I was going to tack this onto the "Two feet of snow thing," but I can't seem to get back to that. The mechanics of the blog often befuddle me, and often even Fred can't figure out the code to get me out of tough spots. Like the fonts changing on me in an earlier post this morning. Now I can't find the edit page for the feet, but the post shows up ok on the web site so I'll just make a new post. If you're looking for town meeting results, scroll down the page to my earlier postings.

I didn't go to town meeting yesterday because I had a dental appointment in St. Johnsbury to get a chipped tooth repaired. We did some quick grocery shopping as long as we were going into town anyway, and then Fred left me off at St. Johnsbury Dental Associates. I was about 15 minutes early, so we agreed he would come back for me in about an hour. However, I didn't even get to sit down in the waiting room, so 30 minutes later I was outside in the fairly warm spring sunshine waiting for Fred.

St. Johnsbury always gets spring earlier than we do, of course, and it was quite nice there yesterday. I had worried that Fred would need to wait so long for me and suggested a few things he might do to while away the time; but he kept telling me not to worry. I shouldn't have given it a thought. I should have known that, left on his own with time to waste, he'd head for McDonald's to get a hot fudge sundae! When I saw the photos he took, I could track precisely where he went to use up time waiting for me. He got the sundae and enjoyed it while parked on Railroad Street above the Welcome Center at the old railroad station. Then he either drove or walked up Railroad Street and took pictures along the way, ending up back on Main Street (the picture of Fairbanks Museum and the sign for the Nature Store).

Fortunately, he was back to pick me up earlier than we'd planned, so I only had to wait a few minutes. I'd had a very good experience getting my tooth fixed, he'd had no trouble filling the time, and we had our shopping done early. We happily headed home.

As we pitched over Dole Hill towards Danville, we could see the steam rising from Beattie's sugar house. They've built a new one right in front of the house on Rt. 2, and there was a fair amount of activity there. It's small, but apparently working well. It is the first boiling we've seen. Monday night at the school meeting I asked Rose Bothfeld if they were ready for sugaring yet and she said they haven't tapped. It's about time, though, and we noticed that there was activity at the Burtt farm on Cabot Plains Rd, but we saw only tracks into the woods where they'd been tapping and stringing their lines. Rose said they still use the bucket system. Some folks say there is a difference in the taste of syrup depending on which way the sap is delivered to the evaporator. I don't know. I guess I'd have to taste-test. It all tastes good to me.

Anyway, here is a slide show - nothing very new, except a lot of the store fronts in St. Johnsbury have changed in the past months. We somehow seem to always start off taking a picture as we drive along W. Shore Road. That is sort of a marker, I guess, that shows where we are in the process of getting to spring. Take a look. To St. Johnsbury

Some of you may be interested in the Winooski Basin plan. Here is a link to that web site. They are asking for public comment/input - if interested. Winooski Basin Planning

Also, I'm sure lots of Joe's Ponders will be interested that the Rt. 2 Project through Danville is still scheduled to happen - sometime. It seems to me I heard last fall that work would begin in late summer, 2010. Now, according to the Caledonian Record report by Sally Cook, work will begin in the spring of 2011. There are still 14 properties left to "complete easements and acquisitions," and in addition to that, there are various artists still involved in decisions such as "an amphitheater, a stone-sitting circle, granite posts, and a bandstand for the Green." Add to that a telescope and map out by the school (is that also part of the VTrans project, I wonder?) It is planned to somehow fit 16 light posts on the Green and "45 light posts on Route 2" with five of those along the Green with outlets for vendors and holiday lighting. I guess it'll be easy enough to spot Danville from outer space.

It's my recollection the number of trees planned for the Green was a lot, even after the original number was reduced - so now I have to wonder just how everything is going to be accommodated in that small space.

The project has been in the works for 40 years or so, and every year the price has gone up. I wonder if stimulus money will be available for the project now. I guess it would be one of those "shovel-ready" projects, at least on paper . . .