Wednesday, March 09, 2016

Talk about spring weather - we have it here today.  We had sunshine for a little while, but then it clouded over, but we have a temperature of 60 degrees and what little snow we had on the ground is melting very quickly.  In many places on north facing slopes there are sheets of ice left from the heavy rains we had last week, and that ice is softening and melting, as well.  The frost has gone very deep this year and that makes it difficult for the ground to absorb water, so the top surfaces are super-saturated.  We have rain coming tomorrow, and that will mean problems again for lots of people in low-lying areas, even though most rivers are free of ice.

Local lakes and ponds are opening up, too.  Kelli Merrill has reported that Willoughby Lake is about half open, Lake Dunmore is completely open, and Monkton Pond about 1/4 open.  

Looking at the web cams (using Internet Explorer as my browser) I can see quite a bit of open water near shore at Rossi's where the Ice-Out flag is.  We will be hooking up the clock very soon as a few more days of this kind of weather could mean the block will be getting ready to fall through.  On the other hand, it'll take some time for 18 inches of ice to melt!

Good news today from Shelly Walker.  She will be moving into her new house on West Shore Road around June 1st, she believes.  In the meantime, her dad, Don Walker, is out and about again after breaking his leg in a fall.  She said her folks still get to the Wayside almost every day for breakfast and/or lunch.  They are expecting great-grandchildren #2 and #3 this summer.  Shelly's sister, Megan and husband John's daughter Suzanne and her husband, Ivan, are expecting a baby girl in June and Melissa and Ted, Megan's step-daughter and John's daughter and her husband, are expecting a baby girl in July. Definitely this will be an exciting summer for the Walker family.

A few minutes ago we heard some geese honking - so I guess they are heading north already.  Early spring all around, perhaps.  Ducks and geese will have plenty of open water anywhere they go, if this weather keeps up.  I haven't seen any open water in the channel coming into Joe's Pond yet, but that will happen soon.

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