Today has been a little more brisk than some, but not bad over all. Last night was a cold one - about 9 above, close enough to the predicted zero mark for all of us. Just at dusk, we watched five lovely deer munching grass and apples on our lawn. They were enjoying the leftovers from the crab apple tree and found where young grass sprouts were in the wet spots below the house. Fred tried to get pictures, but it was too dark and we didn't want to use a flash to frighten them. Three were back early this morning and he was able to get a picture, but not very clear.

Woody wasn't anxious to stay out last night even before it grew so cold, and he stayed close to the house, going only between the garage and his door in the cellar. We suspect he saw the deer, too, and remembered being chased last spring by that big doe when he started to inspect her fawn.

Fred was in W. Danville today and picked up Ice-Out tickets from both stores. This was at Joe's Pond Country Store, and then at Hastings Store he got a cute shot of Alyssa.

We are getting really close to the end of this year's contest and urge anyone who hasn't sent in picks to do so before the April 1st deadline. At this stage of the game you'll need to use the on-line tickets. Click on www.joespondvermont.com/ticket
and fill as many as you want in and send them to us before April 1st. The address is on the tickets.

These days of below normal temperatures have lessened the flow of water coming into the pond and going over the dam. It looks downright placid compared to a few days ago. We haven't been down to check the water level, but may do that tomorrow. If I feel like it. Right now I've got a spring cold and given that cold air always makes my nose run anyway, going outside and increasing the flow doesn't make much sense. Besides that, my treatment for colds is to drink all the water I possibly can, so the "ins" and "outs" of that keep me pretty busy. I'm getting better each day, though and since it's been several years since I've had a cold, I really can't complain - much.

Fred checked the flag and the clock, and everything is operational, ready for duty, thanks to Ray Richer. The ice on the pond looks pretty solid, (see picture below) but we're sure those really warm days took a toll and although temperatures will have frozen surface water, underneath the ice there is a lot movement due to the runoff in the brooks, and that will work on the ice to slowly wear it away. Another factor is that we didn't have as much ice as normal this year.

I noticed in the Hardwick Gazette this week that our neighbor, Caspian Lake in Greensboro, has an Ice-Out Fundraiser setup just like ours. They're raising funds for Lakeview Union School's playground fund. There wasn't much more information, so this may be their first year.

It's about supper time. You know what they say, "feed a cold, starve a fever." I like that prescription. We'll have beans 'n franks, traditional fare for Saturday nights in both our families. My mother usually made brown bread to go with it. We'll be missing the brown bread - a salad will take the place of that - but every now and then I wonder if I made it now would it taste the same as I remember? All that rich molasses fragrance when it was steaming away and real butter slathered on while it was still warm - nothing quite like it. I noticed a while back that B&M (the baked bean company) has brown bread in a can. Of course, the bread I remember was made in a can, too - a two-pound coffee can. I don't remember how long it had to steam, but it must have been hours. I probably have a recipe in some of my old recipe books. Maybe I'll see if I can find it and try to make one. I'm sure there are recipes on the internet, but I think I'll search for my Grandmother Bolton's that was the one my mother made. Now I'm really hungry!