March Goes Out Like a Lion in the Northeast Kingdom

I think everyone here will be happy to see the end of March - except we know April 1st could be a real April Fool's Day if the weather continues true to past history.

We did errands in St. Johnsbury this morning and then decided, since there was no rain or snow happening, we'd run down to Woodsville, New Hampshire, to see the new Wal-Mart Super Store. Going down was uneventful except we saw some nice deer enjoying munching on the bare ground near the interstate. We didn't see them in time to get a picture, though. Even though we knew where we were going, we tried out our On-Star turn-by-turn navigation system - way cool!

Wal-Mart was predictably large, although not as big as some in urban areas, and we thought perhaps they aren't quite fully stocked yet even though one of the very pleasant clerks assured us they were "pretty much." There weren't very many people in the store, and that made it very nice for picture taking. We were there perhaps an hour, and when we came out of the store we were very surprised to find we were in a blizzard. There were three or four inches of wet, heavy snow on our car and the streets were filled with slush. We debated whether to go up Rt. 5 or take the interstate. Fred was driving so I left that decision to him. Almost as soon as we got onto the interstate, we saw a car off the road. Fortunately, there wasn't much traffic and we had no trouble, and as we progressed north, there was much less snow and the driving was ok. However, when we got to our exit to get onto Rt. 2 west, it was clogged with a couple of big trucks that apparently hadn't been able to make it up the exit ramp. The police were there, and we decided not to wait for things to clear. We took the next exit that comes onto Rt. 5 by Price Chopper and went through St. Johnsbury to get onto Rt. 2. Once clear of town and headed towards Danville, the road was fine, and here at home there wasn't much new snow at all. We were glad to get back to our warm hearth, though. Here are the photos we took along the way. Slides

We want to remind everyone that tomorrow is the last day you can buy and/or mail in your Joe's Pond Ice-Out Tickets, so if you haven't taken care of that, better get busy. Even though it doesn't look like the ice will ever go out, we know it's going to melt eventually, so get your best guess in tomorrow!

Another Cell Tower in Our Neighborhood

We are happy to report we may have cell service in the Joe's Pond area in the fairly near future. There is a proposal to put one on the Sousa farm on Cabot Plain. That farm has two very tall silos and already has a tower put up many years ago for use by, I believe, state police or other emergency vehicles. I can't tell you more at this point, but I do know it's in the permitting process and abutting landowners have been contacted. We think that should fill in some of the gaps in our area. More later as the process evolves.

I also want to show you the message received from Robyn, who did the camera work for the interviews conducted Friday for WCAX. She posted a reply on the blog, but some of you may not have seen it. Here's what she said: Thanks for the pictures of Rachael and I. Here is a tidbit for you...Both Rachael and I are native Vermonters, and both graduated from Lyndon State College in 2006, now we both work for WCAX.

Today is a beautiful day here at the pond. We just came back from a walk, and this is one of the pictures we took. To let you see the progress the sun has made in melting our snow - not great, but there's a little water running and the road is showing signs of melting in spots, here is the slide show. This is Spring?
Rain is in the forecast, so we may finally see the snow begin to disappear instead of increasing.

Ice-Out Ticket Pickup

Yesterday morning (Saturday) I picked up a bundle of Ice-Out tickets at the Joe's Pond Association mailbox in West Danville, and then I went up Route 15 to Walden Country Store and Homemade Pizza where Tammy Hatch and the folks there had sold lots of tickets for us. I took pictures of some of the Joe's Pond roads our members will recognize - or maybe not, with all the snow - and from there I continued on Rt. 15 to Walden Station and Rt. 215 going into Cabot. The day was dazzlingly bright and the wind was whipping on the heights of Walden. I picked up lots more tickets at Harry's Hardware in Cabot. Julie and Walt Ackermann have done a super job for us, too. They get the tickets right out there for people to buy. On the way home I took a few more pictures, especially on the Plain where the road was windswept, the snowbanks way high, and the wind was howling, splattering snow on my windshield at one point before I turned the corner to head for lower ground. It was one of those exciting weather days, typical of March, but colder than we'd expect at the end of the month. I took pictures.A Trip Through the Countryside, March 29th

I spent the afternoon sorting Ice-Out tickets. I had about 500 to turn in to Diane Rossi. Diane picked up from her outlets, so is sorting tickets today. We'll have another huge day Monday, and the mail will continue to come in for a few more days after the contest ends on Tuesday.

Later on Saturday, Bill Dimick and his friend, Monica, stopped by after visiting Goodrich's Sugar House on Route 2. Vermont sugar makers had open house this weekend, so there were quite a few visiting the Goodriches. Glen and Ruth were happy to see Bill and Monica, especially since they'd never had a visitor from Namibia, Africa, before. Monica was excited to see the process of making maple syrup which is new to her, and she said she loves the taste. Monica isn't used to the snow, but she's a good sport and has entered a couple of guesses in the Ice-Out Contest. We think she'll be surprised at how nice the pond is - and how different from now - in the summer.
Bill said they walked from Alonso's camp across the ice to Sherwood's . The picture above is at our camp on W.Shore Rd. It'll be a while before there is much boating going on, for sure.

This morning I had this photo from Steve and Bev Allen in Ryegate, Vermont. I think this says it all. Drastic measures, but understandable as temperatures continue near zero at night and nearly every day brings more snow. The weather people are promising some relief by Tuesday. We'll see.

Here are the photos Fred took this morning while WCAX did their interviews at Hastings Store. Diane Jejer, who is assistant postmaster and also works on the counter at the store, did an interview, talking about our Ice-Out Contest, as did Homer Fitts. There were the usual customers coming and going, and some of them were interviewed, as well. The segment will air on Tuesday, April 1 - probably in the regular news segments. We'll try to link to that segment and have it on the web site for you. In the meantime, here's a slide show of the reporter, Rachel Morrow, as she did her job.
WCAX visits West Danville

Well, it looks as if we've had our One Day of Spring and we're back into winter. When I looked out this morning and saw everything covered with snow again, I was honestly surprised. I know I shouldn't have been - this is still March, right? But yesterday was so nice, we could even see melting going on! I really thought we'd broken the back of old man winter. That's a pretty violent expression, isn't it? I don't feel violent - I'm just disappointed when I look out my window and it's still snowing, the pile of snow obstructing my view of our back yard is growing, not shrinking, snow is still two thirds of the way up the back door of the garage, and every time I look out at our clump of birches by the driveway I wonder how many branches will survive the heavy load of ice and snow piled around them.

However, we're thankful for a really nice day yesterday. We went to town to pick up mail, shop, and also redistributed Ice-Out tickets. These are the last days of the contest and tickets are scarce as hen's teeth. It happens every year. Some outlets sell more than others, so Dave, Diane and I try to take from the don't-sell-many outlets and give tickets to the ones that sell huge numbers. This year with the printable tickets on the web site, we're in far better shape than we might be. Yesterday marked a week since Fred put them on the site, and we've had more than we've expected come in already. I counted over 100 in the mail yesterday. We visited most of the outlets in this area yesterday, and Fred took pictures along the way. He spent quite a bit of time scouting out all the neat stuff at Diamond Hill - took lots of pictures; we picked up some tickets left over from Kiwanis from son Bob at AG Edwards, and then dropped in at St. Jay Hardware and Caplans. On our way back, Fred took pictures of the construction site at Marty's 1st Stop. Here's our trip in a slide show. You can see it really looked like spring . . .Our One Day of Spring

We have been busy this morning. WCAX called and will be doing a segment on Tuesday morning about our Ice-Out Contest. Fred went down to take pictures of them interviewing at Hastings Store and, hopefully, Homer. We may be able to link you to that after it has played. Also, John Curran from the AP in Montpelier called - we may get a mention in another article he's doing, although it may not come out right away and the story line is about our unusual winter, not the contest. He asked me if we are making ice or melting it. I guess you know what I told him.

I'm sure spring is just around the corner and we'll lose all this white stuff eventually - and probably in a big hurry. In an e-mail today, Bev and Steve Allen were wondering if the town could perhaps break through the snowbank at the entrance of Meadow Lane so folks would be able to use the road sooner. I think it's going to be a problem, getting into roads around the pond, but once things start melting, the ice and snow will go fast.

Don't forget that you can print tickets from the web site, www.joespondvermont.com - just click on the little red flag and you're there.

Here we are again. The Times Argus ran an article in today's paper and I will give you the link. Unfortunately, she made a common mistake and got the web site address wrong. We can hope people interested in printing their own tickets will follow the links Dave Covell has kindly provided on his web site - otherwise, they're going to be wondering where the printable tickets are. Also, she neglected to mention that Dave Parker is our chairperson - it's a good thing we're all good-natured around here. This is a fun game, and the errors and omissions will invariably happen. To read the article, click here:
Argus Article

And if you want to print tickets so you can get them in by the deadline of April 1st, go to home page on www.joespondvermont.com and click on the red flag!

Good Morning -

I've made an important decision. I'm not going to tell you how we awoke to more snow falling upon us here at Joe's Pond, and I'm not going to dwell on the possibility we're headed in the right direction, springwise, because it maybe didn't get much below freezing last night. Perhaps not telling you this will influence those of you intending to come back soon to stay on your original schedules and not delay because of the awful weather. On the other hand, there could be snow up to your armpits or mud to your knees . . . but you all know that, so I'm just not going to report anything except the bare essentials - and I hope that soon includes bare ground.

We had dinner with Bill and Diane Rossi last night. Larry Rossi was there, too, and we did a good job of discussing town politics, the world markets, home repairs, the perils of retirement - and we had a delicious meal. Diane is a really good cook. Fred had saved some of his Easter banana cream pie for Bill - that was our ticket to the meal, actually. When a friend tells you banana cream pie is his absolute favorite and begs for some, you know you need to share. I think the pie is on a par with peanut brittle in Bill's list of favorites.

Just in case you wonder where I am when I'm going on and on here at verthe computer, Fred took a picture the other night. This is pretty typical, with Woody on his rug, keeping me company. He's inclined to kick sometimes, but ne with his claws out. He walks on my printer or parks in front of the computer screen when he needs me to let him out or thinks I should play the bathtub game with him that's shredded the shower curtain, but mostly he just sleeps and purrs.

I hope you believe the old saying, "a messy desk is the sign of a busy person." My little office is pretty messy, but very functional - unless you're trying to walk around. There are boxes of historical stuff I work on daily, and almost every inch of space is useful for storage of something. My scanner, which is my source of information regarding highway conditions, accidents, etc., is under my desk; then there's the radio on my right that is tuned in to WSTJ because I like their big band music, and because it's at least 50 years old, that's about all I can get on it and it only works during daylight hours. Then there's another bank of books, the paper cutter, files, boxes, a table behind me with a calculator, telephone, more files and papers. There are lots of pictures on the wall, a witch's broom from one of our big spruces, wilted daffodils from Easter (I will have to toss them today), and several oil lamps for when the electricity goes off. This is a good storage space for them except I'm the only one who can get to them without tipping something over.

There's a big closet, too, and that's where all the Joe's Pond Association books are. I have seven of them, plus the portable file George leaves with me so we can pay any bills that come up during the winter, and my little box of note paper and stamps for those sympathy cards I have to send out all too often. I'm sure you get the picture. Nobody is allowed in my office unless I'm here to be sure nothing is displaced. Fred is allowed, but only to defrag the computer, or whatever. He has his own space downstairs, and it's almost as well organized as mine . . . I've thought of rearranging things so I won't have to look out the window at the unrelenting snowstorm, but I'd miss spring if I did that, so I guess I'll just try to be patient.

From the United Church of Cabot:

GOSPEL CONCERT IN CABOT
Thursday, March 27^th at 7:00 p.m.

Well known Gospel Singer, Mark Shelton, brings his “Wings of Worship” Gospel Music to Cabot this Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. concert at Cabot United Church. Shelton, who last year was named the best international Christian Male Artist by “Toronto On Line Magazine”, will perform classic, contemporary Christian Gospel favorites with a special section of Elvis Presley’s favorite gospel numbers performed in the Elvis style. There will be a free-will offering taken for the musicians.

The concert is preceded at 5:30 p.m. by a church benefit Turkey Dinner featuring Bothfeld Farm turkey prepared by Chef John “Woody” Woods. The charge for dinner is $5.00 per person.

Cabot Church is located on the Common, Route 215 in Cabot Village. Phone 563-2278 for more information.

We hope everyone had a nice day yesterday. It doesn't seem like spring is here, but just the flowers, colors, and events of Easter and Holy Week tend to alert us that time marches on as usual, in spite of the unusual weather we're experiencing this year.

We had very cold temperatures last night. Early this morning our thermometers were reading six above zero. This is much colder than normal, and the day didn't warm up all that much, either. Typical of the trend - sunshine, bitterly cold wind. Some places had below zero readings last night.

Fred and I walked this afternoon. West Shore road isn't showing much evidence of thawing - it is mostly ice. We found it very slippery in some places, and it was sometimes difficult to stay upright. The road is heaved so unless one walks in the middle, you're on a slant and when it's icy underfoot, you need to be very careful. Getting out of the way of cars can be testy, too. Not a good thing to hurry down the slippery slope of the road towards the ditch. Snow banks are tall and solid. You can see here that someone started through the bank. Big job. Time consuming, however you do it.

We noticed in LaPrade's driveway there was a little melting going on. The sun is warm even if the wind and air aren't. At the new Rouleau cottage there's a big pile of snow from shoveling off the roofs. They won't need a ladder if they need to do the roof again. We're promised warmer weather later in the week - even in the 40's. It would be a nice break if that happens, but after the winter we've had so far, nobody is going to believe it until we see it.

Ice Out Contest tickets have been selling well today. A lot of people like to wait until the last minute to make their pick, hoping to get a clue as to how the weather may influence the probable date, so this week will be a big one for ticket sales. We don't have any tips to offer. We saw Dave Covell on our walk and he was saying he'd just been out on the ice to take pictures for his web site, www.joespond.com - but there's nothing there! Dave is a good friend and our neighbor, but about all we can offer is that we'll let everyone know when Ray Richer puts the pallet out on the ice - and we'll keep you informed as to the progress of the melting when it gets started. I can tell you that around the first of March I had a report of about 30 inches of ice. On Friday when Dave Parker was on the radio, he said the latest report was 32 inches. Goes to show you, we're still making ice, not melting it. Near the end of our walk, Fred scaled a 10 ft. snowbank to take this picture looking towards the Morgan cottage. Looks about like the pictures we were taking in December and January. We promise some spring pictures soon - unfortunately, they'll probably muddy road pictures for a little while, but things will improve.

Don't forget to click on the pictures to enlarge them. I imagine you'll want to get a good look at the snow before it melts away . . .

Good Morning!

This came from Steve and Bev Allen this morning --

FYI - An ice-out contest from our son Doug's local weekly. Looks like they just ask for Month/day and then have a drawing...Link

Thanks for sending that, Steve. I wonder if this is the first time they've done this? That is an interesting way to decide when the ice is "out" of the pond. Seems as if it's just a fun thing, not to benefit a lake organization or anything.

Today is sunny and beautiful to look at, but there's still a cold wind and my thermometer is reading about 19 degrees, in the shade. On the other side of the house some of the icicles are dripping, so the sun is warming things a bit. We have a couple of new business cards on the web site under "services." Our neighbor, Tim Greaves came by this morning to drop off his card. Tim is an electrician and lives on Rt. 215, so he's handy by.

P.S. - yesterday was NOT the last day Fred would need to snowblow the driveways. There were drifts here and there that he needed to clear away this morning. I keep thinking about what Dave Parker said yesterday on the radio about making ice, not melting it - we could have gained another inch or so in the past couple of days. By the way, have you listened to Dave's two radio show interviews? Both are now posted on the left side of home page on www.joespondvermont.com

This came from Diane Rossi today --

Is this winter ever going to stop?

I took this picture today....(March 21) . . . . . . . . .





and this one February 14th . . . . . . . . .

We're losing ground here, aren't we?


I hate to say it, Diane, but after the next storm that's coming in the first of the week, you may not see those giraffes again for a while. Think positive, though - the skiing has been great (except for the bitter cold, the wind and occasional ice . . .) Maybe this is going to be a year like 1816, "The Year with No Summer."
Where's global warming when you need it?

We're certainly enjoying spring here at Joe's Pond. The temperature is barely 10 above and the wind is howling out there. From time to time the sun breaks through and we have hopes the day will get warmer/better/brighter, but even if it does, the forecast is for a nor'easter to arrive sometime Monday, so the reprieve won't last long. Makes one wonder about global warming and such, doesn't it?

I took a few pictures (again) of Fred snowblowing this morning - and I sure hope this is the last time he has to start off his day that way. Here are my pictures, as a salute to the first days of spring, 2008: Slides

After that, he came in to get ready to capture Dave Parker's interviews on KIX Radio and WSTJ radio in St. Johnsbury. The interviews went very well - Dave did a super job, and we were able to get it all so we can have it available on the web site for those of you who couldn't hear it this morning. We have a little trouble getting WSTJ clearly here sometimes, particularly when the weather's bad or after dark, so the quality of the WSTJ interview isn't quite as good, especially at the beginning because we were trying to turn the radio and adjust the mike to improve reception. We didn't accomplish anything except we made the recording a little rough at the start, but then it was ok.

Dave called after the show - he has a really bad cold and felt awful during the interview, he said. Nobody would have guessed. Great job, Dave! Could it have been Garey's freshly made doughnut you picked up on your way to the station that got you through?

We were pleased that Dave was able to announce on the air that we now have printable Ice-Out tickets available on the web site. Did anyone notice the little red flag on home page? That's where you go to find the printable tickets. We're hoping this is a way we can avoid some of the postage expense of mailing out tickets.

The Hardwick Gazette had the picture I sent of Walter Churchill in Cabot buying an Ice-Out ticket from Walt Ackermann in this week's Wednesday issue, and we appreciate that. As far as I know there's been nothing in the Times Argus. Perhaps they'll send out a reporter later.

I hope you'll let all your friends know how easy it is to get in on the fun of the Ice-Out Contest now that they can print as many tickets as they want to enter in the game. As long as the post mark is no later than April 1, we can accept them. We sold just over 9,000 tickets last year, and we'd like to surpass that this year, with your help.

Check the home page on www.joespondvermont.com later this morning to hear the interviews. They should both be on by noon.

Another snowy day. This morning everything was covered with ice, but by noon the temperature had changed and we were getting snow - as we still are now. We have had three or four inches of very heavy, wet snow, the kind that clogs up the snowblower. We don't expect that to change much because the temperature is still around 30 degrees. The wind is whipping the snow that's falling, though, so it's a real "March" day - somebody said this is the first day of spring . . . in another world. This picture was taken of our driveway this morning from the garage.

I'll pass on bits and pieces of news. First, this week there was another report in the Caledonian about the Route 2 project. Things have now been moved back to 2010. There was a meeting last week, and apparently while the property owners involved in rights-of-way were all on board back in 2006, now there are new people involved and the state had to go through the process again. The Leahy funds are still available if details between state and local officials are ironed out by the end of this fiscal year - June 30. However, now that prices have gone up the funding in place won't be enough. Sen. Leahy's representative says it's up to the state to find savings so the project will go ahead as designed rather than the community having to give up the original plans. There could be savings if some materials were changed, perhaps landscaping done locally,and cutting the number of street lights from the 107 planned, and/or using smaller trees for the 188 planned. (Where could they possibly fit 188 trees in there?) So there will be another community meeting on March 26, 6 p.m., at the Danville meeting room and then a meeting in April with state officials.

In another report today, Bert Frye has bought the Joe's Pond bathhouse at the public beach. He doesn't know yet what he's going to do with it, but thinks it's too good to give away or destroy. I'm sure Bert will come up with something useful. He is also going to move it and clean up after it so the landscaping project can move ahead this summer. The Agency of Natural Resources has given an $8,000 grant for landscaping designed for shore preservation, and the local committee plans to fund raise to include a pavilion in the landscaping plans.

Several retiring trustees at the Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) were honored in December at the 2007 Annual Meeting. They were Janice Cody, Donald Walker, Suzanna LaGue, Peter Joslin, Dr. Peter Dale, and Dr. John Matthew. Some of you may know that JPA member Don Walker has penned poems over the years, so Dan Bagalio turned the tables and wrote one for Don:

The Don of Central Vermont (written by Don Bagalio)

Donald Walker, known as Don, by most who've had the pleasure
Is much esteemed throughout the land, no matter what the measure.
This fame is owed to many things, but one transcends the rest;
He's spent a lifetime saying "yes" to myriad requests.

He first said "yes" to family, his top concern, you see,
their safety and security were planned from A to Z.
He then said "yes" to Walker Motors, his second family clan,
Who loved him so that working there became a lifelong plan.

He next said "yes" to community, in oh so many ways,
To service clubs, to business groups, to Joe's Pond Ice-Out days.
And "yes" to sports, all kinds of sports, for kids who'd be otherwise bored,
And in the process he finally learned how a basketball game is scored.

But best of all, to us of course, was his "yes" to CVMC,
Thirty years on our Board, both leader and serf, best fundraiser we'll ever see.
So good in fact, that according to Don, some people whose names we won't say,
Almost appear to avoid him, when they see him heading their way.

So we all, of course, want nothing more than to find a way to express,
Our thanks to this man for the things that he's done; our genuine gratefulness.
But there are no words to truly describe this man's remarkable quest,
He't the Don of Central Vermont, you know. He's the one and only, the best!

Ice-Out tickets sales are picking up, as predicted. There's always a rush at the end. I picked up in St. Johnsbury today and at Caplan's they told me people have been waiting for a break in the weather thinking they could make a better guess if winter seemed to have finally broken. No such luck, and for the next couple of days there won't be much change, I'm afraid.

Maple sugar makers are having to get back into the woods to uncover their lines - again. At Hasting's Store this morning Garey said some of the producers have made some syrup but it's been a very slow season so far. We can only hope, for lots of reasons, that spring comes slowly when the weather does finally break. A quick warmup would mean the end of sugaring and the beginning of lots of flooding, not to mention a mud season like we haven't seen in a while.

We met Milt Cochran at the store this morning. Mary was congratulating him on his granddaughter Emily's success in a spelling bee this week. She made it to the second round at the state level contest held at St. Michaels College in Winooski. Milt said there were about 40 youngsters in the contest. Emily is a sixth grader at Walden School. Grandparents, Milt and Betty and her parents, Michael and Laurie, are very proud of Emily. Mary at the store showed me one of the words in the contest and we agreed we couldn't even begin to spell it - and nobody had a clue what it meant, either. Way to go, Emily!

Did you know that some internet providers are having to limit the number of e-mails their subscribers can send? Here's the story if you want to read it:
Internet Problems

Nothing has changed here in the north country. Snow most of the day with a few drops of rain that was just enough to make one think perhaps there would be a warmup and we'd get shed of some of this snow, but then - more snow. Here at our house, the routine is about the same as usual. Fred goes out with the snow blower - only twice today; I threatened to go for a walk but lost my enthusiasm with the wind whipping snow off the roof. The fire looked better than snow drifts.

We have a little news to report. I think I forgot to mention that the Caledonian Record has a rather lovely front page on Saturday - in color. Spring flowers, yet! It was very nice to see. Reporter Sally Cook called yesterday - she'd been to West Danville to do an article on the Ice-Out Contest after I'd sent a promo to them. Read the article here: Caledonian Record

Dave Parker is gearing up for his interviews Friday morning and Chico Carcoba is back and starting to log in Ice-Out tickets. He said he hadn't expected to come back to quite so much snow. Local folks are getting more interested in getting their Ice-Out tickets now, even though it doesn't look any more like spring around here than it did six weeks ago. I'm guessing almost everyone is exhibiting some sort of cabin fever or winter doldrums. Time marches on, though, and Evelyn Richer and I are beginning to get organized to get the spring newsletter out. We aren't hurrying, though. We know we have a few weeks to go before there's open water and the flag goes down.

I heard on the news tonight the snow this year has retained more water than usual. ???? I don't know. I guess you had to be there when the weather folks came up with that. Wouldn't that be pretty hard to measure? Anyway, the word is out that people who don't have flood insurance should hurry up and get it.

We'll be shopping tomorrow for our Easter ham and the parsnips and pineapple that are traditional at our house. I like raisin sauce with my ham, and maybe a lemon meringue pie would be nice - and daffodils for the table. We usually have a small group for Easter because we never can depend on the roads being passable. This year I think the weather may be pretty good, but people out for Sunrise Services better dress warmly. Quite often the Cabot church holds Sunrise Service at the Cabot Plains Cemetery. The snow banks are high there and there's not a bit of bare ground showing. I can guarantee there'll be a wind and it will be COLD.

And so it goes.

Beautiful C O L D morning - again! Only about 8 above this morning, and now, at 10:30, only registering 25 above at my thermometer. The sky is mostly clear and the sun is sparkling and welcome - for as long as it lasts. Things are going to deteriorate during the day. Yesterday was nice, too - we awoke to sun, wind and snow, all at the same time. It was hard to tell whether the snow was falling or being blown horizontally, but actually it was some of both for a while. Later in the day the sun was bright without the snow, but I walked only as far as Deeper Ruts Road, and in just that short distance, my face felt numb against the wind. It was right out of the northwest so I was facing it all the way and the sun didn't seem to warm things up at all. Water on the road was remaining frozen and while most of the road is now clear of ice and snow, it was mostly frozen - only a little mud in sheltered spots where the sun hit. Coming back was ok with the wind at my back, but I was glad to get inside next to the fire. I'll venture out again today before the weather changes, I hope.

Sad news to report today - some of you probably already know that George Karnady's mother, Evon Morrison Karnedy, passed away on March 9. She was 96. George and Pat were long-time Joe's Ponders on West Shore Road until they sold to the Geers in 2003. They now make their home in Nokomis, Florida. A memorial service for Mrs. Karnedy will be held on April 19 at 11 a.m. at the Presbyterian Church in Barre. Our thoughts are with the Karnady family at this sad time. To read the obituary, you may click below.

Evon Karnedy

Ice-Out tickets are beginning to come in steadily now. We are in the last two weeks of the contest, so it's important to get your ticket stubs in if you have been waiting to make them out, or if you need tickets, let me know so I can get them to you before the contest closes on April 1. Dave Parker will be on the radio in St. Johnsbury this Friday morning at 8:15 on KIX-Radio 105.5 FM with Josh Thomas, and at 8:30 on WSTJ 1340 AM with Dave Labounty. Listen in if you can.

The snow was too sticky and wet to snowshoe yesterday, so we walked down West Shore Road from our house and then out as far as we could go on Barre Avenue. We showed you a picture earlier of Barre Avenue after someone had opened it up - probably with a bucket loader. Lots of snow. Cabot's road crew has been along West Shore Road to push back the banks as best they can to allow the water to find the ditches. We've had warmish weather during the daytime and very cold weather some nights, which is good for sugaring, but makes those snowbanks very dense and heavy. Now is not the time to slide off the road into one - our puffy, soft snow is gone and what is left will clean off a fender or break out a headlight if you have the misfortune to hit it. Shoveling the heavy, frozen stuff is not for weaklings, so if you have the urge to open your driveway or to dig a path to your door, bring plenty of help, or better yet, leave your shovels at home and bring your snowshoes or skis and let the snowbanks melt. You'll understand what I mean when you see these photos from yesterday's walk.Slides

As promised - here are some photos.

First, a slide show made on Thursday, March 13, when we, along with Bill and Diane Rossi, were guests at Don and Diane Sherwood's on Old Homestead Road. I took pictures from the car as Diane drove, and as you can see, there is a lot of snow. The road wasn't bad, but was narrow. There were some snowflakes, and some of the shots are blurred a bit, but you get the idea. We had a very nice evening, good food, good company, and we got to see the Christmas tree that created quite a stir when it was liberated from the Hebert's lawn back in December. There's no end to what Diane Sherwood will do to recycle. The tree has survived a lot, but will no doubt have to go soon. Perhaps Diane will find another use for it - mulching the flower beds? kindling? 4th of July bonfire? Don professes it was all Diane's idea to grab it - he was just being a dutiful husband . . . whatever works for you, Don. Anyway, here's our excursion down Old Homestead Road last Thursday.
Slides

*****

Today was Fred's day to recycle. We do our recycling in Hardwick every couple of weeks or so this time of the year. He had other errands to do, so called Bill Rossi to see if he wanted to ride along since Diane was away at the Boston Flower Show this weekend. They took the camera and a supply of Ice-Out tickets for the Cabot True-Value Hardware Store (formerly known as Harry's True-Value). The hardware store is where the action is - well, not really action - it's where the guys come to sit and chat, just like 100 years ago only there's no pot-bellied stove. They sit by the front window and watch folks going by to the town offices or the library, or maybe up to the retirement home, Cabot Commons. And it's a stop-off for snowmobilers to get gas and supplies. There's a resident cat and some dogs hanging out - everyone gets along, nobody's in a rush, local politics get discussed, news is passed on, that sort of thing. Walt and Julie Ackermann own the store, and they've been very helpful in selling Ice-Out tickets for us for a couple years now. I needed to get some tickets down to them, so asked Fred and Bill to drop 'round with them. Fred took some pictures while there, and then took Bill up Whittier Hill Road overlooking the Cabot Creamery plant for shots of the town, and he also got a picture of the Bothfeld's farm across the valley on West Hill, where the new cell tower is. It was a very productive morning. Here are the slides.

Saturday Morning in Cabot

Good Morning From the Still Snow-bound Northeast Kingdom of Vermont . . .

Yep, we got more snow last night, and apparently will have "snow showers" most of the weekend. Then the weather will get really testy with warming temperatures Monday and Tuesday, then back to the nasty again Wednesday with snow, sleet and rain. March isn't over for a few more days.

With the Ice-Out Contest winding down, we're trying to get tickets into the hands of everyone who wants them. During this wintery weather I suppose the ice going out of Joe's Pond is about the last thing the local folks are thinking about, but since April 1st is the last day we can accept tickets, we're trying to get the word out to get your tickets now. I'm sure we won't run out of tickets, but we will run out of time.

Dave Parker will be on KIX Radio, 105.5, the FM station in St. Johnsbury at 8:15 a.m. Friday the 21st, and then he'll go directly across the hall to station WSTJ, 1340 on your dial, to do another interview at 8:30 a.m. We're saturating the airways as best we can locally. I'm getting promos ready for the local papers, and those should be in before the contest closes.

So please try to listen to Dave is you're within range of either station, but in case you can't hear either station, Fred will also try to tape the programs to replay on the web site - like he did the Dave and Don Show last year.

With all this snow, Ray Richer won't even try to put set up the pallet and flag for a while, but as soon as it's out, we'll let you know and have pictures and reports regularly. Right now, Fred and Bill Rossi are out there somewhere doing recycling, errands and replenishing the Ice-Out ticket supply at Harry's Hardware in Cabot. They have the camera so I'm looking forward to some interesting pictures for you later today.

Turkeys - they're everywhere! Jason Randall just sent these pictures taken from his house right across the road from us. Obviously, the turkeys were headed in our direction (that's our house on the hill). I'm not sure when he took the pictures, and I haven't seen any turkeys so far today, but they are certainly in the area.

We went to St. J. today to pick up Ice-Out tickets and leave off more wherever they were needed. Sales in St. J. have been a little slow, I'd say, but I'm sure in the next couple of weeks they'll increase. I think most of the locals wait as long as possible to make their picks. I just had a call from our son, Bob, who is just tallying up from the St. Johnsbury Kiwanis Auction that ended last night. I'm not sure, but I think the final count will be about 400 Ice-Out tickets that went to auction participants. Way to go, Bob! Right now, with all the cold weather (4 degrees above zero last night) and still getting snow just about every day, even the dyed-in-the wool, year 'round, native born-bred-and-buttered Joe's Ponder will have a hard time figuring out when the ice will let go. With only 18 days left (contest closes on April 1), folks better put their heads together and make some guesses, though. I left off a few more tickets at Caplan's and St. Jay Hardware, so they should be well supplied for the rush.

Speaking of spring stuff - when we went by Barre Avenue this morning on our way to town, we stopped to take this picture. You folks who are here only in the summer wouldn't recognize this as your lovely little lane to your cozy cottages; it looks more like an alley to Alaska. Having the road broken out like that will help get it passable later on, though, so perhaps you can get into your place sooner. I recall that Easter Sunday is usually a popular time to come out to visit camp, and the folks from Barre or other outlying areas are always surprised and dismayed to find that camp is still piled high with snow and the roads are deep with mud. They forget spring at Joe's Pond arrives at least two weeks after it does in either Barre or St. Johnsbury. Easter is earlier than usual this year, so it's sure to still be winter here on Easter Sunday. If you come this way, bring snowshoes, boots and warm clothing.

If you are beginning to think about opening camp and getting things ready for summer at Joe's Pond, you may want to think about a new patio, rock garden, stone wall or new landscaping of some sort at camp. We have just posted a new service card, so take a look. Joe Cassani is Louis and Maryann Cassani's son. He can make your old flower beds come alive, or perhaps you'd like a nice fire pit as part of your new terrace. Make plans! Live Outdoors Landscaping

The turkeys are on the move, and Fred caught them with his camera.

We think there were more, but we only caught these two as they were going through the woods behind our house, probably on their way to Jamie and Marie's just above us. I don't think Jamie and Marie are feeding the birds this year because of so many bears being around, but the turkeys are creatures of habit and know that sometimes there have been lots of seeds for them up there. They were probably checking our crabapple tree, too. The squirrels have either taken the apples or knocked them off the tree so they're covered with snow, and I don't think the turkeys would go into the tree to get the apples because the branches are too small to support them. I believe they normally roost at night, but in bigger trees.

We've had snow off and on most of the day. It's beginning to look a bit brighter now, but according to the forecast, we're in for another really cold night. I hope the turkeys can find food and roost with full tummys. They will be nesting soon, and will need plenty of food once their brood is hatched. We found a nest a few years ago in our woods, and it had at least 16 eggs in it. I didn't want to disturb it, so I couldn't really get a good count. We saw lots of turkeys around that fall, so I believe most of them survived.

We're thinking SPRING on a day like today.

Fred and I just came in from a nice long snowshoe trek in our woods. Actually, I'm certain we strayed into our neighbors' - the Encarnacion's, Helen Morrison's and Andy Leinoff's - it was very easy going on the crust left by the rains this past weekend. We noticed there seemed to be very little decrease in snow depth in most places, but there are a couple of brooks that come off the hillside that were beginning to open up. Another thing that was very different was there were tracks - bunnies, squirrels, foxes and turkeys have all been active since the couple inches of snow that fell Sunday night. We have lots of turkey tracks around our house. We didn't happen to see them, but I imagine our cat, Woody, saw them, but he usually doesn't pay much attention. I guess they're too big for him to want to hunt down. Fred took pictures of the tracks. (See below.)

Late afternoon is a good time to get pictures of the White Mountains from our house. They show up just beyond West Danville. Fred took this one with lots of zoom. Click to see the image bigger.

Even though the temperature was around 32 degrees, there was a cold wind and I doubt much melting was going on; but it is uplifting to have the bright sunshine, and we enjoyed being outside. When we got back, Fred took some of the snow from the sides of our wood pile, hoping to open it up for drying. It has been pretty much completely covered with snow for several weeks, so it's good to be able to actually see some wood instead of a mound of snow out there.

*****

I'm sure some of you know that Steve Larrabee, who has served in our Vermont Legislature for 14 years and who has probably been a member of the Joe's Pond Association even longer, is not seeking re-election this year. A few weeks ago we told you that Steve had sold his building supply business, but he says he will not be moving from Danville. I guess he wants to kick back and perhaps try something different in a while. Way to go, Steve! I wouldn't be surprised if he and Wendy join those of you who go to a warmer climate for a few weeks at least every year, though. We appreciate Steve's service as representative all these years. It was good to have a handy "ear" when we wanted to vent our frustrations with state government.

*****

Another member who was in the news recently is Dr. Bradford Towne who has a cottage on Otis Drive. Dr. Towne is part of the team of surgeons at what was Northern Vermont Oral Surgery with offices in St. Albans, Essex Jct., Berlin, and St. Johnsbury. The group has changed the name to Northern Vermont Oral and Facial Surgery. They now have specialized training that qualifies them for diagnosis and treatment of oral and facial diseases or injuries, fractures of the facial area, reconstruction, and dental implants as well as cosmetic procedures including removal of facial blemishes caused by sun damage or spider veins, and will do Botox cosmetic and facial sculpting to reduce wrinkles caused by aging. You can visit their web site at:Surgery

We took a couple of pictures today when we went to W. Danville to the post office. The cottages along Rt. 2 are pretty well blocked with snow. Even with the rain we had this weekend, not much actually melting went on, and today it's been pretty cold again, so those snowbanks are almost solid ice - very hard to dig or move. We wanted to get some pictures now because we are in for some warm (30's) weather later this week, and things could change quickly.

The Town of Cabot came by today with a bucket loader to push back some of the biggest banks along our road. (Click on picture at right.) This will allow the water to find the ditches rather than running down the road and may reduce our mud season a bit - maybe. The roads are heaved up everywhere here in the north country, so this is no time to be in a hurry. You could find yourself airborne if you don't take it slow. When we see the signs "BUMP" along Rt. 2, we pay attention. Those big dips are where culverts cross under the roads. It's very bad from the W. Shore Road turn through to West Danville, and I'm sure going west towards Monteplier and Barre is no better. There are a few good dips along W. Shore Road, too, and any other back roads, so we know the frost has gone very deep, and that sometimes makes mud season worse. We never know for sure how it'll turn out. At least it's a sign of spring . . . !

First of all, it's 10 degrees and snowing in spite of weak sunshine. No change there.

So let's start the day off right with this from Steve and Bev Allen down in Ryegate, Vermont:

Inclement Day

An observant chap died one day and was waiting in a very long line for judgment. He noticed that some people, after they went through the line, were able to go through Heaven's Gates. Others were lining up behind Satan who was throwing most of them into the eternal fires of hell.
Every once in while, though, instead of tossing a poor soul into the fire, he would toss him/her to one side. After watching for hours, the fellow could not resist. He gave up his place in line and went over and tapped Satan on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, sir," he said. "I'm supposed to be in line for judgment, (he didn't want Satan to mistake him for someone who had already been condemned to hell) but I couldn't help but wonder why some of these people are being tossed aside instead of into the fires of hell?"
"Oh," Satan said with a snicker. "Those are people from Vermont Maine, and New Hampshire. These days they're too cold and wet to burn….. "

That just goes to prove, there's some good in everything. Even miserable Vermont weather . . . !

*****

Over the weekend, I had some questions about the Ice-Out Contest. Most of you know it's in the final weeks now - the Contest officially closes on April 1, 2008. That leaves just three weeks to get your tickets. There is complete information on the web site, www.joespondvermont.com, if you go to "Ice-Out Info" on the menu at the left side of home page, all the information is there, including where to get tickets locally as well as from the web site. You'll also find the history of the contest in "The Ice-Out Contest and How it Grew" and a list of dates and times the ice went out each year of the contest and who the winners were. If you still have questions, contact me.

We've had great cooperation from our JPA members - more of you than ever are distributing tickets for us. We really appreciate that so many of you who are waiting out the winter in warm climes take the time to involve friends and strangers by giving them tickets.

We've also had a good response to Dave Parker's interview on Sirius Radio on the Jay Thomas Show. Nearly every day I get one or two contacts either by surface mail or e-mail mentioning the show. I'm guessing the show is big in Canada - I've had some requests for tickets from there. If any of you know radio personalities in your area who might give our contest a plug, give them a call and tell them about us, or have them contact me. I will put them in touch with someone to interview or will provide copy for them to use on the air. Same thing with newspapers. You are our best advertising, so talk it up!

Now I'm off to make contact with some of our ticket outlets to see if they have plenty of tickets. I have Cabot, Walden and St. Johnsbury; Diane Rossi covers Danville and West Danville; Dave Parker keeps the Barre-Montpelier area supplied. We make a good team. When Chico Carcoba gets back from Florida, he'll have his work cut out for him entering all the ticket stubs that have been returned. I heard from him last week - he's enjoying the warm weather while he can. He won't come back to Barre for a few more weeks.

I also had this information from Evelyn Richer. Some of you know that it's Ray and Evelyn who put the apparatus out on the ice, but the way things are going weatherwise, it won't be right away. Here's what Evelyn says -

Just a mini note on the ice-out pallet set-up... Ray won't have a specific date set for that, but the goal is to wait until the ice shanties are gone (for the safety factor regarding the rope; so it doesn't get severed by the snow machines while
pulling the shanties off the ice...) and he will try to pick the best
weather day... (Not like last year...)  He would love to have it in without
fanfare if possible... but anyway... that's the plan...Hard to believe the ice could be out in 7 weeks or so....

In case you aren't aware of how things went last year when Ray and Evelyn put out the pallet, the weather was terrible (see the slide show for pictures of the event) and Ray had "help" from a young reporter. Imagine trying to work and being recorded and photographed all at the same time? I think that was also the year their truck wouldn't start, so cold, wet and discouraged, they walked home. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if they could have just walked up the lake, but due to the warmish weather we'd had, they didn't trust the ice so had to go down Rt. 2 and then up W. Shore Rd. - that's at least a couple miles. I think Ray traded in that truck within days. We'll hope things go MUCH better for them this year. Every year is an adventure . . .

Ok, so guess who forgot to change the clocks last night . . . ? Yep, both Fred and I completely forgot about it. Thus, we went to bed way late, got up as usual, so the day was well established by the time we realized what we hadn't done. That leaves us operating a little out of whack - lunch was later than usual, but I think by tomorrow we should be re-adjusted somewhat and caught up with things. I can attest it's because we're both retired and really don't give a darn about what time it is most days.

We bumped into Don and Diane Sherwood at the Creamery in Danville last night. They are here to ski - and you know what generally happens when they arrive - the skiing goes south. They had a couple days when they first got here that they could ski, but then the rains came and it was over. But right now we're getting another snowstorm so I think if they can hang on a day or so, the skiing will be great again.

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm pretty tired of all the political stuff, especially on television. It seems to me we've had election stuff going on forever. Liz Randall sent this photo to me a couple days ago. It made me smile - looks like something a Vermonter would come up with . . . Liz said John is thinking of building one like it to put up where they live on Long Island . . .

Those of you who check the local papers know that we've had recent flood watches here in Vermont and New Hampshire. There have been various trouble spots and the lower Connecticut River Valley area has had some very high water. The cold temperatures we had last night would slow it down, but now we're getting more snow to add to the already record depths, and it has set us to wondering what we'll be facing down the road. I can tell you that our Joe's Pond Association president, Tom Dente, has been monitoring things even from Florida, and has contacted Jon Soter at Green Mountain Power to be sure they are also thinking about Joe's Pond's water level. The re-designed dam in West Danville has worked well until now, but I don't think we've had this much snow since the work on the dam was done, and this year's huge runoff from surrounding hills may provide a reality test for the dam's performance.

Only time will tell. Right now my thermometer is reading 12 degrees so we're sure there isn't any melting going on now, and we're actually getting a few more inches of snow added to what we already have. So I can truthfully end with - no news here!

This from "Chico" Carcoba in Florida, about Larry Rossi's retirement from Woodbury select board:

IN ADDITION TO NEWS RELEASE:
LARRY ROSSI HAS BEEN PRESIDENT OF BARRE'S LARGEST SOCIAL CLUB ,THE MUTUO WHICH CELBRATED IT 100th YEAR THIS PAST YEAR.THIS IS A JOB WHICH REQUIRES DEDICATION IN OVERSEEING A MEMBERSHIP OF OVER 1000 .LARRY IS CEO AND CHIEF CHEF FOR THE FINE CUSINE SERVED WEEKLY AT THE MUTUO.HE HAS BEEN PRESIDENT FOR 3 YEARS.

I KNOW FROM HERE IN FL. THE ICE HAS A LONG WAY TO GO BEFORE GOING OUT.YOUR PIC OF WINDOW SAYS IT ALL. STAY WARM AND TURN THE CLOCK AHEAD THIS SUNDAY. CHICO

This came from Evelyn Richer yesterday -

Hi Jane,
Hope you and Fred are doin’ fine… I bet you are as sick of the high snow banks as we are!

Anyway, thought I would share a photo of our little visitor (the mink)… he has a friend that hangs out with him (another mink) too… These little guys have been raiding our waterscape ponds… they’ve hung around close by for over a year now. They have been very frisky lately romping across the yard chasing each other… but they sure loved the sunshine today, as we all have!
Blessings, Evelyn.

The following information has been supplied by the Cabot Town Clerk. 563-3232. P.O. Box 36, Cabot, Vermont 05647

Election Returns, 2008, Cabot, Vermont

Town Clerk:

Richard David (R.D.) Eno 181
Tara Rogerson 387

Town Treasurer:

Richard David (R.D.) Eno 183
Tara Rogerson 380


Selectperson:

Larry Gochey 294
John Cookson 261

School Director:

Roman Kokodyniak 423
Niall McCallum [write-in] 50

Article 6: Fire Bond
YES 331
NO 239


UDAG GRANTS
Article 7: Faith in Action-Computers
YES 293
NO 275

Article 8: Cabot Commons-Solar
YES 399
NO 170

Democratic Primary
CLINTON 136
OBAMA 265
EDWARDS 6
KUCINICH 8

Republican Primary
GIULIANI 4
HUCKABEE 24
McCAIN 75
PAUL 15
ROMNEY 5
OBAMA [write-in] 1

Thanks to Nancy Buttura for the heads up about this article in the Times Argus about one of our JPA members, Larry Rossi. Congratulations to Larry on his service to the Town of Woodbury all these years. Besides his contracting business, L. K. Rossi Construction Corp., Larry is Director of Maintenance for the Joe's Pond Association.
Larry Rossi Retires

We awoke to freezing rain this morning. It will clear later this afternoon, but then will turn nasty again by Friday. Folks are out and about as usual, and there doesn't seem to be much concern for those folks who are used to this sort of weather.

Fred took a picture of our living room window early this morning. You will notice the large perfect circle that's clear in the middle with ice freezing around the edges.
As I look out my window here in the office, the pile of snow on the back deck is glazed over and shining - which means we may slide out of our driveway this morning, but once on West Shore Road we should be ok. We are taking a neighbor to St. Johnsbury for a doctor appointment, otherwise we probably wouldn't be out.

I'm getting more requests for Ice-Out tickets this morning. Have had two from Canada now. I'll send a note to the Jay Thomas people to thank them for the interview and the resulting boost in ticket sales.

As promised, local election results are in. Go to either of the following for results of the Cabot voting. We will try to have some of the results in neighboring towns tomorrow, or check one of the local newspapers.

The Cabot Chronicle

Town of Cabot

*****

I continue to receive ticket requests as a result of Dave Parker's interview on the Jay Thomas Show on Sirius Radio today. The latest came tonight from Canada.

*****

This message came this afternoon from Pat Parizo of Sandy Beach Road:

Hi

Just a note to let you know that we are back in Vermont. We will be staying in Springfield for a while. Have some work to do here plus with all the snow at Joe's it would be quite a job to get into the camp at this point. We had a good visit in Florida and had good weather. Quite a shock to return to soooooooooooo Much snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looking forward to returning to Joe's soon

Pat

Yes, Pat, I think it will be a while before you see bare ground around your cottage. But the road is plowed, if you don't mind wading through the snow to get to your door. Spring will be here eventually, though.

Here's a report from Dave Parker about his interview on the Jay Thomas Show this afternoon:

Jane,

Interview went well, Hes kind of a wild guy but nontheless I thought it went well. He plugged the website 3 times over the interview. So let me know if you have a response from that.

Thanks,

Dave

I have already had three requests for Ice-Out tickets, from Missouri, Kentucky and California, and there has been a jump in visits to the web site. All I can say is, " 'Atta boy, Dave!"

Town Meeting in Cabot was pretty much as usual, at least while we were there. We rode with Diane and Bill Rossi. The weather was so-so - no snow, rain, or tough going, and we thought there were the usual number of people attending. Things got discussed and discussed some more, but in the end the figures didn't change. Select Board Chair Caleb Pitkin told us if everything was voted the is on the Warning, the tax rate would go up about 16%. Sort of left folks breathless, but not speechless.

We left town meeting at about noon, and there were still the big money items to be decided - the Highway Budget of $732,500.00, the General Expense Budget of $600,826.00, and the School Budget of $3,477,367. In addition to the basic school budget, tax payers are being asked to approve $75,000 matching funds for a Performing Arts Building. Here are some pictures Fred took at Town Meeting today.
Cabot Town Meeting

Whew!

Finally!! We finally have proof Mother Nature hasn't been picking on just those of us who live at Joe's Pond. Misery loves company, and we love this photo! Thanks, Bev. (Click to enlarge!)

Bev Allen says:

Good Morning Jane and Fred!

Stop whining about the snow in Cabot!! Diane Rossi thought you would get a kick out of this photo of our Grandkids Braeden and Teagan (as in JPA cookbook "Teagan's Brownie Cookies") watching their Dad (our Son Jeff, who for measurement purposes is 6 feet+) shoveling out our backdoor so our little Sheltie, Carly can get outside!! No more snow needed in Ryegate!!

Have fun at Town Meeting - hope you get home by dinner! Bev Allen