Good Morning, and Happy Leap Year Day!

Isn't this the day when all the single guys are fair game for any woman who can drag 'em off to the preacher? At very least, it's a day when a woman can propose marriage to a man without feeling embarrassed (I guess). Tradition was that if a woman intended to propose to a man she should wear a red petticoat . . . might be hard to find one of those now. In some countries it's considered bad luck to marry on the 29th. Legalities can be a nightmare, too. Then there are the "leaplings" who are born on February 29 - they celebrate their real birth date once every four years and in common years, I guess they get to choose which day they want to celebrate - the 28th of February, or March 1.

Diane Rossi is always up early. She sent me these photos today - here's what she wrote:

Took these this am about 6:45, just after the sun came up. It's already warming up! It was -27....Doesn't the pond look like the tundra, with all those contours? Anyway, I think we'll try skiing today, since it's supposed to get into the teens....we'll just dawdle over breakfast at the Miss Lyndonville Diner.

Diane is right - the wind has whipped the snow just like it does the water in the summer. The good news (?) is, we're due more snow tonight and into tomorrow. What a great winter!

From Joe's Pond in the North Country -

I had an e-mail this morning from one of our members living in Florida saying she'd heard we have lots of snow this year. Indeed we do. Not like some of the western states, but certainly what we've had this year tops anything we've had for a while, and it's still snowing lightly this afternoon. Fred is out snow blowing the driveways, but we know he'll have to be out there again in the morning because tonight the wind is going to pick up and there will no doubt be some drifts to get through.

Fred took some pictures this morning. I'm not sure why he took the one of the wood in storage in the garage - perhaps so we'll know in the spring how much we had around the end of February. I'll have to ask him about that. We still have March and probably a good bit of April to get through before we can begin to let the fire go out during the daytime, so we're glad to have plenty of wood. The pile out in the back hasn't seasoned yet, and besides, it's under four feet of snow . . . I think we have plenty to last through the winter, but Fred worries about it some.

I hadn't mentioned it before, but about two weeks ago, Fred mashed his left index finger with the splitting mall. Broke it, and there's a pretty good gash. He has a neat little cast on it, and it's coming along fine, the gash is nearly healed. It hasn't slowed him down at all, and so far he hasn't banged it again doing any of the chores around here - but he said he isn't splitting any more wood for a while, we'll burn it as is.

The other pictures are self-explanatory. Except the guy in the Jeep. That's our neighbor, John Randall, up for a few days from Long Island. John was out and about today, enjoying the snow.

We think the snow is winding down, but we're in for a cold night. Tomorrow is going to be sunny and cold for our weekly trip into town for groceries and to check Ice-Out ticket supplies in the St. Johnsbury outlets. Right now the hot topic of conversation, of course, is town meeting. The town reports are out and folks are thinking about how their town is spending too much money and how much their taxes will go up if something doesn't change. After next Tuesday, the conversations will probably switch back to the weather and sugaring, and when the ice is going out. Once we get into March, the weather will take a sharp turn towards spring. Already the sun, when it's out, is noticeably warmer, and we're bound to see some of this snow begin to melt in a few weeks.

By the way, you should check the new Cabot Chronicle web site. There is a printed newspaper and this really nice web site that is growing and changing daily. Launch date for the newspaper is about March 1. Cabot Chronicle

Here is the link to the obituary for J.D. Picard, Don and Audrey Walker's grandson who was killed in a snowmobile accident on Sunday.

J.D.Picard Obituary, Times Argus

Good morning -

We awoke to a gray day. Around 8 a.m. we noticed a little snow in the air. Weather forecast predicted the snow would start around mid-day, but now, as I look out my window there's a steady, straight down, no-nonsense snowstorm going on. I think we'll get our "one to two inches" expected today (click on Weather on the home page menu) and then some. Overall, we're in for another foot to 18 inches before this storm is out of here, could be more the way it's starting out. This is going to be another doozie, we're told, and the hazardous traffic warnings are already out. This has been a winter to remember already, and there's still March to get through.

There isn't a detailed notice in the obituaries this morning about J.D. Picard, Don and Audry Walker's grandson, but should you want to send a message, here's the address: Mr. and Mrs. Donald Walker, 245 Towne Hill Rd., Montpelier, VT. 05602.
The Times Argus will have details in tomorrow's paper.

Tragic Snowmobile Accident

I am very sorry to have to post this for our Joe's Pond family of readers. Some of you already know about the tragic accident yesterday that killed the young grandson of our long-time Joe's Pond members, Don and Audry Walker of West Shore Road and Montpelier, Vermont. This is the report carried in the Barre Times Argus this morning.
Article

Our thoughts and prayers go out to "J.D." Picard's family. He was a very special young man and this is an unfathomable loss to his family and friends.

Another beautiful day.

We went for breakfast at son Bill's this morning. On our walk down to camp Fred took lots of pictures. It's an even nicer day than yesterday was and that made it a pleasure to walk, although the road was very slippery in spots. On our way back there was some melting in spots, but we had to be careful, especially when a car came by. The road has heaved in the middle and tilts sharply towards the ditch, and we like to get well to the side so in case a vehicle begins to slide we are out of the way, but we also have to be careful because the sides of the road don't have as much gravel so the incline is inclined to be icy. (I couldn't resist that - sorry.)

We met Carl and Amy (Noyes) Leguia at the Noyes camp. Carl was cleaning off the roof of the garage. The north side of the garage is near a gully with a little brook, and from the roof down is a long way. The roof is metal, and normally they would use the roof rake, but Carl explained that it was in the garage and the tractor bank is right up against the doors so there's no getting into the garage until spring. So he was using a shovel and Amy was holding the safety rope just in case the snow began to slide off and Carl with it. When we came back by a couple hours later, the roof was clear, so I guess they got it done without incident. I'm not sure we got the spelling of their name correct, we had to depend on memory, and if it's wrong, we apologize. Amy said Carl Leguia rhymes with "Karmann Ghia" - cool mnemonic.

Here are the photos Fred took today - perhaps you can spot some places around the pond you know. Everything is looking pretty under the sun; ice fishermen are out, people are moving about, all enjoying the nice weather while it lasts.
Sunday Walk on W. Shore Rd.

I went snowshoeing this afternoon. Fred was busy taking snow off roofs and I needed some fresh air and exercise, so I headed out on my snowshoes. I was going to do that earlier this week, but when I looked at the snowbanks around our house that I'd need to climb to reach our back yard and the trails, I lost interest. Today, though, I was determined to get into the woods somehow. I have never used poles when snowshoeing. If the going gets rough I usually can pick up a stick in the woods that will serve the purpose. I do that often when we walk in the woods before snow comes, and have quite a collection of gnarled sticks in one corner of the garage, but I never think to take one with me when I start off. Today I decided to get out some ski poles left from our cross-country skiing days, and found it was very nice to have them. I climbed the three foot snowbank easily, using the poles to keep from sliding back into the shoveled path. Right away I could tell I'd made a good decision. It was difficult to come around to using poles - I see it as a sign of aging, I suppose - but truthfully, it was nice that I didn't need to work nearly as hard as usual to stay upright. There is a good crust under three or four inches of fluffy snow - perfect going except there were places that were apparently sheltered and the crust wasn't very thick so I broke through, but with my poles I was able to haul myself out easily. I knew from the start this was going to be a good hike.

I found a trail that my daughter-in-law, Marie had made, and that was well packed and easy going. She hadn't been on snowshoes the last time she was on the trail, but there were only a few places where she had broken through. There was absolutely nothing moving in the woods. There weren't even any fresh tracks. The sun flickered through the big spruces, but there was not even a breeze as I headed up the path to the far edge of our property line. When I reached the gully where there's a lovely little brook, it was completely still. No sign of the brook at all under the deep snow. There were a few trees tipped over across the trail since I'd walked there, and the old "No Trespassing" sign nailed to one of the trees was barely visible. I realized I was walking on at least four feet of snow.

I had told Fred I'd be out about half an hour, but it was truly lovely in the woods - perfect temperature, the sun was dropping behind the hill - and before I knew it, I'd been gone at least an hour. When I arrived in the back yard, Fred and Woody were looking out the bedroom window wondering where I was. Woody looked as if he'd like to jump down and join me in the snow, but I couldn't coax him into it. Smart cat.

Today I got lots of exercise in wonderful fresh air, and took a few pictures. I'm sorry you can't smell the fresh, cold air and enjoy the quiet of the woods as I did today, but I hope you enjoy the pictures.
See slides

These are moon shots Fred took the other night. It was a night or two after the eclipse, so the moon wasn't full, but close, and it looked as if it was coming right into our living room. He used some zoom and got a couple of nice shots. Click to enlarge.

Nice morning - sunshine and snow showers! I keep looking for the rainbow . . .

With the sun shining brightly on the white snow and snowflakes drifting down lazily, we begin to think spring might actually be "around the corner." Yesterday was raw and cold, I don't think temperatures got out of the teens most of the day. And we had snow most of the afternoon. Driving was awful - again. So today seems like a step in the right direction although on the thermometer outside my window it's still reading only 20 degrees and it's almost high noon. I'm sure it's nicer in the sun, though.

Our nephew, Dean, who lives in Guilford, CT, sent this slide show. He also sent a picture of one of their witch hazel bushes explaining it as "when spring meets winter. I think they may have had more snow there than usual - and it stayed longer than usual. Some of you in that area will identify, I'm sure. I think it's a pretty area - and hopefully their "budding spring" will creep our way soon.
Slides

I've had lots of e-mails today, many from the group that is producing a newspaper in Cabot with an on-line as well as printed version. The name will be "The Cabot Chronicle" - not really original as there have been at least a couple newspapers by that name published in Cabot in the past, none of which was long-lasting. Perhaps the new one will have more success. I am not a part of this group, but I have agreed to send them items of interest from the Joe's Pond area. There will be an article about our Ice-Out Contest in the first issue, expected to publish in early March. I'll have more information for you later on as things get rolling.

Late this afternoon I received a forwarded message, one very much like one that came to me a few months ago. I put a message on the blog to let people know it was pure fiction, but just in case anyone missed it, I'm posting my response to this latest version:

THIS IS AN OLD SCAM YOU ALL SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BY NOW. EVER HEAR "IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT PROBABLY IS"? BEFORE SENDING THIS STUFF TO ALL YOUR "FRIENDS" YOU SHOULD CHECK IT OUT. READ THIS: http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/m/msoffer.htm

I'LL POST A MESSAGE ON THE "LOCAL NEWS BLOG" ON WWW.JOESPONDVERMONT.COM SO OTHERS WILL BE REMINDED THAT THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE MOST FORWARDED MESSAGES IS WITH THE TRASH KEY. YOU HAVE A BETTER CHANCE AT WINNING IN THE JOE'S POND ICE-OUT CONTEST!

Take care, everyone. Drive safely, give your best friend a hug, and enjoy every day like you're a kid again.

P.S. - I just checked my webmaster e-mail and look what I found! If this doesn't take away the winter blahs, I can't imagine what will. Bill Hamilton sent it to me and he calls it "Island Sunrise." You can just make out on the right the dock and trees on the big island as you are looking down the lake from Bill's house. Beautiful shot, Bill, thanks for sharing. Can't wait for the snow and ice to leave so we can see the sunrise reflected in the water of Joe's Pond again.

The sun is streaming into my office, but outside the thermometer - in the sun - is only registering 18 degrees. There was a cold wind when we were in West Danville this morning, but those of you who know Joe's Pond know there's always some degree of wind here, usually high. Everything is frozen very solidly now, but a few days ago the town grader came through and you can see how the snowbanks have been winged back on our road. Those chunks of snow are icy-hard. Under that dark center strip of gravel is a very thick layer of clear ice. The town had sanded the road a little while before we went out today, but last night the road was glare ice in some spots, very dangerous.

We found Homer at the post office in West Danville. He's cheerful as ever, dashing about to ball games, senior meals and visiting friends. We thought he might have a late bulletin about how thick the ice is, but he said he really didn't. Someone told him 18 inches, but only a couple weeks ago an ice fisherman told Diane Rossi 2 1/2 ft., which we all agree seems more likely. Right now we're making ice, not melting it, so whatever it was a week ago, there's more now. No real warming trend right away, but no big storms, either. So we're good here.

Fred got a couple of nice shots of the mountains this morning. Some of you will recognize Burke Mountain as seen from the top of Dole Hill, and next to it, the snow-covered White Mountains over in New Hampshire. No matter how many times we see these views, we still are in awe.

I took one of the famous old tree as we come into Danville Village - the one that will be sacrificed if/when the new road goes through. Nice old tree. We decided since the town is having to come up with ways to save money on that project, one way would be to not cut the tree.

When we stopped on Diamond Hill at the overlook area so Fred could take the picture of the White Mountains, we noticed all the snowmobile tracks in the nearby field right in front of us. I think most of the tracks were made by snowmobiles, and there may be a trail there somewhere, but someone had certainly been having lots of fun in the snow. I think some of the fields where there have been no snowmobiles might be good for tubing or tobogganing, if the crust would hold to walk on. I remember having lots of fun sliding on the crust when I was a kid - even on big pieces of cardboard. I think we wore out the seats of lots of snowsuits just by sliding down hills without the cardboard. And it was great fun to find a steep hill to toboggan on, but if it was too crusty, it was really hard to keep it from turning end for end, and sometimes we got going awfully fast. The best part was if there was a big drift of soft snow at the bottom to land in.

We just learned that Dwight Coffrin's mother, Jane Coffrin, died on Tuesday at the Berlin Health and Rehab Center. She was 92. The full notice is in on the Times-Argus web site, for those of you who know the family. A remembrance service is planned on Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 11 a.m. in the Barre Congregational Church. We extend our sympathy to Dwight and Patty, and to the other members of her family.

Sunny and cold - but we notice there's more warmth in the sun, warming the earth, in spite of the cold air wafting around us. This time of the year you can almost feel the earth tipping towards the sun, hungry for its rays.

Did you get to see the lunar eclipse last night? I did, and tried to get a picture, but it was so cold I couldn't hold the camera steady enough with so much zoom - should have had my tripod out, but too much bother - so what I got was a rather large mass of orange/red against a completely black background. Diane Rossi got a picture of the moon as it was coming up over West Danville. Here's what she says: Thanks for the picture, Diane.

The sky was clear, and the eclipse was great! Did you see it? I got a picture of the full moon coming up before it got dark....it's so nice of it to be there just in time for dinner. Much farther east than in the summer.

Thanks for the picture, Diane.

Diane is off to the town offices in Cabot today to sort and mail the new Annual Town Reports. That means Town Meeting Day is coming right up - March 4th this year - so we should be prepared for some real "weather." It is almost always either bitterly cold or we're deep in snow on Town Meeting Day. Sounds good to me, and I know Diane is thrilled to have the town report finally finished.

Spring might be here - for a day or so . . .

Nice sunshine, warm, low 30's, snow and ice melting - pretty typical March weather until we realize it's February and there's still a long way to go. Nice to have a break, though.

Woody started off his day enjoying the sunshine and being able to walk on the snow. He went immediately to the lilac bush where the squirrels usually play, but seemed perplexed, probably because there were no squirrels and he couldn't find their holes where he usually stands guard. He gave up and rapped at the back door to come in, but as Fred opened the door for him, a weasel (ermine this time of year) bolted out of the wood pile. That caught the cat's attention and he's still out there looking for the ermine, not knowing that he had gone over the snowbank and we watched him scamper across the lawn and disappear into the woods between us and Henretta. We got a good look at him, but had no time to take a pictures. This photo came from the borealforest.org site, but could be a twin. Woody's still searching the wood pile for him.

After that excitement, the town grader went by, winging back the snowbanks. Again, we didn't have time to get a picture - Dave moves right along when there a straight stretch with no driveways or mailboxes. We waited until his return trip and then Fred was ready and got several pictures. In the last one you can see how that right wing is leveling the snow and pushing the bank out of the way. So bring it on, Mother Nature, we're ready for the next snow storm, or if it rains, the water should be able to get into the ditches ok. Nice job, Dave!

I walked a bit yesterday on West Shore Road. It really wasn't bad walking at all, although I did keep close track of where my feet were because under the gravel is glare ice, and there were bare spots. There wasn't much activity on the road, and I could walk comfortably in the center most of the way.

The dogs at Pupino's were outside in their pen. They gave me a rousing welcome and I wondered why one of them didn't just jump over the few inches of fence showing above the snow and come to greet me, but they behaved well and stayed within the confines of their yard. By the time I got to the new Rouleau place, it began to rain a little, so I headed back home.

I took this picture from the lookout above Gardner's. I had to climb onto the snow bank, but wanted to show you that there was a bit of water on top of the ice at the lower end of the pond. Lots of snow everywhere, as you can see. A few more days like this will settle the snow, though.

Tucky Sancibrion writes that yesterday they had rain for the first time in a while, breaking the draught where she lives in South Carolina. She also said her daffodils are in bloom. By the way, thanks to the efforts of Pat and Mo Gardner, under all that snow in the foreground of the above picture is a wonderful assortment of tulips and other spring flowers just waiting for the chance to see daylight.

Rainy day - snow's melting, good day to stay inside, off the slippery roads and out of the weather. Last night Woody and I watched a show about Polar Bears and Grizzley's. Here's a very short slide show for you.
Slide show

From Bill Rossi today -

What's this?  Spotted outside Roger's place today!!!  Hope it doesn't blow....

It looks dangerous, but I don't think we have to worry - the guys were apparently hired to shovel the roofs at Phil and Joyce's place. Perhaps Bill talked to them and will let us know who they are - we could probably get them a few more roof jobs in the area!

We are fast losing our beautiful day. I went for a short walk around noon and it was still nice, but the wind was cold on my way home. I went out past the big field and took a few pictures.

The big field has lots of snowmobile tracks in the deep snow. I didn't see any of the horses that live there, but they were probably near the house at the top of the hill where they could get out of the wind behind the trees. I noticed the unique mailbox at the end of the Wright's drive. It's sort of a replica of their house on the hill and it says "Diesel" on it. (?) I've been trying to reach the Wrights to find out about that, but haven't had any luck this afternoon.

Further along, near Deeper Ruts Road, I could see the Wagner place through the trees. On the upper side of the road it looks like the folks who have a summer place up there may have plowed the road for a while but gave up. Actually, I think the road is left of the depression, and that gully in the snow is a ditch that usually stays open because of the swampiness of that area due to springs.

Back home, I couldn't resist taking a picture of what used to be the steps up past my flower garden from the turn-around in our driveway. We gave up long ago trying to keep the steps open, so I'm defeated in my plan to make it easier and safer to get from where visitors usually park their cars up to our front door. The driveway is very steep and sometimes slippery in spite of our efforts to keep it safe for walkers, so I had a long, easy flight of steps with a sturdy handrail put in . Hardly anyone uses the stairs, even when we are able to keep them clear of snow. We won't see them again until sometime in May, I expect.

I'm not sure how my clump of small birch trees is going to fare - each spring the snow is firmly packed around them and I have to carefully release the lower branches so they don't get broken off. On the other side of the steps is a sumac that probably some bird or squirrel unwittingly planted for me. It's a sturdy, fast-growing unintended addition to the flower garden, but it provides a fair amount of shade and I really like its foliage. It isn't the stag-horn variety, I guess, for there have never been any "flowers" on it, and it's been growing there for about four years. I don't need to worry about it surviving, I'm sure. It'll be either my birches or treasured maples that become casualties due either to snow or mice. A few years ago we found lots of damage to young maples in the woods and around our lawn after an unusually deep snow cover all winter. Mice and other rodents had chewed away at the base of the trees, working under the snow at the sweet, tender bark layer, killing them.

Today I found in one of the albums I'm working with for the Cabot Historical Society, a clipping about the new ambulance the towns of Cabot, Marshfield, Plainfield and Walden purchased in 1972. The four towns raised $3,692 which was matched by federal funding. This new vehicle replaced Cabot's first ambulance, a hearse, that was given to the town by Dr. Frank Caffin in 1967. The article said the new ambulance could transport four patients and two attendants. In the spring of 1973, volunteers built a heated addition on the Fire Department building for the ambulance. The Cabot Ambulance serves a wide area that includes the towns mentioned and also East Calais and the Groton State Forest.

I would imagine most people, even sick as they might be, hesitated to be loaded into that first ambulance. But it served well for several years, and according to the 1972 news article, the town put the old ambulance up for sale. I wonder what its function was in its next life . . .

GOOD MORNING!

The sun's out, the temperature is rising - we're going to have a beautiful day, so get out there and enjoy the snow! First, look at this . . . click here


Thanks to Peter Rabbit for sending this.

How deep is the snow here?
Even a giraffe can't manage in it. Here's Billy Rossi and his two pet giraffes. He says they're drowning out there.

The good news is that the snow squall that started earlier this afternoon is now over, at least for now.

Snow again!

We had our day in the sun yesterday - a nice Valentine for everyone. Today started out just fine, but a few minutes ago I was surprised when I looked up from my keyboard and saw it was snowing heavily and the wind is picking up. I took a couple quick pictures. The top one is what's still visible of my grape arbor in the back yard, and then there's Fred's wood pile. It's just a good thing our supply of wood for this year is in the garage. It would be a lot of work to dig any out of this pile!

Fred has gone to rake the snow off an elderly neighbor's roof; son, Jamie next door has been using a friend's bucket loader this morning to pare down some of the snow banks along his drive, ours, and next-door neighbor Henretta Splain's. None of us can really see that well coming out of our driveways, and getting onto Rt. 2 from West Shore Road is really dangerous.

Bill and Diane Rossi had to have their snow blower taken into the shop to be repaired this morning and they don't know when they'll get it back. Diane said they have a new method of snow removal, though - shovels. We're going to their house for dinner tonight. We always enjoy having a meal with them, but right now I'm thinking that if this snow keeps up, we may need to shovel for our supper! Oh well, such is life at Joe's Pond these days.

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone . . .

Our Valentine present at Joe's Pond was a beautifully sunny day, and so far, NO SNOW! Yesterday I had spoken with Anthony out at the Walden Country Store to ask if he'd like to have some Ice-Out Contest tickets for his customers, so Fred and I took a ride up there this morning before we went to St. Johnsbury. I'm sure some of you will recognize Tammy behind the counter; and Fred chatted with Howard Hatch for a few minutes. The store has been opened up, as you can see, so there's room for some tables.

Back on the road, we did what we had to in St. Johnsbury, and that included stopping at the Bagel Bakery for sandwiches to take home for lunch. They must have had to do some major shoveling some of these mornings just to get to their door. The snow from the street above pours down on them to add to the mounds built up by plowing their parking lot with very little space to put the snow now. Everyone is in the same predicament.

When we stopped at the post office in West Danville, Garey Larrabee was on the upstairs porch working on something-or-other, and Fred noticed the big curving icicles, molded by the infamous and constant West Danville Winds. The Joe's Pond Country Store has a nice crop of icicles, too, but they are apparently a little more sheltered although I think they are definitely tilted, too.

As we went along Rt. 2 we noticed we can barely see the roofs of cottages over the snow banks. In some cases, were it not for the depth of snow on the roofs, they wouldn't be visible. We had bumped into Steve and Bev Allen when we were in St. J. and they said they were coming up to check on their cottage. They report they can no longer see out of some of their windows at their home in So. Ryegate. I checked today and the report is 85 inches of snow at the stake on Mt. Mansfield.

At least we're getting a break today. Fred was out snow blowing at least three times yesterday during the storm. Today he was busy raking snow off roofs here and down at camp, getting ready for whatever is in store for us this weekend. He stopped at the Rossi's to pick up more Ice-Out tickets for me and Bill and Diane are struggling with an ailing snow blower. Not good timing, but they hope to get it fixed by the first of next week. Good thing you're retired, Bill, you could be in for lots of shoveling.

I hope you enjoy the slide show. I know you're probably tired of snow pictures. Me, too. The good news is, you don't have to look at them if you don't want to. On the other hand, these are something different because there's sunshine!


Photos

Nothing new here - just another day with more snow.

We've had a little of everything falling out of the sky today - rain, sleet, ice crystals, snow - a earlier in the day there was quite a lot of wind. I'm listening to the scanner again as I work here in my office. The road crews are out, trying to keep the roads in safe condition; but they are short of salt so I'm hearing a lot about sand being used. There have been a few accidents, but as far as I can tell, nothing too serious.

The big excitement for the day so far was the mail bringing information on the contest in Cabot for town clerk. I posted some information about Tara Rogerson a while back, and today there was information from both candidates in the mail. If you're a voter in town you should get these cards in the mail, and for those of you who are not voters, I thought you might like to see that even up here in our small rural towns, we get a chance to meet the candidates and ask questions.

Yesterday Fred and I went to Lebanon, NH to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for my routine checkup. Fred took lots of pictures, and I'll post them for those of you who may not have been to that huge facility. The buildings are intimidating, but everyone there has always been very helpful and in spite of whatever reasons we've had to be there, we have only praise for the doctors and staff. You'll see some of the road on the way down, and we generally go through Hanover rather than taking the long way around on the interstate. It's the shorter route, and unless there's lots of traffic or something else holds us up in town, quicker.

Once there, Fred roamed about while I was at my appointments. There are always interesting displays of art wherever one goes. Some of it seems to stay in place as permanent decoration while a lot of it changes every time we go there.

We were a bit concerned about the incoming store, but turns out we got home well ahead of it. There was a lot of snow in the Lebanon area, too, and people were mostly dreading having more to deal with.

Slides

Granite Industry Article

This is an interesting article sent to us by Steve Allen. Vermont's historic granite industry is experiencing change and serious competition. To see the entire article, click here:
Boston Globe article

As many of you know, many of our friends and families have strong ties to the granite industry in the Barre/Graniteville area. Probably not much of this report is news to those here who are directly associated with the industry, but some of you who have moved away will certainly be interested in the changes taking place. Thank you, Steve, for sending this.

Here's something new to this area:

Allison Joyal
PO Box 245 Cabot, VT
802-563-3040 or 563-3338
email: editor@cabotmedia.org

Dear Community Members,

I am very excited to inform you of a new newspaper being introduced in the Cabot area. The New Paper is to be a free, not for profit newspaper for Cabot and surrounding areas with a starting circulation of 1,000 and an amazing web presence. We are proud to have the support and excitement of the Cabot Coalition and Cabot School as well as several local businesses. We are working hard now and as of March 1 we will begin distribution of the new paper. This paper will exclusively cover Cabot and surrounding towns.

Our vision for this newspaper will be a unique blend that is unlike any before seen in this area. A citizen based media source with community communication in mind, we will publish once a month, covering local issues. Everything from local politics and current “hot” topics as well as human interest and arts coverage can be found here. This paper will be the place to find out where to see the hottest band on a Friday night or take the children for a weekend outing. We will appeal to local artists, bikers, and twenty year olds, as well as older life-long Vermonters, tourists, gardeners, students or political aficionados. This will be everyone’s paper.

This new paper has already generated excitement in its proposed coverage area and we are sure to become popular quickly. Because we are a free publication we have a higher likelihood of being picked up and read than a paper that must be bought and paid for. Because we are local we will appeal to the local readership. Because it covers topics of interest to everyone, it will be picked up and read.

This is where you come in. You have a chance to speak out with us in our premier issue. We would like to hear from you regarding local news.

I hope to hear from you regarding any article ideas or submissions. Please feel free to contact me at the numbers above.

Sincerely,


Allison Joyal- Editor
Cabot Media – Newspaper (as of yet unnamed)

Note: I haven't been able to access either the e-mail address given or their web site. For now, if you have questions, suggestions, or come up with a great name for this new paper, use one of the phone numbers at the top of the message to contact Allison. I'm sending them a piece on our Ice-Out Contest, and when the web site is operational, we'll post a link on our site,
joespondvermont.com

Another Cold Night

Winter hit us again today with very cold temperatures - right around zero until mid-morning, and I don't think it ever got much above 10 above. The wind was biting - according to my wind chart it was equal to minus 20. The snow was blowing around some, but now everything seems to have quieted down, and that means another cold night. Tomorrow we expect more snow. Not much to report except more winter weather expected with snow again by late tomorrow. This is Fred just below our livingroom windows this morning on the walkway that leads to the basement door and the propane tank. There's no way to turn the blower around, so he has to drag it back through what's fast becoming quite a tunnel. With the remainder of February still ahead of us, and March that usually produces some whopper storms along about Town Meeting Day (March 4th this year), we'll probably have more snow than we've had in a number of years.

All this snow has to be good news for our ski areas, but my advice would be to watch the weather closely and pick a time to come when the driving conditions are good, and then plan to stay at least a few weeks so you can take advantage of the good days to ski, and enjoy down time when it's too darned cold to be out on the slopes. Snowmobiling is another story, I guess. Those folks don't care much what the weather is. Once they get all those special suits, boots, helmets and goggles on, they're good to go any time, any weather.

Having fun in the snow here in Vermont.

Fred just brought this to my attention. You may want to stock up on "forever stamps."
Click here for the news: Postage

Sunday Snow Storm

The snow started at around noon today - by one-o'clock it was snowing hard and the wind had picked up. I'm hearing on the scanner that cars have pulled off the road, as one of the road crew said, "it's pretty much a parking lot here in West Danville." They are saying over two inches have fallen in about a half hour - the crews are having to go slow, one guy said he's had to back up a couple of time because he was in the ditch.
Complete white-out conditions. There have been a few reports of cars off the road, but it almost seems that almost everyone has just pulled over and stopped. Right now there is quite a bit of activity going on in West Danville with at least one accident just east of town and police cruisers in the parking area.

We took some pictures from our windows. Above is looking out my kitchen window across the driveway at our big spruce trees. Can hardly see them. Below, Fred took one looking towards the pond and Randall's house across the road from us. I just took another picture out the window of my office, and I can hardly see the woodpile - well, the snowbank kind of gets in the way, too, but there's a lot of snow falling and blowing around, too.

Fred is keeping us snug with a nice fire, and took this picture. That's a potato roasting in the coals - you'll have to ask Fred what that's all about. Anyway, it's a nice fire, and we're very glad we don't have to get out in the storm.

The good news is, the snow is letting up in some areas, so I guess this was kind of a squall moving through the area. It'll be a while before things get back to normal though with so many people having problems on the road.

This makes all of you who have left our area for the winter feel really good that you made that decision, though, doesn't it? But you can't argue with a nice fire on a snowy Sunday afternoon, with the cat stretched out on the rug in front of the fire and us with plenty of supplies and no place we need to go, either. Plus, we had friends in for brunch (Diane and Bill Rossi) and they got home before the worst of the storm hit, so we're all safe, content, and ready for a nap. That's what I call a perfect day. In the picture, from left to right, Fred, our friend Monica, son Bill, Diane and Bill Rossi. I got to be the photographer today.

News Items

We are saddened to learn that John Hall's mother, Margaret Hall, passed away yesterday at NVRH in St. Johnsbury. Mrs. Hall would have been 91 in March. You may send condolences to John and JoAnna at P. O. Box 7, West Danville, VT 05873. Contributions in her memory may be sent to Meals on Wheels, Area Agency on Aging, 481 Summer St., St. Johnsbury VT 05819.

There was a recent notice in the Caledonian Record regarding radon testing in Vermont. the Vermont Department of Health reports radon may be present in 15% of Vermont homes. Radon levels can change daily or seasonally, so long-term testing should be done for three to 12 months to give the most accurate measure. You can get a free long-term radon testing kit by sending an e-mail request to: radon@vdh.state.vt.us. Put "Radon Test Kit" in the subject line and be sure to include your name and Vermont mailing address, or you can call 1-800-439-8550.

According to today's Business Watch column, Marty Beattie at Marty's 1st Stop in Danville has received final approval for adding space and a loading dock to accommodate his recent new product line of animal feeds and grains.

We've all been wondering if the Route 2 Project through Danville would ever be completed, and the latest news is that the state is asking that $3 million be lopped off the now $10 million that the project has grown to since 2005. Then, $7 million was earmarked for its completion. As an example of how the cost of the project has gone, in 2004 the project would have cost $2 million. The state wants to build it before costs go up any more. The cost of individual segments of the project have been broken down so the community can go ahead with what they consider the most important aspects of the project. Reconstruction of the highway through the village was put at $6,352,785; undergrounding utilities, $2,320,00; street lighting $710,000; $600,00 for full reconstruction of roads around the village green vs. rehabilitation; $363,000 for landscaping; $128,000 for sidewalks; and $110,000 for artistic enhancement. I guess they'll have to hurry up and decide what's of most importance.

Just a reminder that the Ice-Out Contest is drawing ever closer to closing date - only seven weeks left. We're seeing ticket sales pick up. I'm sending some out every week in response to e-mail requests, so if you know of someone who wants to get into the game, have them just send an e-mail from the web site. Be sure to tell them the full name: joespondvermont.com

This is what Saturday morning looked like at our house.

Deep snow on our roof had to be taken care of. Fred went out with his roof rake - I took the pictures from inside.

From a regular correspondent -

Murphy’s lesser known dictums

He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.

Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

If you lined up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be stupid enough to try to pass them, five or six at a time, on a hill, in the fog.

If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.

The things that come to those who wait will be the things left by those who got there first.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Flashlight: A case for holding dead batteries.

The shinbone is a device for finding furniture in a dark room.

A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

When you go into court, you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

I always wonder who thinks up this stuff. Probably one of those on-strike writer types . . . anyway, I smiled and I hope you do, too. Thanks for sending it, Pete!

Lots of plowing going on.

For the moment, the snow has stopped. There is more in the forecast, but right now things are quiet. This gives us a chance to get caught up with the snow. We've had snow every day this month, in varying amounts, and it has proved to be hard to keep up.

Our son, Jamie, who lives just up the road from us, was out with his old Ford tractor this morning, pushing back the banks to get ready for more snow. Fred was also out with his snow blower. At the end of our driveway, where Henretta Splain's, Jamie and Marie's, and ours all come onto W. Shore Road together, there is a whole lot of snow built up so it's difficult to see in either direction as we come onto the road.

Jamie's tractor has a blade mounted on the back, so he has to back into the bank. "The Peach," his old put-together Jeep, has a conventional blade on the front, but that doesn't have the oomph the Ford does. One way or another, the job gets done.

Jamie told me this morning the banks are very solid, having frozen after the warm weather and rain/snow mix we had last week, and that makes them hard to break up. His solution is to break the bank up with his shovel and then attack with the plow. A slow process, but whatever works. Sometimes he gets his good friend, Luke Persons from over on Deadman's Creek Road to come with his bucket rig. That's a lot more fun than picking away at it with a shovel . . .

Fred is out with the roof rake. He was going to clear the snow away from one neighbor's television receiver dish and then was going to camp to take some of the snow off the roofs. Busy morning.

Christy Burns, who owns a house overlooking W. Danville at 25 Village View, contacted me this morning looking for someone to take the snow off the roof of the barn at their place. I directed her to the people listed on our web site, but if you know of anyone else who would do some shoveling for Christy, her e-mail address is: anzacreative@comcast.com

We were out for a little while this morning - everywhere there's lots of snow, and it's still coming down. It is supposed to taper off this afternoon, but it is still snowing steadily. We took some pictures. I think we're at least back to where we were before the January thaw of a couple weeks ago decreased the snow depth. It seemed as if the crews in St. Johnsbury are finding it difficult to get the snow cleared. On the highway things are good, and here on W. Shore Road, too. We've been hearing that some towns are running short of salt for the roads, but there was no sign of any problems on Rt. 2 this morning, as far as we could tell. Here are the pictures, if you are interested. Snow Pictures

Someone asked me today what the population of Cabot is. Last year we put that information in the town report and it was 1300. In 2007 there were 918 registered voters. I don't think these figures have changed much in the past years. The 2000 census shows Cabot's population as 1,213, so there may be an upward trend. We have surely noticed a change in traffic on our road in even the past five years , and there's been a really big change from when my dad was alive and knew nearly every car that passed by his house, and would usually ask, "Where do you suppose they're going?" Sometimes he knew exactly where they were going, and when they'd be back - but that was a different time. Dad died in 1995.

More snow!

It seems as if it has snowed pretty steadily for the last couple of days - sometimes heavier than others, but this morning Gary Sadowsky said Burlington got 18 inches of new snow, so I would say we're at least in that general area. While other locations were getting rain or a mix yesterday, we got only snow. There is still very fine snow falling outside my window and it isn't going to taper off until this afternoon. The weekend will bring more snow.

I had a message this morning from Jack and Sue Lague:

Sue and I are currently in Durango, Colorado (southern Colorado in the San Juan mountains) and they have a boatload of snow out here - 85 inches at the base and huge piles of snow everywhere!! We had about 2 feet of light, fluffy, powder on Saturday and Sunday and the skiing for the last few days has been fantastic.

Jack LaGue

Thanks for getting in touch, Jack - I guess you're on a ski vacation, so how about some pictures?

We can see we can barely see the pond this morning, and it's one of those all black and white days.


I also want to remind everyone to check on your roofs if you have buildings here - the snow is deep and quite heavy, and with the ice that's probably still under everything from last week's storm, those old timbers could be groaning under the weight. If you don't have anyone to do that for you, look on our home page (www.joespondvermont.com) under "Services" and you'll find someone, I think - or let me know and I'll give you some names. I took this picture of the back door of our garage. Fred's wood pile is in the background. You can see the snow buildup on our garage roof, and it has a pretty good pitch. Fred will be out there with the roof rake this afternoon or tomorrow - before the next round of snow comes.