We got the snow last night and during today that we should have had back in January or February.  I haven't been out to measure, but I'm guessing we collected at least 3 inches of snow, although by late afternoon it was already showing signs of melting.  I measured 1 inch this morning, but it snowed quite steadily almost all day.  At this point I think it's called "poor man's fertilizer."  We did need the moisture - the ban on burning has been lifted because of the snow, but even so, there's a nice stretch of dry weather ahead of us that will put us back in the too-dry category in short order, I expect.  The grass is not greening up very rapidly, although the moisture from the snow should help get things going.  We could use a nice, warm, soaking rain.  Not tonight - the temperature is at 25 degrees.

Early this morning I heard crows very nearby making a ruckus.  They had discovered the dead partridge that flew into one of our windows last evening.  We had left the bird there hoping it might recover, as they sometimes do, but that didn't happen, and scavengers that they are, the crows were ready to take care of it.  Since we couldn't do anything for the partridge, and knowing the crows no doubt have young to feed, Fred took the carcass a little way into the woods - out of sight of the house so we wouldn't have to hear and see the crows enjoying their feast. Sometimes nature isn't very pretty.

I need to correct an error I made in the Joe's Pond Association newsletter that just came out.  In the column remembering members and friends of JPA we have lost in the past year, I said Nicky Silloway was survived by two daughters.  Actually, Nicky and Fred had three daughters, Debbie, Kathy and Kim.  My memory failed me as I wrote that, and I sincerely apologize to Kim and her family for my error.  

If you missed the deadline for reserving a place at the table for the "American Schoolash Dinner" coming up on Saturday, Liz Sargent let me know tonight there are still some seats left, so contact her if you'd like to join folks at the North Danville Community Building for that dinner.  Click on the poster below for details.

If you have been following the very unfortunate foreclosure of the properties at Jay Peak, Newport and Burke Mountain, you know what a let-down this is for the people who were excited - especially about Burke Mountain seemingly being turned into a gem in the Kingdom, finally.  There have been many well-intentioned tries to make Burke ski area come alive in a really big way, all of them failures for one reason or another.  This time may not have been quite as well-intentioned everyone was led to believe, but things did look promising for a while. 

There were a number of people who were skeptical of such grandiose plans right from the beginning, and rightly so, as it turns out.  Like the saying goes, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."  Although Jay seemed to be a huge success story, the gaping hole left in the main business district of Newport where a building was torn down and there was no sign of anything new being put up, or the rubble even totally cleared, was a clear indication something was amiss.  I suppose the city will have to deal with that terrible scar in the middle of its otherwise pretty town on its own now.  

It's too bad these things happen, and had there been proper oversight and investigation, it probably could have been avoided.  The state government works in strange ways, but slowly, and sometimes officials are convinced to "look the other way" and therefore live up to a con artist's perception that they are "bumpkins" or just plain stupid.  It's hard to believe these guys were so smart nobody with authority put two and two together, but the mess at hand kind of proves the point.  Not a proud moment for Vermont government.  And very sad for so many good people hoping for something great to happen for the struggling Northeast Kingdom.