I thought those of you who aren't here so you can go into the post office in West Danville should see our very patriotic poster boy, Garey Larrabee. I immediately thought of this WWII poster . . .

I'm sure lots of you have been watching the weather forecast for the holiday weekend and beyond - not a great one in light of what we've just experienced. We definitely don't need more rain, but apparently that's what we're going to get. Because the power company cannot lower the water in anticipation of these heavy rainfalls, property owners around the pond need to take extra precautions, keeping in mind that the water IS going to rise and whatever isn't secured is going to float away. Float-aways from last weekend's high water haven't been sorted out completely yet, so whether you're an old timer at Joe's Pond or a newbie, be responsible and keep your waterfront clear of your toys and furniture when you aren't here or when you know a storm is coming.

Boats that are tied to docks can get swamped. Watch them carefully so you can loosen moorings or move them to protect them from wind and waves - or take them out of the water. Don't leave your canoes and kayaks overturned on your lawn. We've learned that no matter how far away from the water you store them, there's always a chance there will be a new high-water mark. Enclose them in a storage unit or tie them to a tree or the camp. Stuff blows around. Don't leave tubes, life preservers, oars, paddles, etc. out in the open - we have strong winds here in Vermont; we don't have to wait for a hurricane to have things blown about.

If you are still looking for items lost in the last storm, scroll back through some of the blogs posted during the past week. There are lots of items mentioned there that were found around the pond - some things that came from the middle pond were found on the shores of the big pond, and vice versa. The wind blew from just about all directions, so it's hard to tell where things might have ended up. Also, remember there were strong currents and literally tons of water flowing over the dam, so there's a pretty good chance some stuff went over the dam. Your stuff could be in the Atlantic by now - or at least in Passumpsic.

Bottom line - be prepared. It's the end of the season, lots of folks will be taking their boats out and leaving for the winter - we hope they remember that docks should come out of the water and be well secured on shore or they may be gone when you get back.

It doesn't look like we'll make any headway getting the Vermont Public Service Board and the Natural Resources people to take a new look at the impractical decisions made years ago governing water level. Some folks here at the pond protested at the time, but their sound reasoning fell on the deaf ears of the well-intentioned environmentalists. The sad experience of having more and more wetlands washed away and the noting the increasing amount of sediment that's flowing into the pond should be a clue there might be a better way of doing things and it's time to revisit the issue.

However, there is a good chance this weekend will be dry for at least today. We hope everyone has a great "end of summer" weekend. If you are traveling, be safe; if you are at Joe's Pond, enjoy. Go down to the store and get something special, stop in and say hi to Deb at the Joe's Pond Craft Shop, and check out the Joe's Pond Country Store - Jeff has some antiques there, I understand. Never mind the road work in Danville - you can easily navigate through that to get to Bentley's Bakery, Diamond Hill Store and the other shops on Hill Street, and Marty's east of the village on Route 2, and down the road a piece, Scott Palmer's ice cream stand.