The photos Fred took of the flag and the ice today look very much the same as we've shown you earlier this week. In spite of rain most of the day, the pond looks just about the same.

Here is a slide show of some pictures Fred took yesterday on his way to Cabot to take tickets to Harry's Hardware. Keith Burtt was boiling, so you'll see shots of his sugar woods and the sugar house. Later in the day Fred took pictures of the Ice-Out flag and the pond so you can compare with those taken today. You'll see that even the road to Cabot, which is generally very muddy, is doing very well this spring. We have had virtually no mud season - so far. We really think the danger is over for this year, although, with temperatures in the 70's for a few days, things may change! Slides

There was evidence Homer and Margaret have been up to their camp recently. At the top of their driveway, which is also the road to the State Fishing Access, a happy chick is popping out of a lavender Easter egg. Homer's seasonal decorations are one of the more pleasant consistencies we enjoy here at Joe's Pond - like good friends. Locals look forward to the Jack-O'-Lantern lights in the fall, the flags in July and sometimes signs announcing an event such as a birthday. Homer has for years decorated his house and the sign at the top of the driveway and we always look forward to something new appearing.

Ticket sales are booming. Tomorrow is the last day. If you have ticket stubs you haven't sent in, be sure you get them in the mail tomorrow as the envelope MUST be postmarked APRIL 1st to be included in the contest. You still have time to print tickets from the web site and mail them tomorrow. Some of our outlets ran out of tickets again today, but we were able to restock them. I have only a few tickets left and expect they'll be needed tomorrow. I don't believe Diane has any left, and Don Walker brought a few extras he had over to us today, so they are becoming scarce as hen's teeth.

The printable tickets will be taken off the web site tomorrow evening. We will leave the page there even after post offices have closed here in case anyone in a different time zone wants some and makes a mad dash for the post office. Then, the 23rd annual Joe's Pond Ice-Out Contest will be officially closed and we'll wait for the clock to stop and give us a winner - or winners.

Of course, for those of us involved in the process of organizing the contest, there will still be plenty to do, and Carl, who logs in the information from each and every ticket, will be busy for several days since most of the 12,000+ tickets sold are getting to him these last few days. And there will be the phone calls from various reporters, anxious to get the scoop on whether the clock has stopped. We'll keep you all posted.