APRIL FOOL'S DAY AT JOE'S POND!

We knew it was going to happen, but still we secretly hoped the forecast for snow overnight was just a big joke. NOT SO. We woke up to snow, and it's still snowing. I measured 1.5 in. this morning at 9 a.m. I'm sure we've had another inch by now. Yesterday afternoon Fred took this picture from our house, looking across the pond towards Rte 15.

This morning I took this one and I couldn't even see Rte 15 or most of the the hillside. The good news is that this is going to turn to rain, probably later today or tomorrow. So, WATCH OUT BELOW! There's still at least two feet of snow on the ground, I'm guessing, so that will send a lot of water into the ponds, brooks and rivers. I should go out and measure the amount of snow on the ground, but it's such a hassle, I put it off as long as possible. Maybe I'll wait until the snow stops - except then it will probably be rain and I won't want to go out in that. So maybe I'll just do it. I think I can walk on the crust left from the last bit of rain, but I'll still have to break through that to get a measurement, and then take a core sample, which is the hard part.

This is an unusual year for our Ice-Out Contest. More like it was when the contest started back in 1988. There still is no sign of melting, but I have a feeling things will change rapidly when the rain comes. Paul Astle fishes nearly every day here at the pond, and Garey at the store told me this morning Paul reports "about two feet" of ice still. The last report we'd had was from 16-18 inches, but Garey reminded me it makes a difference where you are on the pond - some places will have less ice, like where there is more current or nearer shore, while in the deeper pond there could be more. One thing is sure, the ice hasn't changed a heck of a lot since January. Again, once we get some rain, things will probably change rapidly.

I doubt that will help anyone pick the winning day and time to win the contest, but whatever you pick, tickets are still on sale at the various outlets until the end of business today; and printable tickets will be available until about midnight - but remember you need to get them in the mail today. They must be postmarked April 1, or we cannot accept them. We leave them on the website so anyone in another time zone can still print them and rush them to the post office.

We wish everyone luck. I'm hearing from our outlets that today people are rushing to get tickets, so the winning ticket (or tickets) amount should be pretty close to last year - it's still too early to tell, but you could win about $5,000. Not too shabby!