JOE'S POND REFLECTIONS

I walked West Shore Road before breakfast this morning. It is an absolutely wonderful day here - lots of sunshine, warm temperatures, and the pond is that sparkling bright blue that just makes one want to sing.

There is a little bit of news - work is going on at the new log cabin Greg and Laura Keenan have built, mostly inside, now, so it should be ready for them to move in soon; near the fishing access, the new camp Eric and Sue (Fitts) are having built has some framework showing; the two new cottages at the end of Sandy Beach Rd. are nearly finished; and the Richers are putting in a water garden that promises to be a real show piece. That's Phil Beattie in the hole he's just dug, trying to decide where to put the next big boulder.

I was surprised this morning to find a "for sale" sign in front of Eben and Lana Bodach-Turner's log cabin on W. Shore Rd. I haven't talked with them, but apparently they are ready for a change. They have a little one now, Ayla, and perhaps school is a consideration, or it could be the travel to their jobs. Nice folks, and we'll miss them.

As I passed by Ned Hamilton's, the tennis court was quietly waiting for all the guys and gals who enjoy playing there during the summer. The only sounds were the red-winged blackbirds and robins chirping away. I know Don Walker is champing at the bit to start playing again.

I've heard from a few Joe's Ponders - mostly the early birds who will be coming back around the first of May. Heberts are back already, I heard from Alice Aimi that she and Charles will be here soon, and Barbara and Irv Pollack are headed this way soon. Everyone can get an early start on summer since we didn't have much snow to melt away this year. We need some Arpil showers to green things up, but in spite of it's being dry, flowers are poking out. I was pleased the Daphne is in bloom by the Dimick cottage front deck, and there's a row of tulips almost ready to bloom along the new driveway at Mo and Pat Gardner's.

Spring has definitely come to Joe's Pond!

The spring issue of the Joe's Pond Association newsletter should reach our members within the next couple of days. Evelyn Richer, at "Printing by Evelyn" on Sandy Beach Road, put the finishing touches on as soon as we had the winners of the Ice-Out and delivered them to me yesterday, ready for labels. You'll find lots of information in this issue. I invite any of you to send me items or ideas for the fall newsletter. Deadline for articles and ads is October 1. And don't forget, the "dues coupon" is in this issue, page 11. Dues are payable on or before July 1st.

Homer's deck is very quiet today. Two young men came to do a short video for the Lyndon State College Channel 7 News yesterday in the bitterly cold wind, but overall, things are now serene and quite normal again, under sunny skies. Within the next couple of days all the black ice and slush will be gone from the pond and there will be plenty of open water for everyone to come back to.

I had a brief annonymous comment on one of my recent blog entries. Whoever sent it seems to know Chico Carcoba who logs in the tickets for us. Here's what it said:

i know that chico really takes that job seriously,since he leaves pensacola in march to hurry home to do it.since the job is done,maybe he can come back,its 88 today,nice breeze,water is 68 and a yellow flag is blowing!

I doubt even the warm temperatures would tempt Chico. At this time of the year he's content to be at his camp in Woodbury.

I had an e-mail yesterday from my neighbor, Dave Covell, who recently sold his business, vtlink.com. Dave's web site is the one people often get mixed up about when looking our www.joespond.org. I thought we had a link to Dave's site, www.joespond.com, but realize now we didn't. Fred is taking care of that today. This is one of Dave's pictures taken yesterday, showing where the block was and you can barely see the flag down in the slush. Visit his site to see his other photos.

We've had all sorts of weather today - a little sunshine, a few (cold) showers, gloomy clouds and wind, temperatures mostly in the 50's, but as of this moment the pallet is still in place and the clock's still tickin'! Don Walker and I were sort of hoping the ice would go out early this year, i.e. before the 16th which is the earliest it's gone since the Ice-Out Contest started 19 years ago. Of course, it could go out tonight . . . ! I haven't been down to look at it today, but Fred went by and said there is much more water showing around our camp and Ned Hamilton's, and we can see that there is open water from the channel well south of Pearl's Island.

The loon is back - Evelyn told me earlier this week she'd heard him calling, and Pam Hebert reports they've been hearing him, too. Pam also said she watched a fox carrying a rabbit across the pond just a few days ago, probably heading for home to feed young ones.

We don't have an update on the N.Y.Times article. I'll let you know when it is out. We're still hoping it will be in tomorrow's Sunday edition.

If you haven't been keeping up with Burr Morse's newsletter, he sent out a new one today that I enjoyed a lot. We have a link on the web site in the "Community Storefront" - click on "Morse Farm Maple Products". Burr is about as authentic Vermont as one can be.

We have a new link on our web site as of today - in the Business section, click on "West Danville Craft Shop" for Deb Stresing's site. Very nice web site and one you'll want to watch. The Point Comfort link is new, too. Joe Turner told me their site is still being worked on, so check it out from time to time. We regret we've had to temporarily remove our link to Hasting's Store, but most of you know how to reach them for whatever you need, and Garey says their site will be up and running again soon. When it is, we'll link to it.

I'll be here tomorrow, feeding my hungry family and waiting for Ray Richer to call saying the clock has stopped.

Happy Easter.

NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER VISITS JOE'S POND FOR ICE-OUT STORY
This morning Don Walker, Fred and I met N.Y.Times reporter Katie Zezima and photographer Jerry Swope, at Homer's for an interview about our Ice-Out Contest. The weather was perfect - 50 degrees and sunny. It would have even better if the clock had stopped while we were there, but that didn't happen and actually we decided the ice won't be going out any time soon. We took some pictures -- that's Don, Jerry, Katie and Fred, and the clock is still ticking.

Katie asked why we thought the game is so popular, and darned if we could come up with a really great answer. Joining in the fun sure helps chase away the "winter blahs" and we're just happy and fortunate lots of folks seem to feel the same way.

Katie said the article could run as early as tomorrow or Sunday. She will let me know by e-mail and I'll post the information here so everyone can see it. I'll have a copy of the Times article on file for the Joe's Pond Association archives, and perhaps even post it to the web site!

It was a fun experience - very nice people. We invited them to come back any time. Jerry is no stranger to the area since he's an assistant professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vermont. Katie said her parents went to St. Mikes. Small world.

ICE SHOWING SIGNS OF AGING

Well, the ice still isn't out of Joe's Pond yet, but it may not be long now. We had this report from Kevin Johnson on Wednesday. With the really warm and windy weather Wednesday, a little rain last night, and another mild day today, I'm sure the melting process has accelerated. Here's Kevin's report:

The ice is still about 16-18 inches thick. I went out yesterday and the day before (after work) - perch fishing. On Monday they were biting very good! I caught my limit (50 fish) within an hour! My tow boys, Kyle 10 and Connor who's 7, caught 42 between the two of them. I was up till 11:30 cleaning fish! Then last night I caught 50 more, but it took longer to do it. The ice was getting very soft on the top and I'm sure that today's weather will take its toll, also. May not be safe to venture out after today. -Kevin

My advice to Kyle and Connor - get your dad off the ice and have him switch to a nice brook for some trout fishing. Won't get as many, but it's a whole lot safer this time of the year! Happy fishing - I sure hope the Johnson family likes perch in a big way.

ICE STILL HOLDING

I have an up-to-the-minute report for you on the ice condition at Joe's Pond. It seems that in spite of the last couple of days of warm weather, there is still plenty of ice left, at least in the big pond where the marker for the Ice-Out game is located.

Homer (Fitts) said he saw someone fishing west of the narrows between the middle (2nd) and big (3rd) pond late yesterday afternoon. He later found out it was Kevin Johnson. Kevin caught his limit of perch in about an hour and reported at least 16 inches of ice. Homer also told me he spotted the Plattsburg Channel 5 TV crew there yesterday and caught their picture of our flag and marker on the early morning news. I'll check with Jane Larrabee tomorrow about when or if the New York Times reporter is coming.

Tomorrow is going to be a very warm day - possibly high 60's or low 70's, according to the forecast, and windy. The rest of the week will be colder than normal. The good news is that Cabot has been working on West Shore Road and it's drying out a little more each day. No big mudholes like some years, so if some of you decide to visit your camp over the weekend, you should have no snow and very little mud to contend with. It could be chilly, remember that Joe's Pond weather is always at least 10 degrees cooler than Barre or St. Johnsbury, almost always windy, and quite changeable, so come prepared with warm clothes.

A Beautiful Day at Joe's Pond

It's been a very nice day here, although still on the cool side. I've had several inquiries as to whether the ice has gone out yet or not, and of course it hasn't. I do have some pretty reliable information though. I heard from Chico Carcoba (he's the computer guru that logs in your tickets so we can quickly find the winner when the clock stops!), and he tells me that historically the ice in Joe's Pond goes out about a week or 10 days after it goes out at Woodbury where he has a cottage. Chico was at his cottage this weekend and predicts the ice will be gone there on Tuesday, and he further predicts with some certainty that it will go out here at Joe's Pond on the 18th (or maybe the 19th or 20th). Those of you who travel Rt. 2 past Molly's Pond here in Cabot, know that the ice there goes out almost exactly one week before Joe's. Although I think last year that wasn't the case. Anyway, we try to give you all the latest information so you can try to predict if your guess will be the winning one. Good luck.

We do have some really interesting information, though. Jane Larrabee told me Saturday that she's had a call from the New York Times saying they want to send a reporter up to do a story on the Ice-Out Contest. She was waiting to hear when the reporter might be here, but hadn't any word yet. Wouldn't it be way cool if he/she was here on the day the ice actually went out!?
It's pretty cool that a big newspaper like the Times wants to do a story on us anyway! We will try to keep you posted. Stay tuned.

By the way, if you're wondering if Chico is in the game, he isn't, and neither am I.

THE ICE IS STILL WITH US

We don't have much to report. The ice doesn't seem to be melting, but I'm sure it is. More water is showing through the narrows between the ponds and in the channel. The weather has been unusually cool - good for sap runs, maybe, but not much else. Our roads are still slick with mud or snow or black ice. There were a couple of mishaps on Rt. 2 in W. Danville this morning in the area of Point Comfort. The moisture from the open water collects and freezes on the pavement making it very dangerous for unsuspecting drivers. There are plenty of potholes and bumps to slow most folks down, but sometimes those become the culprits that send a car spinning out of control.

On the plus side, we're nearly ready with the Joe's Pond Association newsletter, spring 2006 edition. We're in a holding pattern until the ice goes out and we can publish the name of the winner of the contest. I can tell you that another record was set with ticket sales, so the contest winner will receive a good sized check.

We have recently posted some new pictures to the web site. Go to "Photo Gallery" where you'll find some recent snow and mud shots along with some previously unpublished spring-like scenes from our area - wishful thinking shots, I call 'em. I searched my files for the above flower picture taken last year - nothing like this poking through the snow here yet, but I think it's a cheerful picture and is a hopeful reminder that spring's coming. Think daffodils!

NO APRIL FOOL'S!
Bob LaBrie reports the Ice-Out Contest in Goshen, MA is officially over. The block dropped at 8:28 PM on April 1. Fortunately, they end their contest on March 31, otherwise the contest could have been over before it was over -- well, you get the idea. He posted these before and after pictures. At the left, the block is sinking, disconnecting the clock, and the next morning there was only the telltale hole. The winner will be announced as soon as all the entries are in.
This came dangerously close to a real calamity - imagine if the ice had gone out before the contest was officially over - someone could have had a huge advantage in picking the date and time.