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.