Looks like we may get the first real signs of spring in the next few days. The temperatures are supposed to gradually warm tonight and we'll get some rain - or it could be snow in "the higher elevations" like the Northeast Kingdom, and that means Joe's Pond. However, over the weekend we could see some melting begin. Today started off very nice, but deteriorated by noon to become gray and dreary.

I wondered a little about the sudden turn around of our weather pattern; then Diane Rossi told me Don and Diane Sherwood were headed to their place on Old Homestead Rd for a ski week. So that explained it. Whenever the Sherwoods come to ski we can bank on either bitterly cold weather or rain. Never fails. After this long winter, I have to admit I'm really glad they brought some spring weather to us. Sorry about ruining the skiing, but a lot of us really need a break from cold weather and some rain is most welcome.

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by PBM Nutritionals in Georgia, Vermont, for Ice-Out tickets. PBM Nutritionals makes baby food, among other products. Each employee received an Ice-Out Contest ticket with their paycheck last week, and the tickets have been pouring in - with some very good picks, I must say.

I had a message from Bob Labrie who has a contest very similar to ours going in Goshen, MA. He's had his block and flag out for at least two weeks and in this latest report he said they had some rain and then a cold snap that turned their small pond into a skating rink and the block is now solidly frozen into the ice. I don't imagine that impacts the final melting process, but it will be interesting to see how their block goes down. We don't put our block out until around April 1st because we have a lot of snowmobile traffic and ice fishing activity on our lake and that could foul up the ropes that are attached to the block. The ice is out of Goshen pond long before it's out of Joe's Pond.

Tonight I've been busy sorting tickets that came in the mail. Activity has picked up in just this past week and I'm sure if the weather stays warm and wet, more people will begin to think about spring and open water and will jump into the contest. We're hoping this year's winner will get at least as much as last year - of course there were four winners, but even so, each one got about $1,300. Not bad for a buck investment. Lots better than banks or the stock market, for sure.

Fred and I spent the morning in St. Johnsbury. We got haircuts and did the usual errands. It was much warmer there, but when we were driving home along W. Shore Rd. around 1 o'clock, the road was bare and a little muddy in some spots, reminding us that mild weather is going to bring on mud season. That made me wonder how bad it's likely to be this year. My prediction is that it'll be an up to the bumper, bottoming out, over the hubcaps kind of year. The road always heaves with the frost, and I think the higher it heaves, the deeper the mud will be. Just to be thinking about mud season and setting our clocks ahead this weekend is a sign spring has arrived. More or less.