We have cooler temperatures this morning and that has slowed the runoff some. My thermometer is reading about 31 degrees. Fred and I just walked down to Walter's to measure the pond level and found it has gone down significantly, almost to a normal level. We figure it's only 1-2 inches above normal now.

I heard several times from JPA President Tom Dente yesterday, as he had been in touch with Green Mountain Power. Apparently when they came to check the dam and water level sometime in the morning after Tom's call, they opened the dam completely, and by early afternoon we were already seeing good results. From what I gather, the measurements at the dam were not showing high water, yet in both the big pond and the middle pond it was up 8 inches. That makes me think they should have a remote measuring system on the big pond - or, keep the water at a somewhat lower level than has been agreed upon. It seems as if every time we get a big rain storm, we have problems. Tom is in touch with both GMP and the State, so perhaps some adjustments can be made.

We took some pictures along the way this morning. I thought you might like to see our high-tech method of keeping track of the water level. Today we used a 6-inch rule, but yesterday I had a 12-inch ruler with me, just in case. We always take the measurement in the same spot. Today the water was much quieter than yesterday, making getting an accurate reading much easier.

As we were leaving we noticed the snowdrifts at Walter's. That's his daffodil yellow cottage below. Further down the road, it was nice to see that the Rickers are here. They are actually on Sandy Beach Road, while we took the picture from Meadow Lane, about in front of Jack LaGue's. The Rickers came just before Thanksgiving and this morning we noticed they have a pretty wreath up, so perhaps they'll stay through the holidays. We haven't talked with them, so aren't sure.

Along West Shore Road we saw remnants of trees and/or limbs that had come down from either the heavy snow or recent high winds. We noticed we'd lost one large cedar on our lower lawn and just off our driveway, a large portion of an ash is presently hung up in a big spruce. That will come down next big snow. About opposite Randall's driveway the top of a very tall spruce snapped off and either the phone company or Washington Electric cut it up to get it out of the road and perhaps off the lines. We were fortunate that our power only blipped off for seconds, but our neighbor near the corner of Brickett's Crossing and Cabot Plains road lost power for about five hours. There were a lot of people without power in some areas, and both the power companies and the phone people are busy making repairs. At least the weather has moderated so conditions aren't as bad for the workmen out on the lines as sometimes.

Snow is predicted for later today and again on Monday. That could change, of course, but we all know winter is bearing down on us so we better be ready.