Wow!  Couldn't ask for a nicer spring day.  We dashed to West Danville this morning to meet the guys from Leahy Press in Montpelier who dropped off our Joe's Pond Association newsletters on their way to Maine  - they sponsor a car at the Oxford Plains Speedway, and today was the season's opening race. It worked out perfectly for us - it was a quick hand-off as they wanted to get back on the road as soon as possible.

Fred and I took a hike in our woods this afternoon to see how much winter damage there is.  It looked pretty good - a couple of trees came down, but they seemed to have been dead ones.  We had the lot harvested about three years ago, so there aren't many really big evergreens left - some old hard wood trees and a bunch of young maples (and probably poplars) have sprung up - but the ground is still rough from the machinery that was in there and it's very hard to get around.  It's getting better, but the only area that is not strewn with debris and deep ruts is a very steep side hill that only mountain goats could navigate easily.  For me, it was painfully slow and precarious.  Fred not so much - he still has strong legs and good balance; however, in situations like that, it pays to be careful - one miss-step could mean a broken ankle.  I know first hand about that, having shattered my ankle a number of years ago when I slipped on wet grass going down a steep bank to go fishing one early morning at Lake Champlain Fishing Derby.  Now I use a walking stick in the woods - and proceed very slowly.  I like it that way because I enjoy stopping and looking back at where I've been, seeing views of the pond emerge, glimpsing an occasional animal or spotting a tiny blossom.  It was just the right temperature to be out there today, and we both thoroughly enjoyed our trek.

Here's a chance to get some help opening up camp or with spring work around your place - Will Nally, a college student from Cabot, is looking for work this summer.   Here's the message Will posted on Front Porch Forum recently - and we found his business card (above) in our door yesterday:
 

Summer is right around the corner and grass is turning green!
I am looking for work this summer to help pay for college. I have been mowing lawns for 4 years now and I’m looking for a few more customers. My brothers and I do a variety of different jobs other than mowing: brush clearing/cutting, rototilling, brush hogging, fire wood, small trucking jobs, and much more! We are all hard working Eagle Scouts! Please keep us in mind during the spring and summer months for any odd jobs.
Will Nally
(802)-563-3503 or (802)-473-2399

The Nally family lives over on Danville Hill, a mere hop, skip and jump from Joe's Pond.   Click on the image to make it larger.  

Your Joe's Pond newsletter will be in the mail tomorrow - and don't forget to use the dues remittance envelope secured within its pages.  The newsletter will be posted on the website within a day or so.