Not much weather going on here today. The snow we expected late yesterday and overnight never happened, so we stand at about the same as yesterday, 32 degrees, cloudy, and about 16 inches of snow on the ground in my back yard.

I had to go into Cabot yesterday and was amazed at the difference in snow cover. I wasn't surprised that the Plain was wind swept in lots of places, but began to realize the lower elevations have much less as I saw the snowmobile trails along the way. As I reached the hard top road going into Cabot, there was a decided difference in the amount of snow. In the Village there were piles where it had been plowed, but not a lot on level lawns or in the fields as I proceeded to Lower Cabot. Some of the snow mobile trails there were actually bare and muddy.

Fred took some pictures on his way to recycle in Wolcott (Hardwick area) today. I've put together a short slide show of the Lamoille River along Rt. 15. Slides

I picked up a DVD yesterday that Sen. Bill Doyle had given the Cabot Historical Society. He'd left it with Blanche Lamore, or maybe he gave it to Fran Voight to give to Blanche since Fran is her neighbor. Anyway, I just took a look at it and it's really quite interesting. It's called "Life in Washington County" and you can see it by going to this site: www.peregrineproductions.com

If you didn't catch the Channel 7 newscast live last night, you can still see it by clicking on the link I gave you yesterday in the blog below, then searching archives for the February 16th newscast. You can select "Iceout" from the menu and get right to it. If anyone would like to be interviewed about our Ice-Out Contest, let me know and next time there's a TV or radio crew looking for interviews, we'll connect with you.

The latest ice report is that it's about 20 inches thick right now. Last year about this time it was 25 inches thick. Not that that means much. It can all turn around very quickly - we could still add some depth to the ice if the weather turns frigid; or, like last year, the wind could play a big part in sinking the flag and stopping the clock. We've had lots of wind so far this year. All guesses are good guesses at this point.

I have a mystery photo for you. Does anyone know where this school might have been? It was in with other photos from Jennie Donaldson, and she taught school in many Vermont communities. We are certain it wasn't a school in Cabot, but if you recognize it, please get in touch. Either contact me here or go to jpwebmaster@fairpoint.net.