This is getting to be a very nice habit, reporting that we have another beautiful day! This picture is of the sky this morning as the sun was coming up. Today has been exceptional as far as sunshine and comfortable temperatures are concerned. But I have to say, the black flies here at Joe's Pond are about as bad as I've ever seen them. We stopped for a few minutes to talk with son, Bob, who was raking the lawn at camp and we were immediately attacked, even in the car. The cold weather must have given them a boost and each time we get a frost and then a warm spell, there's a whole new hatch. Other than those pests, it's really nice here and I think all our friends who leave in the winter should plan to get back a.s.a.p.

I received the following today:

Dear Friend, This Friday (May 21st) my Relay for Life team is sponsoring a Yard Sale in hopes of making a little cash for the American Cancer Society. We are having it on Hill Street in Danville, during the 'Paint the Town Purple" hours, and with any luck, the weather will cooperate. Come and pick over our select assortment of rare & unusual 'crap' and make us an offer we can not refuse...we'll take any within reason. I'm sure there is something amid all this stuff that you can not possibly live without! We will also have luminaries' for sale which make really beautiful tributes/memorials to anyone who has been affected by this terrible disease. We'll have stuff available so you can design your own if you wish, turning a $5. donation into a beautiful addition to the June festivities. Relay for Life is June 12th this year and we hope to raise some significant money. If you wish to make a donation to our team, please feel free to do so; it can be done on line as well as directly to me. And for those of you who have already donated, thank-you soooo very much for your support. This is a cause that is truly near & dear to my heart. Once again, thank you for your support both now, and in the past. Hope to see ya Friday! Sincerely, Smitty aka Dianne Langmaid

We're happy to let people know about this fund raiser. There's hardly a family that hasn't had some experience with cancer. Through research great progress is being made in treating and, hopefully, defeating this dreaded disease. The support and information offered to patients and families by the American Cancer Society is priceless, but it all costs money and this is a way we can help. Mark your calendar - Friday, May 21st, Hill Street in Danville.

Speaking of Danville, we went through on our way to St. Johnsbury this afternoon and things are looking great. Trees are in bloom, flower baskets are out - it's really pretty. This is Goodfella's Restaurant as we were coming down Dole Hill.

In St. Johnsbury, Main Street was very pretty, too. There are lots of ornamental trees along the upper end of Main Street, and all are in bloom. We even saw some lilacs out and we could smell them in a few places. I think this is pretty early for lilacs.
Back in West Danville, there was a brisk wind, as usual, but a great day to sit on the porch at Hastings Store and watch the traffic. There have been a lot of motorcycles around, especially on Rt. 15. Perhaps there's a rally some place, or maybe everyone who owns one just wants to take advantage of the nice weather.

In spite of summer-like weather during the day time, our nights have been close to freezing. Frost was forecast for last night, but we didn't get it here. Perhaps in some other spots, but here it went only to about 35-36.

Jamie and Marie's dog, Otto, learned a hard lesson yesterday. He is really only a puppy even though he's pretty big and gangling, and he had never come upon a porcupine before. Fortunately, the damage wasn't too bad, but they took him to a vet and she was able to find a couple of quills in his muzzle that weren't evident and would surely have given him a lot of trouble. As it is he had to have stitches where she had to cut to get the quills. We think he's smart enough to not go near one of those prickly things again, but you never know. Next will probably be an experience with a skunk. Woody's had that lesson already - he got a face full of spray a couple years ago, and it hasn't happened since, thankfully. We think he probably mistook the skunk for another cat and tried to chase it off. That was a hard lesson to learn for him and for us. That stuff is difficult to get rid of.