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.

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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.

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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