Signs of Spring!

I had a meeting in Cabot Village yesterday which meant traveling over the Plain and down the back side of the hill - on a road that often has more snow, wind, ice, and mud, than most. We accept that Joe's Pond's location is in a "different micro climate" than even Danville, Cabot, or Marshfield; however, the Plain is yet another level closer to the heavens and thus gets even more "weather" than we do. The wind on the Plain rivals that which constantly blows through West Danville!

I was prepared for a tough trip, planned half an hour travel time (it's only about six miles from my house), and headed out. I was tempted to take Brickett's Crossing Road - it's somewhat shorter to get to pavement going that way, but the temperature had been in the single numbers overnight and the road was solidly frozen, so I stayed on the Plains road. Easy, a little rough, but I arrived with time to spare. There was hardly any snow in the Village. Of course. When I came home around noon, as I left the pavement going up Cabot Plains Road, I could see the Burtt's sugar house belching steam. They are having a bumper crop this year -- Gregg mentioned in the recent Chronicle that he expected to "crest 3500 gallons of syrup" with a run they had last week. With the cool nights and warmish days ahead, the sap is likely still running well, and I haven't seen any evidence of buds on the maples yet to taint the flavor. Seeing the steaming sugar house was a pleasure -- and only in the spring are we treated to such a spectacle!

As I climbed past the sugar house, I noticed the snowbanks along the road were higher and there was a lot more snow showing in the woods and fields. No bare spots at the higher elevation. By the cemetery on the Plain there were bare spots, but those were from being wind-swept, not from melting. Still good snowbanks up there. But the road was still firm even though it was considerably warmer. I made it home without incident. We had a good meeting, too - a dedicated group of historical society members and interested residents in town are working together to ensure that we can save the historic (1845) two-story building that is now owned by the Cabot Historical Society. The foundation has needed attention for years, and finally showed signs it was ready to give up if someone didn't pay attention. This ad hoc committee has formed to make plans for a new foundation and repairs (and possibly some upgrades -- like plumbing?!). The building was stabilized last year, and now we need to find ways to pay for the very expensive repairs through grants, fundraising, and in-kind donations. I admire the young people who have stepped up - I say young - many of them are in their 60s and 70s. They are great to work with, and I have every confidence they will get the job done, and done right.

Another lovely sign of spring came in my email this morning from Mary Whitcomb. She saw her first robin this morning on her lawn. I'm so happy she thought to share the photo with me. What a beautiful bird! No sign of them here yet, but it won't be long, I'm sure. We need a little bare ground for them to hang out here, and right now there isn't much showing.

 

Enjoy spring, wherever you are, get your Joe's Pond Ice-Out tickets in --
and beware of April Fool's pranks! 

 

Beware of Bears!

I'm embarrassed that I haven't posted about this sooner. Jamie and I have talked about the possibility of bears being out and about now, but we both thought it was a bit early. Jamie told me a couple days ago he'd seen some postings from the St. Johnsbury area warning that bears are moving around, but our climate is a few weeks later than St. J., so we weren't concerned. This morning he told me that last night he heard a noise at his house and when he turned on the outside lights he found a bear on the deck. Jamie had taken in his suet feeder, but said there were a couple of seed feeders for the birds still outside. The bear wasn't particular, any seed, nut, or meal worm is a tasty treat after a long winter's fast.

When Jamie told me about the encounter this morning, I casually said I guessed it was time for me to take my suet feeder in. At that point I hadn't bothered to raise the insulating blinds int he kitchen, but after talking with Jamie, I opened things up, and wouldn't you know - the suet feeder was missing! It had been attached to one of the hooks on my flag pole that is at one end of my deck, at just the right level so I could easily open it to replenish the suet. It was also easy for Mr. Bear to reach. I hadn't heard a thing. Stealthy beast!

I went out on the deck to see if the cage had dropped into the snowbank, but there's no sign of it. I found plenty of tracks - big, unmistakable bear-paw prints in the snow by my driveway and around the front of the house. I'd had a night-time visitor, for sure. I think it happened last year and I found the wire suet container not far away, but not this time. I really need to practice what I preach! So many times I've warned about bird feeders attracting bears, and yet, here I am, confessing I messed up. 

So, please do as I say, not as I do. If you feed the birds, take your feeders inside at night - or stop feeding them entirely. This time of the year the birds will do just fine without being fed by us - there are bugs and buds, and seeds getting uncovered as the snow melts - a feast of natural food they will quickly find. I plan to take mine in tonight. I'll mess watching them - the grosbeaks have been back regularly, and they are fun to watch; but they, too, will find natural food.

Today has been in the 20s all day, with some snow squalls this morning and a bit of sunshine this afternoon. Not much melting going on. I was outside for a little while, trimming some low branches off the big trees along my driveway turnaround. They were dipping low and getting caught in the snowbank this winter and would be in the way of cars and lawn mowing this summer, so best that they are clipped. It is satisfying to prune trees - but I'm not as strong or steady as I once was, so I had to be careful. I had my ski pole for balance. 

I found this photo in my files from 2004. It was taken on the flat beyond my house going towards Brickett's Crossing Road. The culvert had washed out and there was a big cavity. Someone stuck a log in to keep vehicles from losing a wheel in it. The road crew fixed the hole temporarily right away and later replaced the culvert with a larger one. Our roads aren't this bad - yet. Some are thinking the frost went pretty deep this year and that could mean a bad mud season; however, because we've had such a gradual warming trend (so far) with cold weather in between, it could be the roads will not be as bad as sometimes. It's hard to predict. One thing I do know - West Shore Road is far better in the spring than it was years ago when it was literally impassable for a week or two sometimes. At least this year we don't have any logging operations going on in the vicinity, and as far as I know, no big construction that requires constant big trucks coming and going. The road will be "posted" so that really heavy trucks can't use it during the worst of the mud, but I'm not sure if that has happened yet. If not, certainly soon. With gas prices this high, there will probably be less traffic on the road, and in mud season, that's a good thing. Every vehicle that goes through makes the potholes a little bigger and the mud a little deeper. And mud can really mess up underneath your car and especially your wheels.

Stay warm and safe! 

Ice Report!

 Spring is slow arriving here at Joe's Pond. Actually, we are probably just about on schedule, but as usual, it seems like winter is never-ending. Today we've had a bit of sunshine, warm temperatures, a little rain, and now expecting the rain to turn to snow tonight. And colder this weekend. My thermometer is 48 degrees now - no sunshine, light rain showers.

I went to Danville this morning - there is much less water showing now than a week ago in the narrows and two smaller ponds - and we have several inches of snow on top of the ice, insulating it. That said, there is melting going on and water running in ditches and brooks that empty into the pond, so that will warm it a bit and push the ice up as the water level rises. All of that helps diminish the ice, and yet there has been little change since my last ice report on the 18th. In fact, according to Bob M's report today, we've gained half an inch! He said he measured in two different spots and both were 18.5 inches, which is half an inch more than on the 19th, and he described it as still "good, hard ice."  No surprise - the weather has been cold more than warm. We'll get there. But you MUST get your Ice-Out Contest tickets in the mail or turned in to one of the outlets before midnight, April 1st. Tickets submitted or mailed and stamped after that date and time will be disqualified. After that, we wait for the block to sink and stop the clock. Diane sent this photo of the setup saying, "Current status of the block . . . Not even tilting!"

I have very few bare spots around my house - all the bare ground got covered with about 8 inches of snow last weekend and into Monday. We've had a sifting of new snow most mornings, but it melted fairly quickly. Jamie had to plow my driveway after we had hoped it would be the last time when we had all that warmish weather. We both knew better, but it was something to look forward to.

The road from my house to Route 2 is not great. Passable, but slimy with mid, lots of water-filled washboard, and water running in ruts - not deep mud yet, and as long as you take it slow, it isn't too bad. Just really rough, and hard to meet another vehicle because the shoulders are soft and the ditches deep. It will doubtless get worse before it's better.

I have been watching for pussy willows on by back lawn, and I think I can see some, finally! It's impossible to tell when we've had snow as the snow tends to stick to the tips of all the trees and they all look like budding willows. But right now it is raining very slightly, so what I'm seeing is the real thing. They are high, so I won't be able to get any to bring inside. I've trimmed all the lower branches over the years, so now I mostly have to appreciate them from afar.

Jamie shared this heart-warming video link with me this week. Take a look. That's one devoted Road-runner!

 

Interesting Video, and Spring Photos - From R.I.

 

I just heard a ruckus going on outside and went to look - my bird feeder was being invaded by a large flock of grosbeaks! They were making quite a racket as they juggled for position at my tiny feeder. They are considerably larger than most of the birds that come to my feeder, and all the smaller birds stayed clear until they left. They swarmed and flew away only to come back a couple of times. I expect they will be back from time to time now that they've found a new source of food. Gretchen Farnsworth has had them at her feeders most of the winter. 

We started the day with sunshine, but it quickly evaporated into snow showers. That's March for you! There seems to be quite a lot of wind, too - again, typical March weather. At least the temperature was staying a little above the freezing mark so the inch of new snow we got last night melted - but now I'm seeing 31 degrees and snowing steadily, so it will begin to stick. We are getting some accumulating snow this weekend - 5-6 inches, I think was the latest forecast. I don't know how true this is, but old timers used to offer the hopeful wisdom that "the new snow helps to hasten melting the old." Most of us are tired of winter and want to respond, "Bah, humbug!"

There is plenty of conversation these days about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how to control it to keep us safe. It has become a real problem because the tech companies using it are way ahead of any devices or regulations to control it or keep us safe from being tracked and our personal information used in devious ways, including politically. It's like a giant "alien being" gobbling up information and using it without permission and without regard to consequences. Here is a short video Vermont's Senator Bernie Sanders made recently. At first I thought it was a joke - but it definitely is not. It is a serious problem and this is his way of pointing out just how invasive AI is becoming. Take a few minutes to watch: Sen. Bernie Sanders & AI.

I've been going through some of the articles I wrote in the 1980s and that is bringing back lots of fond memories. I was new at journalism - taking courses at UVM and St. Mike's - and working at Social Security Administration (SSA) in Montpelier. Our manager, John Delyea, received notices when someone in our area reached 100 years of age, and he sent me to  interview some of them. There were two ladies in the Newport area, and one in Barre - all in nursing homes, but able and eager to chat with me. Those interviews got published in local newspapers.

I was free-lance, so not working for any particular publication. I interviewed interesting people in our area as part of my course work at first - small businesses, or sometimes just someone I wanted to get to know better. Most of the interviews made good stories and I was fortunate that local newspapers were eager to get "local color" stuff. I found I liked being a freelancer. At that time, writers had to take black and white photos with a real camera! I bought bulk film in a large roll and used a "changing bag" to clip short lengths to transfer to a film spool that fit into my camera. I still have some of those little tin spools - I'm not sure what became of the big roll of film - I probably gave it away at some point. I thought about setting up my own dark room, but it was easier to just deliver the film to the newspaper and let them develop it. The pay wasn't much, but I loved seeing my byline every few weeks in the Caledonian Record, Hardwick Gazette, or Barre Times-Argus. Each editor had certain criteria I learned from.

That sorting and reviewing old stories is keeping me occupied on these dull days - I get lost in these kinds of projects. However, I need to begin thinking about what to write for the May Cabot Chronicle. I'll take a peek into my file of old photos of Cabot - something there will trigger inspiration, I'm sure. 

In the meantime, Cousin Ora, in Rhode Island just celebrated her 91st birthday (see photo, left). She and her friend, Kate, have been out and about looking for signs of spring. They had a brutal winter with lots of snow, but as usual, they are well ahead of us getting into spring. Kate sent some of the pictures of what they found. Great to see, and we'll be enjoying buds and blooms pretty soon, too! There are snowdrops, mini-daffies, skunk cabbage, and other buds and blossoms showing up . 

Sorry - for some reason, the photos didn't want to stay in place, so they ended up at the top of this post instead of the bottom - I don't want to take time to figure out what the problem is. Maybe it's AI at work! 

Summer & Ice

Thinking ahead - the Danville Market is gearing up for a great summer of activities. Here is a recent notice from the organizers:

 We launched all of our applications today, you can see more info on our blog [see link above] in case you want to share anything. 

New this year - Yard Sale Space. Community members can sign up for a Yard Sale Space to clear out things they no longer need from their home and sell or offer it for free at a market to our community members. A person can sign up once a season to use this space at the market. Thanks -- Chelsea

That sounds like a great idea. Here we are in the spring doldrums when the weather is off and on awful or great, and our roads are beginning to shed their frosty firmness and collapse into muck and slime. It's a good time to think about spring cleaning - perhaps cleaning out some of the "treasures" that we've held onto thinking we needed them or that they were precious in some way and now suddenly we realize it's been years and some don't even look familiar anymore. Get rid of them - and earn a little spare cash doing it! Like the saying goes, "One man's trash is another man's treasure!" Let someone find it and love it as much as you once did! 

That's the summer part of my thoughts today, and here is the Ice part: The ice on Joe's Pond is now 18 inches thick and my fisherman friend Bob tells me the recent rain and warm weather, plus a couple of nights (and days) of deep cold (in the single numbers again last night!) has strengthened the ice so it is no longer as punky as it was - pretty solid, clear ice. I suspect the depth varies, depending on where one is on the pond. Bob usually is out by Jane Milne's on the east shore. (This photo isn't Bob, but someone like him on some unknown lake.) There's beauty, even on a lonely expanse of ice. Looks like sunset at Joe's Pond to me!

A reminder: You only have two weeks left to get your guesses in for the Ice-Out Contest. If you can't get to one of the outlets, go to the Joe's Pond website and either buy 10 (or more) on line, or you can print some to fill out and mail in.

If you are in St. Johnsbury or vicinity, you can find tickets at the St. Johnsbury Country Store, where Natural Provisions used to be, or at "98 Mill" restaurant, on Mill Street. Also Mooslook Restaurant in Concord has tickets - at least these places did. They may be sold out by now, but it's worth asking if you are in the vicinity. And you will find other outlets on the Joe's Pond website, like Marty's in Danville, Hastings Store in West Danville, Stop Inn Shop in Walden, Cabot Grocery Store, and Dente's Market in Barre. Most locals know where they can find tickets - all the usual places that have supported the Joe's Pond Ice-Out Contest for years - and we thank them all! This is building up to be another amazing year - could be a nail-biter as our weather patterns keep changing!

Good luck! 

 

Back to Winter

 What a wild night last night! The wind was ferocious and the temperature dropped into the 20s, and that's where it is today. The wind has calmed down a little, but the temperature is still only 27F and there's a blustery SW wind that makes it feel much colder.

I had to go to Danville this morning and noticed that the pond is solidly frozen - yesterday when I was out everything was sloppy and wet - today it looks glossy and solid. Our road is not great - it has worsened since I was over it yesterday - I think we had considerable rain last night, along with very strong wind that knocked out our electricity briefly in the early morning hours. There has been a little sunshine off and on this morning so the road is now muddy and wet with lots of washboard and some muddy ruts beginning to appear. It is perfectly passable, but we need to take it slow and watch out for soft shoulders and deeper ruts.

I had a brief note from Gretchen Farnsworth this morning with a photo of the channel taken last Wednesday. She said it still isn't open by their house yet, but as you can see, the ice is darker where it the channel runs. Not much wildlife at her house yet, she said - except the resident grosbeaks that have been visiting her feeders this winter, along with the usual smaller birds. No flocks of ducks or geese -- yet. They will arrive soon, I'm sure. 

Stay warm and safe - wear some green, enjoy! 

 

Farmers' Market in Danville, VT

I recently posted a survey about the possibility of the Danville   Farmers Market changing time and location. The results are in, and it will still be on the Common, on Wednesdays - with some changes. It will be open from June 10th to October 14 from 3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and will feature not only fresh produce and local crafts, but will have live music, food vendors, and entertainment so the whole family can come and enjoy an evening of fun. Go to the Danville Farmers Market for further details.

Here is a clip from their promo in the Caledonian Record this week:  

 This year, the market is being revamped from a farmers’ market to a weekly community night on the Green. Organizers are leaning into creating an experience: a place where people come not just to shop, but to spend the evening. Visitors can expect live music, local groceries, handmade goods, prepared foods, activities for children, and plenty of reasons to linger with friends and neighbors.

The goal is to create a lively weekly gathering where people come for dinner, pick up their produce, enjoy music, let the kids play, and experience the best of the Northeast Kingdom.

Organizers are also excited to welcome the first confirmed vendor of the season, The Shepherd’s Hearth.