The weather hasn't been great today, but it was fine for the Apple Pie Festival. There was a good crowd and everyone seemed to be in the mood for apple pie and fun - content to be inside out of the rain.

I'm sorry I can't tell you who won the two contests, the adult or junior pie baking contest - I was busy with other things when Larry Gochey announced the winners (that's Larry in this photo) and then I left while he was finishing up announcing the winning bidders for the silent auction. I'll find out and let you know later. By that point it had been a really long day for me and I was anxious to get home and give my back a rest; I can only imagine how tired some of the other volunteers must have been who were there way before I got there and who stayed well into the afternoon.

There were lots of crafters selling everything imaginable, from apples to zen amulets. There were lots of interesting items on the silent auction tables, too, and I think the bidding went well.

I met lots of wonderful people - some from other historical societies and it was interesting to find out what their organizations are doing, and others who were simply interested in history and wanted to peruse the books our Historical Society has available. I even sold a few books and got a few potential new members for the Historical Society. I even sold a few Ice-Out tickets! I wasn't "pushing" the tickets, but I always keep some with me because our well-known contest comes up in conversation so often and I don't want to disappoint anyone who decides on the spot they just have to get in on the fun. And of course I saw lots of folks I knew, some I hadn't seen in a long time, others I see more frequently, and a fair number of Joe's Ponders. Being so close to the elections, there were some politicians milling about, too, but thankfully, they were just glad-handing, not making speeches.

There were lots of folks enjoying pie and ice cream, and I saw plenty of folks leaving with whole pies. People seemed in high spirits and good humor.

We had more rain overnight and at some point it turned to snow. I had looked outside at about 3 a.m. and everything was white, so I fully expected to find an all-white world when I got up this morning, but most of the snow had melted and there was a fine misty drizzle going on. When I got up on the Plain by the old school house and over to the cemetery, there was plenty of snow still on the ground, but there was none as I continued down to the village on the other side of the hill, and by the time I came home this afternoon there was no snow even on the Plain.

This is what it looked like this morning. I'm sure you'll recognize the covered bridge on the Plain, and the other picture is of the field just before the Plains Cemetery, looking back along Cabot Plains Road. There was too much fog to see the White Mountains beyond, or even the hillsides above Rt. 15. The rest of the weekend should bring much nicer weather - today was just a reminder of what's ahead.