Yesterday, Fall Foliage Day in Cabot, was a lovely fall day with more sunshine than we'd dared expect and no rain until late afternoon. By then the tours were over and people were settled in Cabot School's new Performing Arts Building to hear Isaac James, a young concert pianist.

I have to admit I was very impressed with the PA building. It seems to have everything needed and probably more. Also impressive was the demeanor of the students who were operating the equipment and overseeing the performance. As we entered the building a very pretty and pleasant teenage girl welcomed us and gave us a program. Other young people were adjusting video cameras, taping down cables so nobody would trip, gathering extra chairs as the auditorium began to fill up, and all in a very professional manner without horseplay or unnecessary noise. The auditorium filled quickly until there was standing room only.

The program started right on time, the lighting and sound very good, Mr. James's performance was stirring. Several visitors mentioned how fortunate the small town of Cabot is to have such a presentation - and the perfect venue for it.

Isaac James resides in Syracuse, New York and began learning piano at age 13, and three years later placed third against international contestants at the International Chopin Competition. He has performed on both piano and organ as a soloist and as an accompanist. He is also a piano technician and has serviced piano for artists such as Drt. Robert Auler, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, John Spradling and others. He is the executive director of the New England Piano Competition and plans to bring pianists from throughout the world to Barre Vermont.

The program yesterday included Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu op.66; Prelude in G Minor op.23 #5 by Rachmaninoff; selections by Debussy, Schubert, and closed with George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

Overall, the whole day was a success. Early in the morning I found a fairly large group of people looking bewildered outside our Historical Society building. I found they were a group of about 17 who had come from San Diego, California. They belonged to Walkabout International, a non-profit organization promoting walking. There are planned events such as day trips, guided hiking tours, annual get togethers and even cruises. They were going to spend the day in Cabot and needed directions as to what events we had planned, so I walked with them to the gym where we gave them the information they needed - directions, maps and lots of advice - to make their day interesting and fulfill their dedication to hiking. In the afternoon they hiked to Nichol's Ledge, and I happened to be on hand when they arrived back from there, so got this photo of some of the group.

Today it was back to the reality of an unusually cold snap - unusual for September, at least. We've had temps only in the mid 40's most of the day and sprinkles of rain. The forecast is for snow, possibly as much as one inch. Fred and I picked the rest of the tomatoes and a few other things in the garden, left stuff like carrots and beets, and pretty much put the garden to bed for this year. I'll wait for a warmer day, and I'm sure we'll have some, to cover up the few ornamental shrubs we have so they stand a better chance of surviving the cold and snow this winter. I'll mulch with leaves again this year and tie up and stake the lilac bushes and young maples so they won't get broken down too much by the heavy snow. Every year we have one or two casualties, no matter how carefully we plan protection for them.

Even Woody, our cat, is showing signs of giving in to the coming winter living. He is usually anxious to go outside as soon as it gets dark, but the last couple of nights he's come in early and settled quickly in front of the fire or in my arm chair, content to stay where it's warm and cozy.

There must be some sort of inner voice that moves animals and sometimes humans to begin a hibernation process. Fred began getting in his supply of fire wood earlier than usual - it's all tucked into the garage now - and I don't think I've ever had the deck furniture put away and my tender plants inside this early. The boats at camp were out of the water earlier than usual, and for the most part, we're all ready to settle in for the winter. I'm just hoping we'll be fooled and there will be a stretch of warm weather following this cold spell. It would be especially nice to be able to enjoy it without having to do all that work we've already accomplished. We can take long walks in the woods, or maybe take the kayak out, take road trips - and not a minute of guilt because there's work left to do "before snow flies."

Today Fred and Bill Rossi went to deliver some of our Joe's Pond Association directories to members who had ordered them, and they went down North Shore Road to see what is being done at Smith's. There are two Smith cottages, and one is being moved and will then be remodeled. (See picture.) Mark Smith married Rosie Chaloux this summer, and apparently they will be spending more time here at Joe's Pond.

We're wondering where Homer and his new bride, Margaret, are. We haven't seen much activity at camp and some Barre people report they haven't spotted the newlyweds in Barre, either. I suggested they are enjoying a honeymoon someplace sunny and warm . . .

To those of you who either had reservations or went to the turkey dinner for the 6:30 p.m. setting last night and found they had run out of turkey - I apologize. I don't know what happened, but it seemed to me when I left a little after 5 o'clock it wasn't too crowded and I never imagined they would run out of turkey. I have let our Fall Foliage chair person know and I'm sure she'll do what she can to be sure the people who work on that dinner do better another time. It must have just been poor planning. I know there were a number of Joe's Pond folks who had reservations for the late setting, plus others whom I didn't know but who may have gone to the dinner after reading about it here on my blog, and to all of you, all I can say is that I'm very sorry and I'm letting the Foliage Committee know so they can take steps to prevent that from happening again. It shouldn't have happened.

This is a busy day here, fielding calls for reservations for the turkey supper in Cabot tomorrow evening and other last-minute questions about Fall Foliage Day. As usual, there are a few heart-stopping moments when we think we may have overlooked something really important, but as Blanche Lamore says, "It's coming together really well, like it always does." Blanche has been doing this for almost 50 years, so not much rattles her. In case you are wondering who Blanche is, she is chair person of Cabot's Fall Foliage Day, and is works on more committees and is an officer on more boards than I can enumerate - and she's 97 years old! She's less than 5 ft. tall and probably weighs under 100 pounds, but she has more energy than any three of us younger gals put together. She's the glue that keeps things together.

Speaking of heart-stopping, this morning Fred and I were walking at around 8 a.m. on W. Shore Rd. when we heard what we thought was a car coming down the hill in back of us. We were walking on the left, facing traffic, so both started to move further to the left for the "car" to pass. As we did so, a bicycle whizzed past me on my left and I barely avoided a collision. Talk about heart-stopping! We later met the same girl coming the opposite direction - again, she was riding on the left side of the road rather than keeping to the right where wheeled traffic is supposed to be. She didn't stop, but sort of apologized for startling me and kept going, on the left-hand side of the road. I hope she will be more careful another time and ring a bell or something when she is coming upon pedestrians - and ride on the right-hand side of the road. Bicycles are considered "vehicles" and should stay as far to the right of a public road as possible, adhering to the same laws of the road as automobiles. I don't mean to be a grumpy old lady, but I shudder to think of how much damage a speeding bicyclist and I could do to each other in a crash.

I'm sure some of you will remember J.J. Cioffe who did sportscasting on WCAX for many years. A while back JJ left WCAX to go to California. Over the weekend, Fred sent off an e-mail to JJ just to let him know we think about him and miss him here in Vermont, and JJ shot back a nice reply:
Fred,

That's so nice of you to take the time to track me down and write. I appreciate your comments so much. There are many things I miss about Vermont and the biggest is the connection with people who have watched us over the years. I'm glad the departtment is in the capable hands of Mike McCune who is doing a great job!

Life is good out here in Palm Springs. I'm selling advertising for a radio group and having a ball. Playing golf year round is great, too.

My best to your wife. Have a great day.

- JJ

Fred and I first met JJ when he worked at a television station in the White River Junction area. I believe JJ grew up in the Rutland area. We wish him well in his career change.

Bill and Diane Rossi just got back from a long weekend in Portland, ME. Diane sent this photo of the Portland lighthouse. Looks like spectacular weather there. Perhaps she'll send more pictures later.

Perhaps you noticed the comment left on yesterday's blog entry. To Leo, who grew up in Burke Hollow, just north of St. Johnsbury and to his mom, a big thank you, and welcome to our Joe's Pond blog. Very nice to hear from folks like that.

I'll have the camera with me tomorrow so should have some pictures of our Fall Foliage visitors. The way the reservations for the turkey supper are coming in, we will have lots of people there - at least for the meal. I'm hoping we have a good crowd taking the tours, as well. Marion Heath and I will be at the registration desk in the lobby of the gym to help you get where you want to be, so stop by and say hello. We'll have maps, tour information and other handouts to make your day easier and more interesting, even if you're an old hand about our Fall Foliage Day. You'll be able to get your meal tickets there and coffee and doughnuts will be available in the morning, crafts on exhibit all day. See you there!

I received this note a few minutes ago from Mary Beth Churchill at the Times Argus:

Jane, I stopped by Leland Ennis [and Velma Smith's] home yesterday and I was impressed with [their] collection of collectibles. WOW!! I do hope the tourist or leaf peepers do visit . . .Tell the tourists to definitely go there. I was totally in awe after I left there.

Mary Beth Churchill

I sure will, Mary Beth. It is not only a beautiful custom-built log home, the view from there is spectacular. This is a chance you shouldn't miss. To get there from Rt. 2, take Danville Hill Road, just before you get to Goodrich's Sugar House, and watch for Urban Road on your right. You will be able to see the house on the top of the hill as you approach on Urban Road. The driveway is a left turn a few yards up Urban Road, and curves up the hill to the very top. This land was where Velma (Urban) Smith grew up, the house you pass on the right was the Urban's home, the barn was across the road where there's now a small house. Velma said she always wanted a house on that hilltop, even as a youngster. The fields and pastures surrounding her were once all part of the family farm.

If you approach from Cabot Village, take Danville Hill Road (across from the grocery store) about two miles to Urban Road on your left. Easy to find. Worth the trip, great scenery along the way.

We were in St. Johnsbury this noon to meet cousins visiting from Massachusetts. We had lunch at Anthony's. They had a special of chicken pie which the cousins had, but that was a bit more than either Fred or I wanted. Fred had blueberry pancakes and I had a western sandwich. Everything was good and we had a nice visit. Andy and Steph brought another cousin of ours that, until a couple years ago, I never knew existed. Fran's great grandmother was our great grandfather's sister. She is a lovely lady and it was very nice meeting her. We spent a couple hours over lunch, and as we were leaving, I realized Dean and Elsie Finney were there, too. I worked for Dean at the local radio station when it was WTWN decades ago, and have known Elsie for an equally long time. They are both well and it was good to see them.

Today was St. Johnsbury's day to host Fall Foliage. Unfortunately, it rained most of the day. There were tents and a few people milling about with umbrellas, but I'm sure the count would be down due to the weather. These pictures are of the farmers' market at the south end of Main Street. There were other things going on on Main Street, but there seemed to be very few people at the Welcome Center on Railroad Square, and even Anthony's wasn't unusually busy.

We made a quick stop at Price Chopper on the way home and that was busier than usual. Of course, we aren't often there on a Sunday afternoon, so perhaps that's normal.

The rain was pretty steady, and it is tonight, too. It doesn't look promising for tomorrow, Walden's day to host the leaf peeper crowd, and Tuesday, Cabot's day to host, doesn't look much better. If our visitors don't mind the cool damp weather, it does make for some really nice photo opportunities, though. The colors pop when it's wet, but you miss the crunch and crackle of dry leaves underfoot. We have a hike to Nichol's Ledge on the schedule for Tuesday in Cabot, but if it's raining, that won't happen. The trail is steep and too muddy when it's wet. The hay ride to the sugar woods wouldn't be great if it's raining, either, but we'll have to wait and see what Tuesday brings.

There are still plenty of things to do indoors - we noticed a special rate at the movie theater in St. J. - and most places have great meals, teas, museums, etc., that will warm visitors up and pass the time during showers. And after the rain, everything is fresh and clean. We are just glad it isn't cold and there's no snow expected. It's not unusual to have a little snow sometime during the first weeks of October, and in this year of unusual weather patterns, we count our blessings and hope for the best.

We had a pretty good frost last night, but I think our garden, being well covered, has survived again, although some leaves are showing definite signs that it's really the end of growing season. I tried something different last night - I released the tomato plants from the stakes and laid the vines on the grass/hay mulch and then covered them with a thick layer of grass and leaves topped by a heavy sheet of black plastic. This morning I pulled the covering back and left them on the ground. I'll need to cover them again along about Thursday, but in the meantime, I'm hoping a few more will ripen. Then I guess I'll just pick everything, green ones included and hope let them ripen off the vine. Or maybe pull the vines and hang them in a warm spot and let the fruit ripen. I've heard that works well if the fruit is mature enough.

Today was another bright and sunny fall beauty. There was a steady breeze and if you were out of the sun too long, it was quite chilly. But the foliage is lovely and it was an invigorating day to work outside. I have lots of work to get my flower beds ready for winter, but that can wait. I wanted to get the tractor garage organized so we could store the deck furniture, and I got that done - with some help from Fred. Mostly it was a matter of deciding to throw out stuff we don't need, like carpet remnants, parts for machinery we no longer own, and just plain junk. I'm the saver, so it was mostly stuff I needed to make decisions on. Fred wanted to continue hauling in more wood for winter, so I only bothered him a few times to help move some of the big stuff. It's all finished except for hauling away a fairly large pile of junk for recycling.

It's amazing how much stuff accumulates. We both save stuff, but I admit I'm worse than Fred. I think it's a combination of probably being overly thrifty and unwisely confident I'll need these precious items one day. I hate throwing away anything that still has some "life" left in it.

I believe the trait is in the genes. Today I found one of my father's many tool kits. It was one of those metal ones with a tray, a couple of latches and a handle. When I opened it, there were all sorts of odds and ends of screws, washers, wrenches, cotter pins and some stuff I couldn't identify. I dumped it all out on a plastic bag to let some of the sawdust and dirt blow away, and discovered it had not one, but two wooden bottoms neatly fitted inside. Ah-ha, I thought, I bet Dad put the wood in there to keep his tools from rattling, or maybe so things like saw blades or chisels wouldn't get dulled on the metal. There was some rust on the sides and I decided I'd use a wire brush and give the old thing a coat of paint and it would be good as ever. The few rusty spots cleaned up nicely. Then I turned it over and started working on the bottom. My wire brush scraped off several layers of rusty metal revealing a couple holes about the size of a quarter. I guess Dad didn't want to throw it out, either, so when it began to rust he reinforced the bottom with wood.

I sorted through what I'd dumped out, put the wooden bottoms back in place and arranged the tools in the bottom and the small stuff in the upper tray - minus the miscellaneous valve caps, rusty nails, and sawdust. I may eventually give it a quick spray of paint just to keep it from rusting more, but whether I do or not, I won't be throwing it away any time soon. Now I have another place to store more stuff when I start rearranging things in the garage.

And then there's the basement, my office, the kitchen drawers - it'll only take a few weeks - or maybe months - well, possibly years if we're talking my office. But what the heck, sometimes it's fun to just sort through the treasures we've saved and forgotten and by next fall we'll probably need to do the tractor garage again . . .

Another frosty night! We covered the tomatoes again, but I'm not sure they'll survive - it's already down to 35 degrees, and by morning could be much colder. I picked all the remaining spinach and packaged it for freezing. Fred is hauling in wood, Harry, who services our machines each year, took the snow blower and the lawn mower yesterday. While they are both gone, we'll rearrange the "tractor garage" so the deck furniture will fit in there and keep room in our regular garage for the snow blower. It's kind of like cleaning house twice a year, keeping all the seasonal stuff accessible and clearing out the junk that has collected.

I've been busy getting ready for Fall Foliage Day in Cabot on Tuesday. I promised to do maps and hand-outs and also do a little advertising. The advertising seems to be working because I'm getting more reservations for the turkey dinner than I did last year. I think people are beginning to figure out this is really a very good dinner. I haven't taken any orders for take-outs and I wonder about that - I am able to order mine on Tuesday morning, but everyone who would normally take reservations will be working all day on Tuesday, so after Monday evening, the only way people can make reservations is at the gym. Lots of the visitors to that, for both the beef stew luncheon and the turkey dinner, but they are the folks who are going on the tours and visiting the craft tables.

I think I mentioned that we have some different activities planned this year. Marvie Domey is taking people to Molly's Falls Dam and the hydro-electric plant this year. I did that tour a couple of years and enjoyed it a lot. That little plant is very much like the one in W. Danville, and we got to go inside and the first year our host, Jim Moreau, ran the turbines for a little while when we were inside. What a racket! But it's interesting to learn the process. This year they are replacing the unique wooden penstock that runs along Rt. 2 from the dam to the power plant with a steel penstock. We've made arrangements for the tour bus to stop where that work is being done, too. Men seem to particularly enjoy this tour - all the machinery, noise and technical stuff.

There will also be a hay ride to the Bothfeld's maple sugar house. It should be a nice trip through the maple grove. I think they pull the hay wagon with a tractor, but the Bothfelds used to have oxen and I remember seeing them coming to the creamery with their milk. Weather permitting, Melvin Churchill will be leading visitors up to Nichol's Ledge again this year, and in the afternoon David Book will do a tour with a lecture on some of our Civil War veterans. Lee Penniman and her students will do morning and afternoon historic tours that include the Bayley Hazen Road and the restored one-room school house on West Hill. We have a concert pianist scheduled at 4 p.m., and an old fashioned sing-along at the church at 7:15.

Of course, for people who don't want to be on a tour bus for a couple hours, there are things for them, too - the creamery gives tours all day, Velma Smith's big custom-built log cabin home will be open for visitors all day, the Menard brothers look forward to visitors - Henry at his landscaped gardens and Edmund at his wood-carving studio, another artist and wood carver Ken Klingler will also be happy to have visitors come by any time. There are other things going on - Old Crow Craft Shop on Rt. 215, book sale at the library, and displays at the Historical Society Building, craft displays at the gym - so there should be something for just about everyone.

Marion Heath and I will be on hand all day to greet and register visitors and be sure they get their meal tickets and maps and get to the tours on time.

Liz Randall sent these pictures of their sunflowers here at their Joe's Pond home. Son, Matt took this and several other photos - looks like they have a whole field of them. Very nice. I think I'll grab one for my desktop background. Thanks, Matt and Liz!!

If anyone wants reservations for the turkey dinner Tuesday evening (setting at 5 and 6:30), or the beef stew luncheon that begins serving at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, send me an e-mail or give me a call at 802-563-2381. I'll be taking reservations until Monday night - or call Tuesday morning before I leave at about 7:45 a.m. Better yet, come on down and join the fun. See you there!

Hi to All,

My wedding with Margaret Lajeunesse Guilmette on Sat. Sept. 19th was great. Everything went really well. We got married in her church, St. Monica, with Father Leo Bilodeau and my Peacham Congregational Pastor, Bob Potter as co-celebrants. It was a family wedding and reception at the Hilltop Restaurant. We also had over 100 friends who came to the Church to be at the wedding ceremony.

We honeymooned at the Stowflake Resort in Stowe in their Bridal Suite. Terrific time ! We returned to Joe's Pond on Tuesday.

Next week we will spend a few days at Moody Beach, Maine. We plan to summer at Joe's Pond and winters at her home in Barre.

For you who do not know, Margaret and her husband Frank

double dated with Elsie and I 62 years ago. We have been friends ever since. Great to know both families. We are really happy being together. We are blessed.

Our Love To All,

Homer and Margaret

Our sincere best wishes to Homer and Margaret. The Joe's Pond address for congratulatory messages is: P. O. Box 146, West Danville VT 05873. The couple's winter address will be 17 Country Way, Barre VT 05641.

*****

This came this morning - click to enlarge.

I believe this is being organized by the Cabot PTSO, the Parent/Teacher Organization. It looks as if it'll be a fun day. Hope you can bring the children in your lives and join the competition.

We were away most of today. We met Tom and Ellie (Fred's brother and wife) for lunch at Gordi's at Loon Mountain. We left early and did an errand in Littleton, and the weather was doubtful when we left. It was very nice as the day progressed, even summery warm. Not as much color in the mountains as we have here, but we enjoyed the trip and it was great to see Tom and Ellie. They lead busy lives when they are at home in Laconia, and then they are gone all winter to Colorado where Tom enjoys being a ski instructor at Beaver Creek. We hadn't seen them all summer, so it was time to catch up on family news all around.

As we were leaving Loon Mountain, we heard a train whistle, and then watched a short excursion train moving slowly a short distance away. It was around 2 p.m., and I don't know for sure where it may have originated, but it must have been a very pleasant ride through the mountains, even if the foliage wasn't peak there.

On the way back I took a few pictures coming through the Cannon Mt. area, but nothing unusual. We stopped in West Danville to check on the mail and Jenny and Alyssa were in the store. Fred couldn't resist some pictures of them!

When we got home and I had a chance to check my e-mail I found Steve and Bev Allen had taken a picture of the sunrise this morning. It's a bit late getting on the blog, but here it is. Nice picture. Steve wrote:

Jane,

Thought you might like this pic of sunrise this morning. Seems we get 1 or 2 like this every September - or maybe they just are coming late enough now so everybody is up and around!

Steve

Thanks, Steve for sending that. It was a warmish night last night, so there wasn't much fog over the water like there has been on the two or so frosty mornings over the weekend. Last night it was actually very balmy outside. I had a meeting in Cabot for Fall Foliage Day that's coming up next Tuesday, and as usual, I stopped at the Plains Cemetery to look at the sky. There was, of course, a stiff breeze up there, but it was warm, kinda like spring. I got this picture but was in a hurry to get home so I didn't wait around for the sky to change.

By the way, I noticed when I went by the Burtt farm on my way to Cabot their apple orchard is producing very well. I could see lots of bright red apples on the trees. I was surprised that those small trees were ready to produce, but indeed they seem to be doing well. The orchard is open for people to pick their own on weekends for a while, I believe through October unless we get a really hard frost, I guess.

We were surprised the other day to find some fairly large choke-cherry trees on our lower lawn broken over. They are big enough so only a large animal could have done it, and we found scat and claw marks that clearly mean a bear. We think it must be hanging out right in this area because this is the second time in the past couple of weeks we've found tree damage like that. We don't begrudge them the choke cherries, but I do wish they'd spare the trees. We hope they don't develop a taste for grapes - our old arbor wouldn't withstand a heavyweight like that I'm afraid. Fred says the grapes aren't quite ready yet and figures the birds will have them way before either a bear or we have a chance. Somehow the birds know exactly when they should be picked. There again - they need them more than we do, I guess.

We're beginning to get reservations for the turkey dinner next Tuesday in Cabot. I look forward to it, too. It's really good. I think Rose (Bothfeld) said they are cooking something like 30 turkeys! There have been years when they ran out of food. They were looking for people to help peel squash - that's one thing I'd NEVER volunteer for. One of the women at the meeting said if you put them in the microwave for a few minutes they are easier to peel. Maybe I'll try that . . . but I usually just bake them, skins on, and then it's easy to scoop out the good part. We're hoping the weather cooperates so it isn't raining or snowing and folks can enjoy the day next Tuesday. We have something very special this year. There will be an afternoon concert by Isaac James, concert pianist, at the Cabot School performing arts building. The program includes selections by Chopin, Debussy, Rachmoninoff and Schubert and is at 4 p.m., free, but donations to help defray his expenses will be welcome. We hope people will come for the concert and stay for the turkey dinner - or take some turkey home. I'm putting in my order for take-out!

The United Nations has chosen the first Monday in October to be World Habitat Day - a day to stand up and let it be known that affordable, adequate housing should be a priority everywhere. To learn more about Habitat for Humanity, go to www.habitat.org
Find out what you can do to help.

We've been watching our humming bird feeder carefully these last few days, but not even the wasps are around most days, and apparently the zippy little birds have moved on. Fred took this picture last Sunday, and I guess this little female was carbo-loading the last time for her trip to South America. We'll begin watching for them to be back around the first of May, but it all depends on the temperature. They depend on flowers and insects for food, and freezing temperatures pretty much rule out both.

We covered our garden last night, and may again tonight. Even with heavy black plastic covering the plants, some of the leaves on the cucumber and squash plants looked a little frost-bitten this morning, I thought. They may perk up, but I guess the actual growing season is pretty much over with. It's nice outside today, though.

We walked on West Shore Road this morning. The loons were very loud. It looked like two adults and there seemed to be nothing bothering them. We met the people who bought the place that used to be Molly's Pond Craft Shop on Rt. 2 overlooking Molly's Pond. They have turned it into a private residence and will live there year around. Their names are Jill and Tom McGann, and both are native Vermonters! We're pleased they are neighbors, and I invited them to join some of our Joe's Pond Association events next summer.

On the right is a scene along W. Shore Road. The foliage needs just about another week and it will be pretty near peak. It's turning rapidly in our area. Other spots a little away from the Pond don't seem to be coming along as quickly, but that's good because whenever people get out to look for foliage, they will be able to find beautiful scenery for several weeks, somewhere in the area.

We hardly ever go anywhere without our camera these days, but when we were leaving for our walk this morning and realized neither of us had it, we hesitated only a moment and then said, forget it - it's going to rain, all we need is umbrellas. So off we went.

We stopped to talk with a neighbor about the solar panel she has on the southeast side of her home. Turns out it's an experimental thing sponsored by the government to find out the viability of using alternative energy sources. This will be the first full winter she's had it, so she couldn't really say if it's useful or not.

As we continued our walk, we spotted a doe and fawn in a field beyond us. Fred automatically reached for his camera. Oops! Whose idea was it not to bring the camera, anyway? We continued walking towards the pair, and they watched us intently before the doe finally led the way down the field and across the road into the woods. The youngster trotted along a good distance away from mother, apparently more interested in us than obeying her. As we passed where they had disappeared into the woods, we heard a twig snap and knew they had been watching us from the protection of the big spruces. We won't be caught without the camera again.

I do have some pictures for you - not really wildlife since Fred took them when he and Bill Rossi were in St. Johnsbury the other day. Wild for them is hot dogs and ice cream in the middle of the morning when everyone else is having a coffee break. This day they went for lunch at the Wine Garden, so apparently they were tending to business more than usual.

This is the weekend for St. Johnsbury's "Traditional Crafts" fair - we hope the weather has cleared by Saturday. You'll also notice a banner on the Fairbanks Museum announcing a special exhibit. Here's a short slide show: Slides

I should explain - that's Bill and Diane Jejer hamming it up at Hastings Store in W. Danville. The photo showing condos for sale at Point Comfort in West Danville is part of a hand out available at the store. It's interesting how Point Comfort has evolved over the years from being Cook's Point, with absolutely nothing on it, to having a large dance hall, a gas station, and restaurant and cabins when owned by Glenn McLaughlin and later his step-son Bobby Regan, to condominiums today. The Point has quite a history.

We're back into a regular morning walk routine - at least for a while. The weather is pleasantly cool right now, just right for morning walks, but as it gets colder, it's harder for me to get out there and trudge over the frosty road with the bitterly cold wind usually in my face either coming or going. For now, it's a great way to start the day.

We always have the camera with us, and today took some pictures of the pond - very quiet and not very welcoming - in the grayness of early morning. The sun is now beginning to show in fits and starts, but I don't think the forecast is for a very warm day and there are frost warnings for tonight. We escaped last night, but tonight we'll cover the garden and tender plants.

Fred began hauling in wood from the outside woodpile yesterday. This is a busy time of year with preparations for Fall Foliage and the Apple Festival in Cabot. I'm redrawing maps for the Fall Foliage folks - we have handout maps showing the best places to view scenery, the farms and businesses that are open for visits from our guests, etc. Several years ago I made a "Shutterbug" tour that has turn-by-turn directions over back roads for people who want to be on their own rather than join a guided tour. This seems to be the way lots of folks prefer seeing our beautiful countryside, so each year I go over the directions and map to make any necessary changes.

I had an inquiry yesterday as to whether there might still be train rides through our area at this time of year. I was sorry to have to report the train doesn't go here anymore. I looked for other fall excursion trains, but didn't find much. St. Johnsbury had a summer excursion, but as far as I can tell, there's nothing this fall. These were retired folks who were looking for a foliage train, so I don't know if they would be up for hiking on the rail/trail, but I told them about it. With so much going on in villages all over the Northeast Kingdom, I'm sure they'll be able to find interesting things to do and wonderful vistas if they take the right routes.

I don't know if many of you know that Bill Rossi has just about finished his book of photos of cottages around the pond. Each photo is identified so as you pass by in your boat you will be able to easily identify which camp belongs to whom. I've only seen the pictures on the computer, but it's impressive - great pictures and a really nice job - all in color. We'll have more on it later, but it may be ready in a matter of a few weeks. Bill told us last night he still has some tweeking to do before it goes to press, but he's hoping to deliver it to the printer next week. I think it will be a lovely keepsake item.

Fred got this picture of a newt on our driveway a couple days ago. You don't usually see them this exposed, but I guess he was looking for a better location to spend the winter and had to cross the road to get there. I suppose this one is an adult, in which case I think it would be called an "eft" - and it may have been looking for water. I hope it got where it was going. Since they are very toxic, probably there aren't many predators to bother them.

I remember when I was a kid I was warned to be very careful when drinking from brooks and springs in the woods (which we often did on hot summer days when chasing cows though the pastures) because swallowing a newt could mean the end of us. We drank from cupped hands rather than directly from a pool, and only from certain springs along the routes where the water was clear and cold, bubbling out of the ground over sand. The springs had to be off the general path where the cows didn't go, otherwise, we figured the cows had probably contaminated the water. We suffered no ill effects, but I wouldn't do it now unless in desperation.

NOTICE

DEMOCRATIC TOWN CAUCUS

All DEMOCRATIC voters of the town of Cabot, Vermont, County of Washington
are hereby notified, in accordance with 17 V.S.A. § 2303, to meet in caucus
on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at the Willey Hall, Kitchen Meeting Room,
second floor, Main St. (Rte. 215) at 7 p.m.

The Agenda for this Caucus is as follows:
 I.   Election of Town Committee
 II.  Election of Officers by the Town Committee
 III. Election of two Washington County Committee Members
 IV. Authorize Town Chair to add members to the Cabot Democratic
Committee as requested (not just at annual meeting)    
 V. New Business

(signed) Bonnie S. Dannenberg, Party Town Chair, phone: 563-3396

Please come to this brief meeting. ALL Cabot Democrats are invited to attend
and may run for any office. Any Cabot voter may ask to be a member of the
Cabot Democratic Committee. This is similar to registering for a political
party in some other states; Vermont voters do not register by party. Anyone
who wants to be a Cabot Democratic Town Committee member must send Bonnie
Dannenberg contact information, if unable to attend this meeting. This is a
semi-annual town reorganization meeting. It is a first step to prepare for
Vermont state elections in 2010.

(signed) Peter Dannenberg, Secretary
Town of Cabot Democratic Committee

Here's the rest of the story about Liz and John Randall's visit to the tractor rally in Wisconsin this summer. I put the photos into a slide show, and here's what Liz wrote:

Here are a few pictures from The 20th Annual Red Power Round-up 2009.

There were 1100 Tractors, 300 cub cadets, 200 IH Trucks, 127 Vendors selling parts and memorabilia and over 2,000 exhibitors and presenters. Over 10,000 spectators passed through the gates in a three day show. The main reason for Wisconsin Chapter 4 hosting this show was to raise money for the International Harvestor(IH) Archives. For More information go to Red Power Magazine on the internet. www.redpowermagazine.com

Just a couple of notices this morning.

Over the weekend I learned of the death of Norma Yates (Cove Rd., Joe's Pond). Here is her obituary. Norma Yates
Our deepest sympathy to her family. Messages may be sent to the family at: 26 Grove Street, Essex Jct. VT 05452.

On Saturday, September 19, Burtt's Apple Orchard, just off Rt. 215 on Cabot Plains Road, Cabot, will open their orchards for a "Pick-Your-Own Apples" event. Their orchards will be open through October 31, Fridays from 2-6 p.m., and Saturdays from 10-5 p.m. They have 750 trees with 35 varieties of apples. There will be an apple shooter and tetherball for the kids.

You should also be thinking about making plans for the annual Fall Foliage Festival events starting in Walden on September 28. You'll find a complete schedule of events on our Events Page. Every day a different town hosts visitors, with great food, tours, crafts, music and history along with beautiful foliage. Cabot's famous beef stew lunch and evening turkey dinner will be on Tuesday, Sept. 29, so get your reservations in. You can get take-outs for the turkey dinner - but you need to make reservations. Other towns have special events, so check the schedule and make meal reservations early. Go to: Fall Foliage Week

This message came from Liz Randall this weekend: (I included pictures taken at the cemetery and of the commemorative quilt, and if Liz sends some of the tractor rally, I'll include those later.)

John and I went to the tractor show [in July] and we also stopped to visit my grandmother, Lucy V. Thompson McDowell. She was in WWI a 2nd Lt. Army Nursing Corp. She spent the second half of her life in Kenosha with my father's brother, Jack. She died in 1980 and is buried in an old cemetery, Green Ridge, in the section with the soldiers...perhaps some of them wounded and she took care of them. We were pleased to see what a beautiful spot it is and there was a flag on her grave.

It's been almost 30 yrs and this is the first time I got to introduce her to John.... we laughed!!!

I also have a cousin that lives in Madison, she fought and beat ovarian cancer when she was 26yrs old and now she works at the University of Wisconsin in Madison helping young people deal with all different types of cancer..Special lady, she's 49 now and has done very well with her life.We went to her home and took her out to a nice restaurant in Madison..She gave us the grand tour of the college and area..Beautiful Clean environment! Madison is GREEN similar to Burlington but a bit larger..

Anyway, Nice trip and we would like to do it again another time...Hope you enjoy all of the pictures! John was in Red Tractor Heaven that week...

About the Harvester quilt:

We met Shirley, who made this quilt at the Wisconsin Red Power, she was raffling it off

...She got the photos used on the quilt from the Wisconsin-Historic Society (McCormick-Deering), did an awesome job... It was a fun show and we took a lot of tractor pics but I thought the ladies would enjoy the QUILT! Liz

Randall's visit to Wisconsin

These reports about Camilla's progress came from Tom tonight:

(9/10/09)
I saw and spoke with Camilla in her room (her telephone number is 860-358-4521) and she is still a bit hard to understand, probably due to the breathing tube during surgery. She looked tired but happy that this was over. She will have PT starting tomorrow in the hospital and will be walking. All signs are good and nerve tests showed no problems. Once she starts to walk her leg pain that has plagued her these many months should be gone. We'll know more in the coming days. She has an array of tubes and wires going to and from her body including a
Foley catheter, drains placed at the site of the operation, arterial line in place, pulse oximeter, Oxygen via the nose, monitors for the heart, a morphine machine (self activated 1 mg with a push button up to every 5 minutes), a cold water tube flow to a pad on the lumbar region that helps with pain and an IV drip. Probably a few I missed but I was trying to keep up with the nurse when she was explaining them. She also has support stockings. Oh, and a gizmo, for lack of a better term, which she must use for her lungs. She breaths out then inhales through a nozzle on this unit that measures the air uptake to the lungs. The nurses said the first efforts were very good. The pre- op was very through with the PCP (Urine and blood test, urinary tract infection was cleared a couple of days prior to surgery) and Heart doctor ( EKG, Stress tests all due to a previous heart attack, MI in 2006). During the surgery, the Neurosurgeon said it was very clear visually where the nerves were pinched and it corresponded with the MRI. They did put in screws to strengthen the vertebrae at L-5 and L-4. This likely accounted for the length of the surgery ( three and a half hours verses two initially). The need for fusion has increased the time she must stay in the hospital from 1 night to 3 nights. Camilla told me to be sure and thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts during this significant event. Camilla is a real trooper with a positive outlook now on the road to full recovery.

9/11/09

The tubes and wires have started to disappear one by one until only the drains remain. Camilla's spirits are good but she is weak. She took a few halting steps today and confidence grew as the day moved on. She had her first solid food and the pain in her leg which has been with her for most of this year is ... GONE! However, replaced by the surgical pain that should go away with time. It is still very early in the recovery and the road ahead of us may have a few surprises but so far everything is positive. Pain is now managed by pills rather than drips and fluids by mouth rather than IV. Not surprising her questioning attitude has returned with the permissiveness during the operation and the day after only a memory. We are still a few months from full recovery but the road seems smooth at this stage. She again wants to thank everyone for the calls and thoughts.

Thank You and God Bless
Tom

We are very happy Camilla is making good progress. I'm sure Tom will keep us posted.

If you'd like to send Camilla a card, it sounds as if she will be home in a couple more days. Her home address is:

Mrs. Tom Dente
77 Bielefield Rd
Middletown CT 06457

This is a somber day, remembering the vicious attack on the Twin Towers eight years ago. It seems so long ago in some ways, but then again, time has flown by. So much has happened to change the world since then, and much has not changed at all. Everyone has their own memories. Nothing will ever be quite the same as it was before September 11, 2001.

This may be a glimpse into our future: Car of the Future?

In the meantime, we got the empty septic tank filled yesterday. Fred had a little grading in to do, but it all went very smoothly. At right is Garren Calkins with Fred. Looks like Fred was stepping in something putrid, but that wasn't the case at all - I just snapped the picture as he was taking a step forward as he talked with Garren. The old tank was completely dry. There had been some ground water in it, but after a few holes were punched in the bottom, that drained nicely. Everything is now secure and we're hoping for no more surprises like that.

We're noticing how quickly the trees are turning. Also, the flower gardens are pretty much finished. There are a few fall flowers coming along, but soon I'll be cutting everything back and laying down winter mulch.

I had a call this week from a cousin in Barre who over the weekend had visited a small grave yard in Walden where her father's family are buried. She was dismayed that the off-the-beaten-path cemetery had been vandalized. Of course I told her about the recent damage to the Cabot Village Cemetery, and we wondered if it could be the same culprits. I understand the authorities have a pretty good idea who was responsible for the Cabot vandalism, but I haven't heard who it might be or that any charges have been made - yet. I'm always sorry to see these things happen. It's too bad whoever is responsible doesn't get a life that's meaningful so they don't do stupid things like that. There is so much need for help these days - getting in wood for elderly folks, making simple repairs for them, running errands - all kinds of things that people with excess energy or steam to blow off could be doing that are useful, needed, and appreciated and that would make them respected instead of scorned.

Speaking of wood, Fred is getting ready to bring in some of the wood that's been drying for over a year outside. That means I have to move some of my garden tools and (I admit it) junk out of the way. We still have a lot of wood in the garage, and it might even last through the winter, but we don't want to be digging wood out of the snowbanks in February or March, so will fill up the garage as usual. Having done the weatherization on the house last December made a big difference in the amount of wood we burned, and we're looking for even better results this year, having done a bit more to tighten up the house.

No word from Tom Dente on how Camilla is doing. If anyone has heard how her back operation went yesterday, please let me know. Lots of people are thinking about her.

Many of you already know that Camilla Dente (Pres. Tom's wife) is having back surgery tomorrow. Here's a message from Tom, received this morning:

Hi Jane,
Camilla will have surgery tomorrow morning and will likely stay in the hospital 1-2 days. We finally received OKs from primary care and heart doctor yesterday after a few blood lettings and some tests. Son Tom and his family were up to take to lunch on Monday, of course he had to stop in New Haven and run a 20k race there first. But it was fun seeing them all. The weather has been nice here not too hot and not too cool, however, rain coming in today and tomorrow, a little coastal storm so you will likely not get it. I'll let you know how Camilla is after surgery. Tom

If you want to send Camilla a card, you can send it to their home address: 77 Bielefield Rd., Middletown CT 06457, or send Tom an e-mail at: tcdente@earthlink.net

We're wishing Camilla all the best. She has suffered with a very painful back all summer, and it will be a huge relief for her to be pain free, I'm sure.

We may not get the rain Tom is expecting, but it looks as if we may have spotty frost again tonight. It's usually the lower regions that get the frost this time of year, and perhaps at our elevation we may not be hit; however, that's a chance we may not want to take with tender plants and vegetables, so we'll probably cover things up tonight. We'll do that for a few weeks, and then I'll just figure it's time to concentrate on other things, pick everything edible, pull all the house plants inside, and tuck in for the winter. As usual, we have lots of green tomatoes, but this year we also have had quite a few ripe ones. Therefore, I'll cover them for as long as I can - until the frosts are long and hard.

We're still waiting for Mr. Calkins to come with some fill for that old septic tank that opened up last week. The water has drained completely now and after it's filled, we'll replace the sod. It will be nice to get our lawn back in shape. It'll be covered with snow soon, so any tell-tale scars won't matter.

Nearly everyone is aware of the Beatles video game package coming out tomorrow (Wednesday). Did you know that JPA member, Mike Dornbrook, who has a home on Harrington Hill, is one of the producers? Check this: Here's Mike

Another loon update before I shut things down for the night. Evelyn sent the following at 7:30 this evening:

Hi again...

Ray just came back from doing a final check on the family.... He was
able to find them all... shut off the boat and wait... they all came to
the boat and were close enough so that he, with binos, could inspect
their feathers, neck, and of course their actions... they were hanging
very tight to the adults and the adults were feeding both
chicks...(which at this age is a luxury, or special option for the
chicks). Although one might wonder if the chick that was hooked is just a
bit hesitant to go after his lunch like he used to do.  Anyway, there
are no visible signs of injury...

Body language says they are all bonding as a family again...

This day ended very well...

Ray also spoke with the guy that saw the incident... he was very
relieved as well...

He mentioned that they have an issue about feeding the ducks at their
camp... that reminds us to ask that folks not do that... these ducks are
too trusting of humans and will end up being the first ones to be shot
during hunting season (which is coming soon...)

Have a nice evening... Evelyn

This good news came from Evelyn a few minutes ago:

Hi Jane!!

We don’t know what happened but we just heard the family calling out by the island, and grabbed the binos… and Praise the Lord, both chicks are together there with the family!!!

We won’t speculate… we’ll just celebrate!!!

Thanks to everyone!!!

Blessings, Evelyn

We also had a comment (below) from Bob Kimball, who lives in the area where the accident happened. Apparently whoever had the experience with the loons was able to release the bird from the fish line. We'd like to thank whoever it was and know "the rest of the story" - it was probably pretty traumatic for the fishermen, too. Whatever they did was the right thing apparently, and the loons are back together. A happy ending to a very tense situation.

I just spoke to Evelyn on the phone and we are all very happy that fisherman knew what to do and immediately took action to free the loon. Like Evelyn says, he's a real hero. We aren't sure exactly when everything took place, but this afternoon the Richers heard the loons calling and when they looked out, they could see four of them and were able to verify it was the family. Bob Kimball said he saw them on Monday, and everything seemed ok. Ray and Evelyn said the loons seemed to be reuniting and since there was nothing else around to disturb them at the time, they believe the family was reuniting. We'd all really like to know details, but it may have to be enough just to know everything turned out ok.

Again, we thank everyone who keeps an eye out, Bob for reporting in, and especially the unsuspecting fisherman who probably had no idea the fish he caught was destined to be the loon's lunch and cause such a ruckus.

This is very important - please spread the word.

Hi Jane…

First of all thank you for calling yesterday about the incident that happened over the weekend involving a fisherman and one of the loons. Ray has gone out and spoken to the gentleman that actually saw this happen…

First, please know that the person who witnessed this is from Florida and just working here. He was on break at the time looking out over the pond… He was not aware of the regulations and protection provided to the loons here in Vermont. So even though he thought it strange and quite irresponsible, he did not know he should possibly report the incident, nor did he know to whom he should report…

We are not sure which day this happened, but it was either Friday or Saturday… Apparently, a man and a younger figure, (father and son?), were in a small fishing boat on the North shore by Bona’s camp casting their fishing lines toward the loons (reportedly there were four loons in the group… so we are assuming that it was the ‘family’ that was involved)… Then they reeled in one of the loons… they reached down and pulled it up into the boat… the person witnessing it said, “ it was really thrashing around!”… Then the boat took off really fast headed towards Smith’s Point… it was about 200 yards from the witness, so he was not able to catch any registration numbers off the boat… he had no binoculars with him… He assumed they were going for help…

Ray has been out on the pond, last night late, and early this am… there is no sign of one of the chicks… the family was seen (as a family of three) early Sunday morning, and ever since, as only three… After checking last night Ray was able to determine that one of the chicks is missing from the group.

Ray has been on the phone all morning calling the local vets, and the vet on-call over the weekend, Vermont Fish and Wildlife, The Game Warden, Vermont State Police, and Vins… Eric Hanson has also been notified… there were no reports of any incidents, nor any loon reported to have needed emergency assistance… Apparently, when the fishing boat rushed off… it did not rush to get help from these agencies…

The witness stated that he did not feel the fisherman was attempting to hook the loon intentionally… but he was casting in their direction.

I wouldn’t have thought that this needs to be said, but… While fishing… please do not cast out toward the loons, because if you hook a fish and are reeling it in… the loon, if he sees your fish, will think it is a meal for him… and go for it… then you get yourself in a difficult situation…

Although we are very upset that this has happened, we realize that some folks don’t think ahead… this case is one of those… If you know anything about this incident, or the condition of the loon chick,,, please call us (563-3083) or VINS… We also ask that all camp owners check their shoreline for a loon in distress or dead… and call Ray… do not try to handle the chick/body yourself. This chick could still be on the pond… we need to find it…

If you happen to be the one that has the chick and are trying to rehab it… please call Ray (563-3083)… they are very difficult to rehab and may die… they need to be put in special hands to recover… (We would need to take it to the rehab person in Maine IMMEDIATELY… we can do that but we need your help)

Thank you Joe’s Ponders for your help… (thank you Jane for calling and letting us know what you heard.)

PLEASE CHECK YOUR SHORELINE>>>> thanks… Evelyn and Ray

I hope everyone had a nice long holiday weekend. We are closing things down at our cottage, like lots of other folks. The gang was here during the weekend and took out boats except the pontoon, which Jamie needs to retrieve the buoys, and those need to be left for a while yet. There was a lot of activity around the pond this weekend. Fred and I finished distributing Ice-Out tickets, dropping them off to everyone we could find around the pond. We hit all the roads around the pond. We left some envelopes in doors and cars if it looked like folks were around but out in their boats when we stopped by, so if any of you were wondering how those envelopes with bright yellow Ice-Out tickets got wherever you found them, now you know.

I had this message today from Henretta Splain, who lives just up the road from us:
Hiya,

A beautiful (if that can be said about these animals) buck moose with full rack crossed my front yard early evening yesterday. It's coat was shiny and it just looked majestic! It was moving fairly quickly and after getting untangled from my dog (who was also excited) by the time I got to my camera it was gone.

So after my bear sighting a couple of weeks ago on West shore and this moose, I get the feeling our four footed residents are getting ready for the change of seasons.

Henretta

All critters are getting ready, if they're smart. We've noticed robins are flocking, and Fred says the humming birds are about ready to leave. We're still feeding them here, but in a few days, we'll only see one occasionally, and think that may be one that's just flying through and spotted some of the flowers and got lucky. Our regulars will have gone.

Fred took pictures along the way, so here's a short slide show for you. It was a beautiful day and seemed to get warmer as the afternoon went on. We ended our quest at Mike Dornbrook's place on Harrington Hill, overlooking the Rogers' Ponds.
slides

When on Channel Drive, we took a picture of the bridge over the channel that JPA has been requested to fund reinforcing for use as part of the rail trail. You can see that the original railroad bridge seems to be intact and railings have been added. We aren't sure yet what additional measures will be needed to make it safe for hiking, biking and snowmobiles. There will be more information by spring - before we make any decisions are made about funding it.

Mad Matt the Democrat
Lecture by Vincent Feeney
Wednesday, Sept 9, 2009
CABOT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Main St., Cabot VT.

Call Bonnie Dannenberg, 802-563-3396
for information

Click poster at right for details. It's free--bring a friend!

This came from Susan Bouchard this evening:

Jane, regarding Mary Jo Dunleavy’s funeral arrangements, this is what is posted in today’s Boston Globe and I verified it with her family.

Susan Bouchard

______________________________________________________________________________________

Mary Jo Dunleavy

DUNLEAVY, Mary Jo Age 54, of West Roxbury formerly of Barre, VT, Sept. 4, 2009. Funeral Mass in St. Theresa's Church, West Roxbury, Weds. at 11:30 a.m. Visiting hours at the funeral home Tues. 4-8. Complete notice to follow. PE Murray-George F. Doherty & Sons West Roxbury 617-325-2000