Very cold again tonight and will be near zero by morning.  We hit the zero mark last night and also had a little snow - one inch measured on our deck this morning.  That was the only time I've been outdoors all day.  I am busy getting the Joe's Pond Association Spring Newsletter ready, contacting people for ads, news items and our Board of Directors for their reports, so I decided in favor of staying busy and warm rather than risking ice and cold for a few minutes of exercise, even though I've missed several days in a row this week due to bad weather.  I'll try to make up for it when this cold snap turns around in another day or so.  We're looking at near 50 by next week -- so the see-saw continues.

It was nice to have sunshine all day.  I think most people can handle the cold better when the sun is shining.  When I was outside getting readings of snow depth and precipitation early this morning, even though it was only about 8 degrees above zero, there was some warmth in the sun.  Spring will come, and with it perhaps some more normal weather.

In the meantime, we have had steady on-line ticket sales since the page was activated on Tuesday.  We're glad folks are interested in the Ice-Out Contest and right now it looks as though we might make it to April 1st without the block going down and stopping the clock.  The earliest the ice has gone out was on April 5 in 2010.  We had another close year in 2012, but it held until April 8 that year.  Even with pretty warm weather, it will take some time for the 15-18 inches of ice to melt, so with every cold snap like this we figure we're that much closer to making it through March so we won't have to abruptly call a halt to ticket sales because the clock stopped before April 1st.  Fingers crossed, we head for the finish line.

By the way, some of you will remember when we used to have Sunfish sailboat races during the summer here at Joe's Pond.  Some Sundays there would be a couple dozen or more sailboats out there and usually there was good wind and lots of excitement.  We haven't had races for 20 years or so, and every now and then someone will mention, why don't we bring sailing back?  Susan Bouchard is doing that.  The Caledonian Record is sponsoring a race scheduled for  Sunday, July 17 (rain date August 14).  I'll have more information later on, but for now, she wants you to know that everyone is welcome to join in - just for fun or seriously to win.  If you have a Sunfish but don't want to race, consider lending it to someone who wants to race but doesn't have a boat.  Also, both singles and doubles are allowed in this one-time-winner-take-all race.  Contact Sue Bouchard, chatotbouchard@comcast.net or call her at  978-702-4335 or 802-563-2716.  Sue will be matching up sailors and boats hoping to have a good fleet racing in July.  

We'll have more about this on the website and here on the blog as time goes on, but mark your calendar and make plans to activate that Sunfish once again.  The above postcard image was taken about 1978, I think.  The races were really popular for several years and went on every weekend with various categories such as singles, doubles, a Powder-Puff race for women, junior category for kids - there was something for everyone and every level of sailing expertise.  There were some sailing who never even came close to winning a race, but they were out there faithfully every Sunday, mixing it up with the big guys like Marvin Sheffield, Fred Silloway and Burt Morrison.  Even winning the "Best Sportsman Award" was a big deal, and the "after party" at the end of the season at the Smith camp was always an event - everyone had a great time.