GOOD MORNING, FELLOW ICE WATCHERS!

We're in watching/waiting mode here at the pond. There is really very little evidence of the ice melting much so far. Our first few days of spring have started things going, but nights have been below freezing, so progress is slow. That, of course, is a good thing both for sugarmakers and to ease the mud season somewhat.

As for melting the ice here at Joe's Pond, it's hard to tell exactly what's going on under the surface of the ice, but we know warmer water, and probably lots of it, is beginning to pour into the lake. The first indication we have each spring is the channel leading into the pond breaks open. (See picture above.) The ice in the channel is never very thick because of the running water it contains, so of course it breaks out first. Next thing we look for is water along the shoreline. So far, we haven't observed that happening. The picture on the right was taken of the north end of the pond where the water is comparatively shallow and where there's plenty of sun. You can see the rail-trail where snowmobiles still have good snow, and some of the dried cattails are showing in that cove. No open water, though.

Right now the temperature on the cold side of our house is 45 degrees. I'm guessing the snow depth around our house is still 2-3 feet. I checked this morning and the snow at the stake on Mt. Mansfield is 97 inches. That's over 8 feet! While we aren't anywhere near as high as Mt. Mansfield, we're a good bit higher than St. Johnsbury where the record snowfall broke the record at 139.2 inches. That record was set on Sat., April 5. That is the most snow since 139 inches fell in 1968, and the most ever since record keeping began in 1894, according to meteorologist Steve Maleski at the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury. I'm pretty sure if records were kept here at Joe's Pond, the dept would have exceeded that figure by quite a bit. We get far more snow in the West Danville/Walden/Cabot Plain area than lower regions such as St. Johnsbury or even Danville or Marshfield.

However, lots of snow doesn't guarantee a greater depth of ice. Some years Joe's Pond has had ice 4 ft. thick. This year the greatest depth we know was 32 inches. I'll take some pictures tomorrow around the pond to show you what's happening. We're supposed to have a couple more days of warm weather and then on Friday some rain, extending through Saturday and Sunday. Temps are forecast for the 30's and 40's, so it's likely we'll get a little more snow here at the pond.

The snow melt from our area goes into the Connecticut River. The dividing line is on Cabot Plain. Brooks on the south and west side of the Plain drain into the Winooski River and then into Champlain; on the north and east side of the Plain, water runs into the Connecticut. It's been said that Molly's Pond, just west of Joe's Pond, drains both ways. There is a substantial brook that runs out of the south end of the pond into the Molly's Falls Pond where the dam is located, and that flows into the Winooski; however, there is marsh land and, depending on conditions, a small stream that drains towards Joe's Pond, running under Rt. 2 through a culvert near the Young Farm Road and eventually flowing into the brook by Hamilton's on West Shore Road.

Lake Champlain is forecast to hit flood level on Sunday. It is now at 99.29 ft. Flood stage is 100 ft.

And so it goes. I'll post more pictures of melting (I hope) later this week.