I went to St. J. this morning and got my broken tooth fixed - temporarily.  The crown will come later.  I was noticing again how many changes have taken place along Route 2.  Just before entering Danville, the house that belongs to Marty Beattie has been taken down - I think I've mentioned that before.  Then, at the top of Dole Hill, all the cabins except one (see picture at right) have been removed.  The sign is still there, and the main house, but only the one cabin, far left of the picture remains.

Of course there's the new gas station (picture at right) opening at the west entrance to St. Johnsbury - a Maplefields convenience store and mega station, owned by Skip Vallee.  That's well underway and set to open in December.  Further up Western Avenue, the last full-service gas station in the area will close at about the same time (photo on right).  The repair service and car wash will still be available, but no gasoline sales.  The streets in St. J. are pretty much set for winter, but they were working on both Western Avenue and Main Street when I was there this morning.  I wasn't held up very long, but later when I took a back street leaving town, I noticed the utility poles that have not been reset - some are really in the street and will certainly pose a problem for plows this winter; others were sort of in the way of the new sidewalks.  That can't be good.  I don't expect they will be reset before winter sets in. It seems to me somebody should have seen to it the utility companies were all on board to get this work done while everything was already torn up - maybe even bury some of the lines?  Or maybe they did that and just the poles haven't been removed? 

The ice has pretty much melted away except for a few spots along the shoreline.  I didn't see any ducks or geese today, so perhaps they have quit this place, and that's as it should be.  On the Route 15 side of the pond, the Buttura home is shaping up nicely.  I got this shot from West Shore Road, and tried to get one of the new Cassani house, but I couldn't spot it right away and I needed to get to my appointment.  On the way home, I was late for lunch - you get the idea.  We'll try to get a picture of that soon.