There is little news and lots of rain. It's like last winter when I was writing every day about more snow! The trend hasn't changed; just the season. It gets depressing to see those showers pictured on Gary Sadowsky's morning forecast for every single day this week. One of our neighbors has a theory: he says there's only so much moisture up there and when things turn around we'll get a very dry spell. I see it more as living in a giant mason jar where, every time the sun warms it, water collects on the top and sides, and then, when the sun goes down, the water falls back onto us. But things could be worse. After working a while in my flowers yesterday I decided to be smart about this weeding thing and let the frost take care of things in a few weeks, then start fresh in the spring. I've advised Fred to do the same - stop dodging showers to mow the lawn; it only grows back twice as fast, we end up with muddy tire tracks all over the place and windrows of soggy, matted grass clippings. Let 'er grow! The deer will love us this fall, we'll save gas and frustration, and in the kind of weather we're having nobody is going to care about how the lawn looks. We all have more important things to contemplate.

We ordered our 2010 wood supply a while back. Our supplier brought the first load right away and said he'd try to bring more in a week or so, which he did. The plan was a load or two every week until our order was filled. The last delivery was about two weeks ago and he told us then he was having a hard time getting around in the woods because it's so wet and said he was already back logged (no pun intended) because of the weather. Things haven't improved. Right now I'd just as soon he not bring more - the area where he will unload is so wet I'm sure that heavy truck will leave deep ruts in the lawn - but it may not matter because if we don't mow again they won't show up much. No point in trying to dry the wood now, so let the trees stand a bit longer. It's unfortunate, though because wood is this man's livelihood and if he can't get the product out, he's not making any money. We complain about the rain, but he's got a really serious problem if things don't change.

Some of you know that our son, Jamie, is a lay monitor for the State of Vermont here at Joe's Pond. He goes out on a regular basis to sample the water clarity at various levels during the summer and makes a report to the state. He told me yesterday the samples he took were way cloudier than normal and even at lesser depths, the report was not good. Joe's Pond has never been one of those crystal clear lakes that have a sandy bottom and you can see forever under water. We have lots of brooks leading into the pond that come through fields and out of forested areas that, in hard rains, bring in a lot of topsoil, silt, and whatever else is along the banks, depositing it into the pond. This is not new, and it isn't going to change; but there are some years better than others. As Ray Richer reported a while back, that murkiness helps keep some stuff like milfoil from growing well. See? There's a positive!

I came upon a photo I want to share with you. It was with some family pictures I was sorting through this weekend, looking for a particular one to send to a cousin. This one was taken in 1934 when my mother taught school in West Danville. It is the graduation of the 8th grade that year. She taught grades four through eight upstairs in the building that used to be Larrabee's Building Supply, later was an exercise gym, and more recently was an auction house. The picture was taken on the lawn by the church. You'll recognize the house on the hill in the background, and perhaps you'll recognize some of the names. From the left, my mother, Arletta Bolton, (?) Harris, Clarence Ainsworth, Maida Johnson, Francis Robinson,Frederick Gilbert,Margaret Brown, Richard Gilbert, Paul Sevigny, Blanche Dansereau and Supt. Natt Burbank. With the exception of the Gilbert boys, I don't think any of them are still alive, but their children and friends may enjoy seeing this picture.

We have added links to two church web sites, one in W. Danville and one in Danville. Look on the drop-down menu for "Links" on home page. Check the Hastings Store link while you're there. There are new features coming up on that site.