Spring may be here - at least, the beginning. We think.

We just came back from walking on W. Shore Road and noticed the snow levels have gone down a bit. There's still plenty on some roofs and the banks are high, but there are signs. Like geese flying low over the pond. Of course they were looking for open water, but there isn't any yet. There is, however, water on the ice, but that didn't seem to interest them. They were flying north when we first spotted them, and in a few minutes we heard them flying south, still low over the ice, but they seemed to have kept going.

Ray Richer came along as we were returning home and said he and Evelyn had seen the geese this morning and heard them honking. They may have spent the day resting on the ice and decided they'd better move on and find open water and food. Nothing here for them yet.

There were a few ice fishermen around, both off the access area and by the big island. A couple of fishermen came along in their car and asked about the fishing. They haven't fished here, but were curious because they hadn't seen anyone out on the ice. Ray Richer told us about fishermen on the ice Friday with their truck. They apparently drove about half way up the pond from the access and spent time fishing. The guys we talked to were just riding around and said they usually fish on Champlain.

So far our road is holding up pretty well, but we can tell the frost hasn't begun to go out. The shoulders are increasingly soft and we saw spots where cars had gone too far to the side and plowed up deep ruts. The next few days should tell the story of whether our road is going to break up really bad or not. It's going to be warmer and by the middle of the week there may be a little light rain.

We took pictures along the way and if you're interested, click here to see a slide show. You'll see some strange shots - that's what a too-long winter does to us. And you'll see what the winter has done to objects along the road. And by the way, now there's water on top of the ice, and you'll see that, too. Take a look.
Slide Show