Historical Society, there will be a Lumber Jack Demonstration at 1 p.m. at the Recreation Field, plus a Pie-eating Contest at 1:30 p.m. and an extra special "anybody can do it" Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest throughout the day with the winner announced at 2 p.m. All the contests will be at the Rec Field at the north end of the village. Oh, yes, also new this year - Fried Dough!!

Angela's free raft has a new home. If you were thinking about grabbing that swim raft at Angela Buttura's, you're too late. Someone has taken it - Angela said she doesn't want to chance someone taking her new raft, so wanted to get the word out a.s.a.p.

I just added up the rain amounts I've reported during June - 4.33 inches. I think that is below normal for June. Of course, that's as of 9 a.m. this morning, but whatever we get today will go into my July report.

I saw a young woman on a bike with her infant in a seat, and it reminded me of the seat I inventoried on Sunday at the historical society. I didn't get a picture of the mother and child, but found a seat similar - see how far we've come! This modern seat is at Sears. I wonder how or if the 1800's youngster was strapped in. I looked for photos of bicycles in the 1800's and 1900's, but I didn't find any with a child's seat. Knowing the Yankee ingenuity of the times, perhaps the one we have was a one-of-a-kind home-made seat rather than a manufactured product.

When exploring the internet this morning, I found another recent model that fits in front of the adult rider instead of on the back of the bike like the one above. That makes sense - I guess. Either way is a bit dangerous being that bikers do take nasty spills sometimes, no matter how careful or experienced.

I remember a close call one time when I had one of my kids with me riding on a street in St. Johnsbury. Someone opened a car door as I was about to go by. In traffic, when you're in a car it's bad enough to have that happen, but when you're on a bike with a child aboard, it is really scary. I was shaken, but not hurt, and my son was oblivious to the danger, but I never took any of the kids with me again on my bike.

Fred is off to recycle, and then he and Bill Rossi are going to pick up Bill's tuner or whatever at Byrne's Electronics in St. Johnsbury. That was a quick fix - I think Bill is very pleased.

We just had a downpour for a few minutes - about an hour ago. The weather has held off pretty well today - quite nice most of the day.

We went to Juniper's at the Wildflower Inn on Darling Hill in Lyndonville for dinner tonight - a delayed anniversary celebration. We would have gone last week, but they were closed on the night we wanted to go . . . it was very nice tonight, though. I've put together a slide show - the pictures aren't as nice as those we took a couple weeks ago in that area, because by the time we were finished eating the clouds were beginning to gather. On our way there, it was very nice, and the view from the restaurant is very nice, no matter what the weather.

Fred had a lot of zoom on the picture of the tower on Burke Mountain - and then I took one through the grass (no, I wasn't crouching in a hayfield, I took it from the car and the bank was high next to me.) There is a path alongside the road and a runner had just gone by. There are lots of hiking paths on Darling Hill, but it seemed pretty quiet this evening.

When we left Juniper's we drove north past the Children's Summer Theater and the old Darling Estate, then turned east down to East Burke and followed the east branch of the Passumpsic River back to Lyndonville. slides

We like the Darling Hill area. Historian Harriet Fisher wrote a book about the Darling family - I saw it in the gift shop tonight but then was interrupted and I didn't go back for it. I think it would be an interesting read and I'll try to pick it up next time we're there. I knew Harriet - we crossed paths when we were both writing for the Caledonian Record. She was a "stringer" and I was an aspiring feature writer.

Woody, our cat, just came in soaked to the skin. I guess he made a dash for the house through the downpour. We'll get him dried off and settle him for the night. He usually comes in for a snack around 10:30 or 11:00 and we keep him in for the night. We think he's tempting fate when he roams free at night, so we're always glad when he respects his curfew. Now and then he doesn't come in and we worry about him, and we keep thinking he'll catch on eventually and won't be tempted by hunger to give up his nocturnal prowling, but thankfully, he's a slow learner . . .

A couple of important notices today:

Diane Sherwood called to let us know the Chicken BBQ scheduled for July 18th at the West Danville church has been canceled this year. Diane said not enough people are available to work, and there are other difficulties. The little church in West Danville, like so many other churches and organizations these days, is in financial difficulty and the future is not bright for it to continue as it has been for so many years. We hope there will be a compromise solution the their problems. However, for this year, at least, there will be no Chicken BBQ.

Jack Dowd, who has a cottage on Sandy Beach Road, called to report two kayaks are missing from his place. They are both 12 ft. long, Pungo brand, one yellow and one red. Jack said they could not have floated away from where they were stored, but he's wondering if someone "borrowed" them and might have left them in the water so they then floated off.

If anyone knows anything about these two kayaks, please let Jack know. You can reach him at 802-875-3171, or by e-mail: jackdowd@aol.com.

Also, Diane Sherwood is looking for one of the old Joe's Pond maps with the original camp numbers on it. If you don't wish to part with yours, perhaps you could arrange with Diane for her to have it copied. These are very nice old maps, and quite large. As I remember they were sort of tan color and had lots of pond information on them. They were made perhaps as far back as the 1940's.