This is really neat! Matt Randall (presently at UVM) sent this:

Jane,

In my curiosity while reading the blog, I went back in your archives and found this post from almost exactly a year ago. We seem to be missing 14" of ice at this point!

Matt Randall

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Another cold day. I'm sure lots of you who have Ice-Out Contest tickets are wondering how the ice is doing, especially when every day I tell you what the temperatures are here at the pond. I asked year around Joe's Ponder Kevin Johnson, and here's his report:
I fished this past weekend and the ice is still almost 3 feet thick - I would say about 32 inches on average. The narrows are open and it's starting to open up a little where the brooks come into the pond but we still have a long way to go!

There you have it. Thank you, Kevin.

For those of you who are waiting until the last moment to fill in your tickets, this may give you something to work with. We are expecting much warmer weather in another day or so, and if that storm out of the mid-west does what forcasters say it will, we may get some rain, but apparently not a lot.

*****

So today I'm saying, "Thank you, Matt! You've saved me a bunch of time looking at back entries - which I meant to do yesterday, but time got away.

Today is another warm melting day; but according to the forecast, we're in for some below average temperatures later on and into next week. So be it. That will give the maple growers/makers an extension on the season. The reports are that it's already been a great maple syrup season and they've made some really good quality stuff and the season started earlier than normal so it's been a good year. At least for those who were tapped and ready when the warm weather sneaked up on us.

Did I mention yesterday, Homer and Margaret are home. They'll be out at camp off and on and Homer will be monitoring the clock.

When we were in the village Tuesday, this is what Joe's Brook coming out of the pond over the dam looked like. There were pieces of slush/ice flowing in the rush of water and with the dam open at full capacity, the water was spectacular falling down into the ravine. Those folks I read about a few years ago who crave adventure kayaking on Joe's Brook will be itching to get out there. I think it would be a wild and dangerous ride, for sure.

Our inch or so of new snow is going to go quickly today, and will take a lot of the old with it, I expect. Perhaps later in the day Fred and I will take another measurement at Walter Ruf's to see where the water level is - not that much can be done about it at this point. The dam is open as wide or flat as it can go.

Marcia Moran sent this message and link this morning:

This is a fun website about an Ice out in Alaska..BIG money:)

http://www.nenanaakiceclassic.com/TicketsBrochures.html

That IS big money, but costs more than ours to get in, too. The odds of winning are better with ours, too.