We have another nice day, finally. This morning things looked a little doubtful and while we were at the JPA board meeting, the heavens opened up and we had quite a downpour. It didn't last very long, and although it was cool all morning, this afternoon has warmed up nicely with temperatures registering well into the 70's.

I had a call from Vinnie Calcagni when I got back from the board meeting. He and his friend, Dalton Routhier, were out fishing this morning about in front of Homer Fitts' cottage and caught a very nice brown trout. It measured 20 inches and weighed in at 4 lbs. 3 oz. Dalton said Vinnie caught the big fish and he netted it for him. Vinnie said his brother caught a big Northern Pike last year - a fish these fishermen would rather not have in Joe's Pond because it will eat other, smaller game fish. That's Vinnie in the plaid shirt holding the fish, and pal Dalton in the John Deere shirt.

As we were leaving, Vinnie and Dalton were gathering their gear getting ready to go out again - that's them leaving the dock, and we headed for Blanche Lamore's birthday party.

The vestry at the Cabot church was nicely decorated and there were already a dozen or so people there when we arrived. Blanche wasn't there yet, but within a few minutes she came in. I asked her if she was surprised and she said she knew they were going to do something, but she didn't know what. She was presented with a pretty corsage and there were lots of cards, flowers and a couple of hanging plants for her. She seemed very pleased to be so honored. Blanche's 98th Birthday

As we were leaving, we saw our road commissioner, Larry Gochey. Larry just had a hip replacement about three weeks ago. He said he's doing very well and it is a big relief not to have the pain. We're glad he's feeling better. That's Larry with a neighbor heading into the church for the party.

Which reminds me, I saw Sam Lewis today and he's doing well after his recent operation, too, and said he will certainly be at our spring JPA meeting. Cyndi Rouleau, who had a hip replacement like Larry, is doing very well, too. We are happy our friends are feeling better and will be able to enjoy what may turn out to be a very nice summer, if this spring weather is any indication.

Of course, it's still not too late to have a frost . . . ! I was talking with Dot Therrien at the party and she was saying it's risky to start a garden too soon, but like most of us, having such nice weather makes one really want to get those seeds in the ground. I think some are ok, but as a rule you gain very little by planting too early. Better to wait until the ground has really warmed and there's little danger of a hard frost. My peas are doing nicely, though, and I'll plant another row in about a week. I need to get lettuce and radishes in, too - and some of the slower root veggies. Since everything seems to be early this year, why not plant your garden early?