Another beautiful fall day.
Things are looking a bit "fallish" around the pond with some nice color in spots. We're headed for another stretch of pretty nice weather, according to the forecast, with cooler nights - a little frost at pond level, but up where we live we have only had visible frost once or twice. I think the frost should sweeten the grapes on our arbor - they aren't large, but coming along nicely.

We walked Saturday morning and bumped into several folks along the way. Charlie Aimi was out with his very enthusiastic dogs, and we all had a nice chat with Phil and Lorraine Porter from Sandy Beach Road, on their way to recycle. We saw Walter Ruf heading to the post office, Henretta Splain gave us a big wave, as did Gina Kurrle. I'm sure others passed us - sometimes it's hard to distinguish who's who because often we can't see in the car windows very well, and besides that, we like to get well out of the road when cars pass and I have to keep my eye on where my feet are going so I don't stumble into a ditch. We usually wave and I'll ask Fred, "Who was that?" and I usually get a standard "One of my friends," which translated means he doesn't have a clue.

We took a couple of pictures, though. We should really walk along Old Homestead Road on the other side of the pond and take pictures of the west shore more often. I took a picture (again) from the Cabot Plain Cemetery when I went that way this afternoon to work at the Historical Society building. We're getting ready for Fall Foliage Day on Tuesday, of course, and looking forward to great weather and a nice crowd of "leaf peepers" taking our tours. I heard from David Book today, and he's sprucing up his uniform ready to do his Civil War tour. He'll have copies of his book with him, in case you missed his book signing a couple weeks ago. Click "other" on the home page of www.joespond.org and you'll see his book listed there.

Enjoy whatever you're up to and drive safely if you're heading away on a trip or going to your winter home.

Sad News to Report

Eloise Craige, 82, passed away on September 28. Eloise and her family have been summer residents on West Shore Road at Joe's Pond for many years. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 10 a.m. in the Barre Congregation Church. Family and friends may call at the Pruneau-Polli Funeral Home, 58 Summer St., Barre, on Monday, Oct. 1, from 7 to 9 p.m.

*****

Dolly LaGue's mother, Baselisa Canizo, of North Barre Manor, died peacefully on Monday, Sept. 24, 2007, at the Berlin Health and Rehab Center. She was 98 years old. Our sympathy goes to Dolly and her family. Dolly and husband, the late John LaGue, have been Joe's Ponders for many years on Sandy Beach Road, and their son, Jack and his wife, Susan have a cottage on Meadow Lane. Mrs. Canizo leaves a large extended family, all of whom have loving memories.

A graveside service will be held Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007, in the Hope Cemetery at the convenience of her family. There are no calling hours. Memorial contributions may be made to the Baselisa Canizo Scholarship Fund, Spaulding High School, Attn: Cindy Donlon, 155 Ayers St., Barre 05641.

*****

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of both these dear souls.

New Flag on Home Page!

Look for "Recent Stories" which is a drop-down menu that lists links to newspaper or television stories that we think may be of interest to our readers or have an effect on our area.

Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail Annual Meeting

The Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail is holding its annual meeting on Saturday October 20, from 10 am to noon at Hilary’s Restaurant in Morrisville, VT.

The meeting will feature a panel presentation by Ted Chase, Chairman of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (LVRT) Management Committee, Zeke Zucker, member of the Trail Management Committee, and Alan Robertson, LVRT Project Engineer. The panel will report on the status of the trail today and plans for the future.

Members of the Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail will also elect board members for the coming year at the annual meeting.

The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail is a partnership between the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) and the State of Vermont. The trail runs almost 100 miles across Vermont from St. Johnsbury to Swanton. Once complete, the trail will be open to snow mobiles, as well as non-motorized uses including walking, running, biking, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, equestrian use, and dog sledding.

The Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail's purpose is to support the development, maintenance, and promotion of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail as a public resource offering a tranquil and scenic year-round, multi-use recreation and transportation corridor and especially to represent the interest of the non-motorized trail users.

The Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail annual meeting is free and open to the public. A light continental breakfast will be served. Only members will vote on the new board of directors. For more information about the Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, including how to become a member, visit www.friendslvrt.org.

We took some pictures along W. Shore Rd. early this morning as the sun was coming up . As you can see, there was a bit of mist, but it cleared up before we arrived back home. We took the first pictures through the trees near Sandy Beach Road. Further down W. Shore Rd. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the wheelbarrow in front of the Mason's house - Nancy always does a nice job of decorating for the seasons. By the time we got to our camp, the fog was beginning to lift a bit but was still hanging out at the north end of the pond and over the "kettle ponds" up the channel.
On the way back the sun was brighter and the leaves were absolutely beautiful. A perfect fall day. We took lots of pictures, but of course I don't want to post them all here. You'll probably recognize Chatot Road here, and the elderly maple that struggles to survive near Randall's driveway. Then we were home, and I couldn't resist just one more picture - of our house and our nice new driveway.
Enjoy the beautiful weather.

FROM EVELYN RICHER:

To the other Baby Boomers on the Pond…

What Made Me Me

Long ago and far away,
In a land that time forgot,
Before the days of Dylan,
Or the dawn of Camelot.
There lived a race of innocents,
And they were you and me,
Long ago and far away
In the Land That Made Me Me.

Oh, there was truth and goodness
In that land where we were born,
Where navels were for oranges,
And Peyton Place was porn.
For Ike was in the White House,
And Hoss was on TV,
And God was in His heaven
In the Land That Made Me Me.

We longed for love and romance,
And waited for the prince,
And Eddie Fisher married Liz,
And no one's seen him since.
We danced to "Little Darlin'",
And Sang to "Stagger Lee"
And cried for Buddy Holly
In the Land That Made Me Me.

Only girls wore earrings then,
And three was one too m any,
And only boys wore flat-top cuts,
Except for Jean McKinney
And only in our wildest dreams
Did we expect to see
A boy named George, with Lipstick
In the Land That Made Me Me

We fell for Frankie Avalon,
Annette was oh, so nice,
And when they made a movie,
They never made it twice.
We didn't have a Star Trek Five,
Or Psycho Two and Three,
Or Rockey-Rambo Twenty
In the Land That Made Me Me.

Miss Kitty had a heart of gold,
And Chester had a limp,
And Reagan was a Democrat
Whose co-star was a chimp.
We had a Mr.Wizard,
But not a Mr.T,
And Oprah couldn't talk, yet
In the Land That Made Me Me.

We had our share of heroes,
We never thought they'd go,
At least not Bobby Darin ,
Or Marilyn Monroe .
For youth was still eternal,
And life was yet to be,
And Elvis was forever,
In the Land That Made Me Me

We'd never seen the rock band
That was Grateful to be Dead,
And Airplanes weren't named Jefferson,
And Zeppelins weren't Led.
And Beatles lived in gardens then,
And Monkees in a tree,
Madonna was a virgin
In the Land That Made Me Me.

We'd never heard of microwaves,
Or telephones in cars,
And babies might be bottle-fed,
But they weren't grown in jars.
And pumping iron got wrinkles out,
And "gay" meant fancy-free,
And dorms were never coed
In the Land That Made Me Me.

We hadn't seen enough of jets
To talk about the lag,
And microchips were what was left at
The bottom of the bag.
And hardware was a box of nails,
And bytes came from a flea,
And rocket ships were fiction
In the Land That Made Me Me.

Buicks came with portholes,
And side shows came with freaks,
And bathing suits came big enough
To cover both your cheeks.
And Coke came just in bottles,
And skirts came to the knee,
And Castro came to power
I n the Land That Made Me Me.

We had no Crest with Fluoride,
We had no Hill Street Blues,
We all wore superstructure bras
Designed by Howard Hughes.
We had no patterned pantyhose
Or Lipton herbal tea
Or prime-time ads for condoms
In the Land That Made Me Me.

There were no golden arches,
No Perriers to chill,
And fish were not called Wanda,
And cats were not called Bill.
And middle-aged was thirty-five
And old was forty-three,
And ancient was our parents
In the Land That Made Me Me.

But all things have a season,
Or so we've heard them say,
And now instead of Maybelline
We swear by Retin-A.
And they send us invitations
To join AARP,
We've come a long way, baby,
From the Land That Made Me Me.

So now we face a brave new world
In slightly larger jeans,
And wonder why they're using
Smaller print in magazines.
And we tell our children's children
Of the way it used to be,
Long ago, and far away
In the Land That Made Me Me.

--Author unknown

I wasn't the only one out getting moon shots
tonight. These two came from Ted Decker. Thanks, Ted.
Don't forget to click on the photo to enlarge it.

Here's our Harvest Moon I took a picture of a few minutes ago. Today I caught a big jay devouring decorative corn hung in our garden. The humming bird feeder is gone so I hung the corn in its place. The jays found it almost immediately. Such beautiful weather is almost too good to be true. Right now I don't want to think about what's just around the corner for us.

I was cleaning around the deck and touching up paint this week and found this guy - probably waiting for some unsuspecting fly to get tangled in his web. I didn't disturb him.

I took this picture late Saturday afternoon looking west from the Cabot Plain Cemetery. The light was eerie and I really didn't expect to catch it, but I zoomed in on the hills and mountains, barely visible in the haze, and took a chance. One of those "happy little accidents" I love to experience.

Andy Rudin sent an e-mail with the notice about a meeting on the rail trail coming up on October 20. He said he hopes someone will plan to attend. Ted Chase is already involved representing VAST, but it might be good to have one or two other folks, preferably some of you who use the rail/trail during the summer, attend as well. Here's the notice:

Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail Annual Meeting

The Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail is holding its annual meeting on Saturday October 20, from 10 am to noon at Hilary’s Restaurant in Morrisville, VT.

The meeting will feature a panel presentation by Ted Chase, Chairman of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (LVRT) Management Committee, Zeke Zucker, member of the Trail Management Committee, and Alan Robertson, LVRT Project Engineer. The panel will report on the status of the trail today and plans for the future.

Members of the Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail will also elect board members for the coming year at the annual meeting.

The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail is a partnership between the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) and the State of Vermont. The trail runs almost 100 miles across Vermont from St. Johnsbury to Swanton. Once complete, the trail will be open to snow mobiles, as well as non-motorized uses including walking, running, biking, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, equestrian use, and dog sledding.

The Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail's purpose is to support the development, maintenance, and promotion of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail as a public resource offering a tranquil and scenic year-round, multi-use recreation and transportation corridor and especially to represent the interest of the non-motorized trail users.

The Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail annual meeting is free and open to the public. A light continental breakfast will be served. Only members will vote on the new board of directors. For more information about the Friends of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, including how to become a member, visit www.friendslvrt.org.

Good News!

The lost dog is home! "Ruger" the chocolate lab likes to roam, according to his owners, Frances Prevost and family. He's used to making the rounds late at night and returns usually in the wee hours. Last night when he ventured to Stu and Jeanne Gruggel's on Narrows Drive, he looked lost and confused - but that may have been a ploy to get a pat or two or a treat. He might have rested a bit and then, while they were sleeping, he'd have been on his way and arrived home as usual. However, being kind souls, the Gruggels thought he was a waif in need of shelter, so they let him stay on their porch for the night and put out the word.

This morning at church, Jeanne learned his story and was able to return him to the Prevosts.

Thank you for caring, Jeanne and Stu. We sure got the community buzzing last night, and Jeanne commented this morning about what a great "network" of caring people we have here at the Pond. We're happy Ruger is home, and you can bet most folks along the East Shore will recognize him now if they spot him on his nightly jaunt.

PLEASE NOTE!

THERE IS AN UNNEUTERED CHOCOLATE LAB HANGING OUT AT JEANNIE GRUGGEL'S ON NARROWS DRIVE. THE DOG IS VERY FRIENDLY, THERE IS A TAG, BUT IT IS FOR 2006 AND WORN AND THEY CAN'T MAKE OUT ANYTHING MORE. THIS POOR GUY SEEMS TO BE LOST SO JEANNIE SAID THEY WILL KEEP HIM THERE ON THEIR PORCH FOR TONIGHT, BUT THEY HOPE TO FIND THE OWNER. IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE HE BELONGS, KINDLY GIVE JEANNIE A CALL, 684-2131.

Another beautiful early fall day! We couldn't ask for nicer weather for things like putting summer toys away, tending to the garden, or just sitting in the sun watching critters going about the business of preparing for winter.

I went to inspect our grape and hops crop late this afternoon. The arbor Fred and I fashioned a couple years ago is now well covered with a grape vine on one side and hops climbing over the other. I can now make wine or beer at will! Our cat, Woodpile, loves the arbor. He walks on the small cedar logs along the "roof" with ease and seems to enjoy gazing into the distance from his perch. When I'm working underneath, tucking in grape vines or trimming back the hops, he's happily reaching through the vines with his paw, all too often with claws unsheathed - he plays rough when he's outside!

We are expecting Dana Comstock (N. Shore Rd.) and his crew to do our driveway tomorrow. They were here yesterday to do some preliminary work and dropped off some machinery. It already looks much better. After they finish we won't be able to drive on the new paving for a day or so - but we don't mind. We did a few errands today - recycled in Hardwick, visited the food co-op there, and also went to W. Danville.

Jane Larrabee found the picture of the old boathouse that may have housed that 30 ft. boat the divers spotted a few years ago. We're still trying to find someone who may have heard or read something about such a boat.
In the photo, the boathouse is just to the right of the railroad station. You can see the school house where it was before it was moved across town to where that building now stands (was Larrabee's Building Supply and later the auction house). Click on the photo to enlarge it. Thanks, Jane, for letting me post this. It's a treasure!

From Jenn Cowles on the middle pond at 6:26 p.m. Sunday:

Look! I have my own update...there are Four!

I was worried there was going to be a fight, but sure enough, they are
hanging out with each other.....This shot was taken about 5 minutes ago!

Jenn

This from Steve & Bev Allen today:

Jane,

Re your blog this morning - we did have skim of frost on the car this morning, and are expecting more tonight. As for coming events, don't forget the Autumn on the Green festival in Danville on the 7th - one of the state's Top 10 Fall events! Lots of arts crafts, and good food. Look here for info:

http://www.autumnonthegreen.com/ . I think many of us, even on the West Shore, feel more of a connection to Danville than to Cabot - Danville is where lots of us get the mail and shop, and Cabot certainly does take dismal care of West Shore Drive!

Steve & Bev

I agree with Bev and Steve - it would be nice to have more information about what's happening in Danville. Since I'm involved with a few of Cabot's events, of course I post those, and in the past have posted events in the Danville area. However, if I don't have the information, I can't post it to the blog. Anyone is welcome to send information - so pass the word, and those of you who are involved with things in either the Danville or Walden area, send the information to me.

Cool morning, but I don't think we had the frost that was forecast - at least, we didn't get it here on our little hill. I took in what "tender" plants I had outside, and covered my tomato plants, but I guess they would have been ok without my attention.

Today David Book will be at the Cabot Historical Society building on Main Street, talking about his book on the men from Cabot who served in the Civil War. I've heard him a couple times, so I will not be there, but if any of you are within reasonable driving distance and interested in the Civil War, or interested in researching this sort of thing, you should go and meet David. He and his wife, Miriam, spent many hours searching the National Archives, and I'm sure he'll be able to give you some good advice on how to go about that. Even if you aren't interested in researching, David is an interesting guy and you'll enjoy meeting him.

Our next big event in Cabot is the Fall Foliage Day on Tuesday, October 2. That is a good chance to mix and mingle with locals as well as visitors from all over the map. Of course, I think of Cabot's tours and events first, but other towns have lots of events going on, as well. You'll find some information on the web site, but briefly, here's the run down: Walden is on Monday, Oct. 1, Cabot on Tues., Plainfield's day is Wed., the 3rd, Peacham celebrates on Thurs., Barnet on Friday, Groton on Saturday, and St. Johnsbury on Sunday, the 7th. Each one has special events of interest, and all have meals ranging from Walden's ham supper on through Cabot's Turkey Dinner (Bothfeld's fresh turkeys, some weighed over 40 lbs. last year!); Plainfield's BBQ Chicken/Mostaccioli/Bean supper; Spaghetti Supper at Peacham, Barnet's "European Coffee Hour" 1-4 p.m.; Groton's famous Chicken Pie Supper; and St. Jay's Pancake/Ham brunch. Everyone goes home a few pounds heavier, but with tons of great memories of what they've seen, the people they've met, and - of course, all the good food.

Now I need to get back to work. We've just updated the JPA directory posted on the web site. I will make the directory available in printed form very soon for those of you who like to have one to keep by your phone. I've had several people ask when we will do another printed version. The one we did three years ago has had too many changes to be useful unless you've posted the changes from the newsletters unfailingly. The new printed directory will be updated on a regular (probably yearly) basis. More about all that after I have it ready.

Winooski Headwaters Festival: A Celebratory and Educational Experience

On Saturday, October 6^th, the Winooski Headwaters Community Project is hosting the 2^nd Annual Winooski Headwaters Festival. The Festival will be held at the Old Schoolhouse Commons (OSC) in Marshfield in partnership with the OSC board and the Jaquith Library. In the morning, there will be a volunteer tree planting at the Martin’s Bridge property along the river. In the afternoon, the Festival will celebrate and inform residents and others about the wonderful resource that is the Winooski River.

The Festival will include nature talks, outdoors skills, artisan demonstrations, a guided canoe trip, music and more! Children and adults will be able to learn through hands on workshops about stream ecology and dynamics, water quality testing, native and invasive species, edible plants and more. Residents, including Cabot and Twinfield students, will lead discussions on topics such as local water quality and potential hydropower projects.

There will be a raffle and silent auction to support restoration and protection efforts in the Winooski Headwaters. In a special raffle, streamside landowners can register to win trees and shrubs and the volunteer labor to plant them! Kids can take home a free tree seedling while supplies last.

Music will be provided by renowned Vermont folk singer, Colin McCaffrey .

The volunteer riparian tree planting will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 at Martins Bridge . Lunch will be provided to volunteers at the Festival following the planting. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us so we can plan equipment, parking and lunch.

Schedule of events: Riparian Planting 9:30 to 11:30

Festival 11:30 to 5:00

Tentative Workshop Schedule:

Streamside workshops (aquatic animals, water quality, fly fishing) 12:30 to 2:30

Plant walk on edible and medicinal plants 1:30 to 2:30

Microhydro presentation 2:30 to 3:00

Microhydro site visit (2 time slots) 3:30 & 5:00

Canoe trip 3:30 to 5:00

Weaving and Blacksmith Studio Tours To be determined

Music, food, interactive displays, river stories and other activities throughout the afternoon.

The Winooski Headwaters Community Project is a collaborative effort of many organizations dedicated to the restoration and protection of the ecological integrity and enjoyment of the Winooski River . The headwaters of a river system are particularly sensitive and important to the health of the entire river. Headwaters supply food and critical nutrients, influence downstream conditions and support biodiversity. Due to their small size, headwater streams provide an excellent opportunity for local community-based planning and conservation efforts.

For more information contact: The Friends of the Winooski River, fwr@sover.net, 866-683-7197, or the Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District, 802-828-4493.

Jenn Cowles has a loon observation - perhaps someone can shed light on the change of habit that seems to have occurred:

Have you had anyone talk about the lone loon out on JP? I started seeing
(him) about a month ago...swims very close to the shore in Middle pond
quite often..

Jenn

We got the weather thing straightened out - Fred got a reply from Eye on the Sky weatherman, Chris Bouchard:

Hi Fred,

Thanks for pointing this out! I was in for Steve this weekend, and I forgot to update the banner forecast portion of the website, but did update the detailed forecast. This caused the discrepancy. Thanks for letting me know though, I fixed it right after reading your memo.

Best,

Chris Bouchard
Meteorologist

In the meantime, the link Steve Allen sent to Fred seems to be working well so we think we'll leave that on the web site, at least for now.

*****

I received these pictures from Jennefer Cowles who has a cottage on the Rt. 2 side of the middle pond. She wrote that she took them in August, but I thought they are so striking others would enjoy seeing them. The pictures so many of you have sent this summer show how much we all appreciate the beauty of the pond and our "Northeast Kingdom" . . . I've lived here all my life and still love it and see beauty here every day.

By the way, I was talking to Jane Larrabee about that 30 ft. boat the divers found on their first dive here at Joe's - the one they couldn't find again when they were here a couple weeks ago. I told Jane I can vaguely recall my father telling me about an excursion boat being on Joe's Pond, and Jane said that she believes that could be. She has a photo showing a landing just about opposite where the town landing is in W. Danville now - it was on the Rt. 2 side of the pond. She believes it could have been where the excursions left from to take people around the lake.

I know in the past there were often hulls of old wooden boats caught in the reeds at the north end of the pond near where Billy Hamilton's home is now - the wind would carry them up there if they got loose from their moorings. Those old wooden boats weren't worth as much as the modern boats of today, and generally they were flat bottomed plank boats that were inclined to leak unless they were well packed with oakum. Nobody paid much attention if they drifted off and eventually they would become habitat for the fish and frogs in the reeds. That large boat could have met a similar fate, or perhaps it was no longer useful or safe and the owners took the easy way out and scuttled it. Easier than trying to haul a boat that size and that nobody wanted out of the water

My father told me that before there were camps on the pond a boat was kept near where the Walker's camp is now by a man named Asa Mack. Asa lived on what is now called Chatot Road, just above the pond, and he tied his boat to a tree and used it for fishing. He was generous about allowing his neighbors to use it whenever they wanted to. My father told what a nice boat it was, how easy it was to row it, and how people liked to take it out onto the pond. According to my father, some of the young folks in the area began to take the boat out without permission, overloading it with their friends, and Mr. Mack was concerned that there would be an accident. So he loaded it with some good sized stones, punched holes in the bottom, and gave it a big shove away from shore. It floated way out into the pond and then sank where there is a depth of nearly 100 feet of water. My dad said a lots of folks missed being able to use that boat.

There is no way this is the same boat - Mr. Mack's was an ordinary rowboat, certainly not 30 ft. long. But Jane will see if she can find the photo of the wharf used years ago, and perhaps someone else will remember something so we can put together the pieces of this puzzle about the big boat the divers saw on the bottom of the pond.

(Don't forget to click on the photos to enlarge them for good viewing.)

From Pam Hebert -

The final report from Aquatic Concerns, the divers, who surveyed Joe's Pond on August 28th concluded that no Eurasian milfoil is present at this time. They did identify elodea, fan wart, bladder wart and a noninvasive form of milfoil (Northern). These aquatic plants were also found in their 2005 survey.

They noted that in comparison to our 2005 survey , visibility on a vertical level has decreased (from 5 feet +/- to 4 feet +/-) As reported in 2005 the water color is consistent with ''brown tea'' and most areas consist of 4" +/- silt.

The aquatic plants found in Joe's Pond are not a threat and no new plant species have been identified. We thank Shane Wheeler and his team of divers for a job well done.

Thanks to Ted Decker for this photo taken this morning at sunrise. Ted says:
I guess Wonders WILL Never cease, at least on Joe's Pond.

Ted

A breathtaking shot. Be sure to click on it for the full effect.

About the weather link on home page: Steve Allen came up with another link and Fred has changed to that and says the weather is much better there - I say wherever you can get a good weather report, take it! So far, neither Ted's glorious start this morning or Steve and Fred's "better weather" links have helped at all - we're still getting a steady, fine misty rain. Most folks agree the rain is needed, and it gives us a good excuse to catch up on reading, paying bills, cleaning house or whatever needs doing inside, but somehow we still like to see the sun, especially when we know what's ahead in only about a month. I'll put the indoor time to good use, though. I'm reorganizing my office (that's spelled f-i-l-i-n-g) - one of the chores I never seem to accomplish on a regular basis. I like to wait until the stacks of books, papers, clippings, printouts, magazines, etc., fall over . . . .

Some of you may have noticed the web site has some new links posted. If you tried the weather link today, about all you got was confusion, I'm guessing. I didn't see it myself, but we heard from Diane Rossi there were two very different forecasts. She decided the best bet was just looking out the window - and that's no surprise - even if the weather folks post only one forecast, their accuracy is often off the mark. Perhaps that's why they posted two choices today, to improve their chance of being right. Caption for picture: "A wet bird never flies at night."

We're looking into the problem and will let you know their reply. Here's what Fred sent:


Your site seems to have had two different forecasts for Sunday. I have pasted both forecasts below. What happened? Is this likely to happen often? We have a link on our site (www.joespond.org to your weather site, and we had an inquiry from a user regarding this discrepancy. Fortunately, there was a good outcome for our user. She looked out the window and put on jeans instead of shorts. Thank you.
Fred Brown, Webmaster

The weather forecast(s) on the link:

Sunday: Hazy sun, breezy, very warm, and humid. Highs 84-93. September 9, 2007 The forecast for all of Vermont, and adjoining New Hampshire, New York, Quebec, and Massachusetts: Today: Clouding up with periods of rain pressing in, heavy at times. There is a chance of thunderstorms as well, especially south of route 4. Cool highs from the mid-60s to the mid-70s. Warmest south. Light east winds turning south at around 5 mph.
You gotta have a sense of humor about the weather at Joe's Pond!

The Cabot Historical Society is looking for help to inventory their collection. They will be working at the Historical Society building on Main Street in Cabot for the next three Saturday afternoons, starting at 2 p.m. President Bonnie Dannenberg has forms and will instruct workers on how to do this, and said if anyone has a digital camera it would be helpful to bring that. If you need more information, contact Bonnie at 563-3396, or Jane Brown at 563-2381. Hope to see you there!

MINUTES, JPA MEETING
August 26, 2007

The meeting was called to order at 2:15 p.m.

Tom spoke briefly to let members know that a volunteer had been keeping the rail-trail along the pond mowed and maintained and there was a basket being circulated to receive donations to help defray the volunteer’s expenses.

Reports from secretary and treasurer were read and accepted.

Don Sherwood asked if everyone enjoyed the fireworks and he received a round of applause in reply. He said each year they seem to get better and that Mike Malaney will host again next year. The Fourth of July falls on a Friday, and we will try to have them then, but if not, we will try for the third with a rain date of July 5^th. He said Danville did the larger roads around the pond with their grader, but the smaller roads will need a different machine.

Dave Parker ran through a tentative Schedule of Events for 2008 and said the full schedule will be in the spring newsletter.

Larry Rossi reported one item is left to do in the fall is to take down the roof over the fire pit and replace with an 18x21 prefab carport-type roof with a custom vent. This will cost about $2,200 to $2,500. Other than this project, there is only minor ongoing maintenance. Motion was made and carried to install the new roof.

Ray Richer said he had little to report. The divers looking for invasive species such as milfoil will be here next week and he will have a report after that. The project to correct runoff around the pond will get started if there is grant money. He said the loons have been harassed all summer and all we can do is either speak to the offenders if possible, or try to get a number off the boat and report it. The same goes for people ignoring the 200’ no wake and safety zone laws. He said much of the harassment of the loons is by people in kayaks and canoes which are difficult to identify.

Andy Rudin asked if Ray thought there are fewer ducks on the pond this year and he answered yes. He said there are more turkeys around, however.

Ray Rouleau said there are a total of 18 road signs to be taken down and stored by the first week in October. One, at Sandy Beach Road, was damaged and will be repaired this winter. He asked that new campers contact him to let him know their name, correct spelling.

Tom said many people have called to report seeing strange plants in the lake, and these have been checked. While no invasive plants have been found, people are encouraged to call if they see something that is suspicious – it is important and a big help to keep track of this.

Pam Hebert reported this was a successful year for checking boats and no problems were found. She said only one new lake has been identified with milfoil. She said she will apply for a grant again for next year. Cabot has donated $175 to the project. Next year checkers will begin on Fathers’ Day weekend and be at the access area nearly every day through Labor Day.

The meeting was opened to members. Andy Rudin brought up that there has been a 15% increase in taxes on his property in Danville this year. There was some discussion of this problem.

Tom asked for help after the dinner to take down and store tables and chairs. He also thanked Evelyn Richer for two beautiful cakes made for the dinner, Garey Larrabee for making the salads, and John Woods and his crew for doing the meat and fish and doing serving and cleanup.

The meeting adjourned at 2:45.

Jane Brown, Secretary

Wow! Take a few days off and what do I get? Lots of stuff to tell you about.

Someone suggested it would be nice to have a direct link on the web site to weather reports. I mentioned it to Fred, and poof!! like magic, he put it right there on home page. He's getting very clever about this web site stuff! Any other suggestions? He'd love a challenge.

Tom e-mailed me about the water level in the pond being low. Here's what he said:

Some folks may have noticed that the Pond level has decreased to about 2.5 inches below the normally maintained and required level. I spoke with GMP this morning and they are aware of this issue and have closed off flow from the dam to the downstream area. The cause of the problem is the lack of rainfall for the past several weeks. Boaters should be aware that underwater hazards will be nearer the surface and could pose a problem with their travels around the pond.

If you would post this on the blog it may help boaters.

Thanks

Tom

Ok, Tom - the word is out. However, there's really no fooling Mother Nature, is there? GMP, with all their sophisticated computerized gagets and technology, still have to stay tuned to the real world of weather and nature's whim in order to "control" what we may be finding out can't be controlled in toto over the long haul.

Fred and I went grocery shopping this morning in St. Johnsbury and ran into Marcia Moran. Most of you know Marcia - she and husband, Ned, ran the Joe's Pond Country Store in West Danville for about 15 years. Marcia looks great, says she and Ned are enjoying their retirement even more than they'd thought possible. Marcia really likes to keep busy, but even more important than that, she told me she really, really likes to bake. She said she's hoping to get a home baking business going - doing pies, cookies, brownies, sweet breads for folks in our area. She said one of her specialties is chocolate chip cookies -- then after a moment she added, "peanut butter cookies, too." She had that sort of far-off look for just a moment, as if she had just pictured herself in her kitchen surrounded by fresh-baked cookies. "I make a really good apple pie, too," she laughed, as we parted and went separate ways down the aisles of groceries.

I'm sure many of you have missed Marcia's pies at the Joe's Pond Country Store, and you've probably noticed they aren't available at Hasting's, either, now that so many summer folks have gone. But I'm betting a lot of you who are still at the pond will be happy to know Marcia will bake for you at her home. She said you should call a day or so before you need your order, and she prefers that you pick it up at her house, (short drive, spectacular views, especially as the leave are turning), but if you're really in a bind, she can deliver - maybe she'll get Ned off the lawn mower or out of his workshop to help. Anyway, give her a call and give yourself a well deserved break from baking, 684-3907. Perhaps she'd even do mail-order on some items . . . ! Think about it - cookies or brownies direct from Joe's Pond, Vermont. Can't get much better than that. 802-684-3907.

I hope everyone enjoyed the great weather we had over Labor Day Weekend. For the folks who had to leave the pond to get the kids back in school, it probably would have been easier to leave if we'd had rain, miserably cold weather or something. If it's any consolation, we've had the possibility of a frost forecast for the past couple of nights - perhaps it'll happen tonight - but today was another clear, beautiful day nobody wanted to spend inside.

Over the weekend we walked along W. Shore Rd and Brickett's Crossing Road - and took some pictures of the activities going on along the way. I'll post them here for those of you not as fortunate as some of us who are here at Joe's Pond to enjoy the changing of the season.

I almost forgot - we saw quite a few trees that have started to turn color. There could be an early and spectacular foliage display this year.