There is a wandering section of dock lodged against the Gardner's sea wall (1225 W Shore Rd). Pat said it's 12-15 ft. long, about 3 ft. wide, and has wooden legs at both ends. Right now it it upside down, and Pat and Mo think it may have been pulled up onto shore somewhere and washed away when the water level came up. There was quite a wind during the past few days, so that would have helped dislodge it. They believe it came from above them, i.e., to the north, but can't be certain. Anyone who may recognize the description should get out there and take a look. It's unlikely the dock will stay there until spring.

Even though the rubber dam does a good job of keeping the water level in the pond within certain parameters, there will be times when the water is higher than "normal" so everyone should be sure floatables are either tied down or far enough away from the water so they won't float away.

We had a very nice dinner last night at the Brown's Market Bistro in Groton. The food was excellent and we enjoyed meeting and chatting with owner, Chuck Gallagher. He told us they intend to stay open all winter, so those of us who are here at Joe's Pond have one more nice place to go for a meal from time to time.

We took a "scenic route" - Woodward Rd. off Rt. 2 at Injun Joe's Cottages. This becomes the Bayley-Hazen Rd. in a mile or two, and the views and foliage were very nice all the way into Peacham. I hadn't been on that road in a long time and it was interesting to see how nice some of the places have been fixed up. We came back on the Peacham-Danville Rd into Danville, keeping a sharp eye out for moose and deer, but all we saw was what we thought was a porcupine. We saw a large flock of turkeys in a field on the way down, though.

That's our host with the pumpkin apron. We each had a different entre and everyone enjoyed their meal. Fred had a delicious (I tasted!) chocolate and raspberry dessert; Bill, Diane and I had pumpkin cheesecake to top off our meal. Well worth the trip! It was a very nice way to celebrate Bill and Diane's anniversary and Bill's new book.

I guess most people still here at the pond know we are in for some pretty cool weather this week. Snow flurries will be included. This morning we awoke to a sparkling white frost on everything and so far the temperature has remained in the 40's, but may get up to 50 before the day is over. It's chilly, but the sunshine is beautiful. We're noticing the colors are beginning to fade - mostly because lots of the leaves are down due to the winds.

I've been brushing up on my snow measuring so I'll be ready to report snow fall and snow depth - throughout the winter, if I'm brave enough to venture out every time it snows. Fred reminded me I'll be strapping on snowshoes just to get to my snow board and stake. I can't say I'm looking forward to it, but I'm going to give it a try for a while, at least. Maybe this will be one of those winters when we only get a foot or two of snow . . .