We were told by the weather people we'd have a frosty night, but nobody told us we'd have a snow storm! I left home around 5:30 to go to a meeting in Cabot, and the wind was howling. I should have gone out with my new handy-dandy anemometer, but I didn't want to be late for my meeting. On the way to Cabot there were tree branches and leaves in the road and just past Chef Woody's, a big poplar across the road. I was able to ease by and continue on my way. We had very heavy rain, and the temperature was dropping.

When I left the meeting at around 8:30, my car registered the temperature as 40 degrees. As soon as I went up the first hill, the temperature began to slip downward and right after turning off the paved road onto Cabot Plains Road, I began to see snow on the windshield. Then my car flashed a "possible road icing" warning! By the time I reached the cemetery, my car thermometer was reading 33 degrees and there was snow along the sides of the road and sticking to the grass in the fields. (See pictures above.) I stopped to take pictures, and then realized there was a sunset behind me! Beautiful. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it was really spectacular. It looked as if there was a giant fire ball behind the mountains. All the while, the wind was whipping and it was snowing! I think Cabot Plain sometimes rivals Mt. Washington for wild, unusual weather.

I was glad to get home. Fred and I covered our vegetable garden with tarps, but I doubt that will do much good. We already had pots over the tomato plants, but even with the addition of the tarp we may not save them. I expect this is a bad time for the apple trees to have a frost - most are just beginning to bloom, and pretty vulnerable. Time will tell.

I had an e-mail message from Pam Hebert, sent at 5:30 p.m. - she said:

Fella, Joe and I just beached a float. It had broken loose and was drifting. We brought it to Mike Calevro's. So, if anyone is missing their float you can find it there. Wild !!!


I imagine there will be lots of things floating free after that gale tonight. At the meeting yesterday, Andy Rudin said he had some strange bolted-together beam thing made of pressure treated wood float to his dock and he's anxious for someone to claim it. Andy is on Old Homestead Road. Mike Calevro is on Barre Avenue.