Today has been a much quieter weather day here. We are left with way less snow than we had a couple days ago - I reported 20 inches on the 21st, and a little less every day until Sunday when there was 17.t in. at my stake. This morning I measured 11.0 inches at the stake. There's a bit of a crust and some ice here and there. It's still not awfully cold - ranged around 32-34 degrees most of the day with a few snow showers off and on, but thankfully no wind.

I took this picture of the head of the pond where the channel appeared to be open. There was a good deal of flooding or at least water on top of the ice up there. This afternoon Fred went to investigate Bill Rossi's flag pole that Bill said got bent in the wind yesterday. Winds were very strong, in the 90 m.p.h. range on Mt. Mansfield, we heard. Fred measured 12 m.p.h. at our mailbox, and we knew that wasn't the strongest wind area, but in a driving rain, he didn't want to be out there any longer than necessary. He was just spreading some ashes so Jamie and Marie could make it up their driveway and I sent the wind gauge with him just out of curiosity.

There were many trees down in the area, some flooding in places, including some stores along the river in Montpelier. One of the fishing shacks took a hit and is on its side. The owner will have a hard time setting it upright if it freezes into the ice. In fact, all the shacks will be difficult to move when everything freezes up again, but this happens nearly every year, so I guess they all know how to handle it. The picture of the flag pole at Rossi's and the fishing shack were taken about the same time, and then Fred snapped one looking down the lake from Rossi's as the snow began again. That's the way it's been all day - we even had some sunshine for a few minutes early this morning and I think once during the afternoon. There were some scattered big flakes falling while the sun was out a couple times. Really strange weather, but I guess we've definitely had our January thaw. We can see lots of bare ground on the hillsides.

We've been hearing logging machinery on the hillside above us for the past few days. Fred went today to see what was going on and apparently Andy Leinoff is cutting off some of the timber on his lot that adjoins us. That has been cut off quite regularly over the past 50 years or so, but the soft wood comes back quickly. We believe that place is still for sale - about $1,240,000.00 last time I checked. It's a really large house, with lots of land, a very large barn that was once an oatmeal factory, some of you will remember. They also have a nice pond and a view that won't quit. They are at the very top of the land on Cabot Plain, with a 360 degree view. They can see the White mountains with Joe's Pond in the foreground, mountains in Canada to the north, and overlook the farms and flat of Cabot Plain to the west, with great sunsets, and uninterrupted forest south of them.

I know the land well - it is what we called "the night pasture hill" where as kids on the farm, my cousins and I had pitched a tent every summer and fought wars with Indians or pretended we were spies or sometimes war heroes fighting battles - and then it would be time to put away our wooden guns and tomahawks and go get the cows in one of the two adjoining pastures either side of the lane commonly known as the Bayley Hazen Road. The real Bayley Hazen Road is a few feet in front of the existing Leinoff house that overlooks Joe's Pond, somewhat east of the lane the settlers wisely established on higher ground - and we knew all about the military "building" the road there and could follow it in either direction through our grandfather's pastures. It's mostly worn away now, and it would be almost impossible to fine any evidence of that piece of local history. The logging operation in in the vicinity of the old road.