This came from Jack LaGue this morning:

We took our last boat ride of the season yesterday and found a bright orange 55 gallon plastic barrel floating in the middle of the pond. I towed it over to my Mom's place and the owner can pick it up there or call me at 476 4505. I don't have a picture of the barrel.

However, I do have an interesting picture of the sunrise this morning and thought the reflection of the sun in the mirror-like water and the condensation rising from the pond made an interesting combination. Unfortunately, it didn't last long though .

That's a tease, Jack, for all those people who have left the pond for the winter and are missing these great sunrises/sunsets. Thanks for sending it - nice shot. This is just the beginning for Jack and Sue who will be spending their first winter at Joe's Pond. There will be lots of great photo-ops, I'm sure, and I hope you continue to share.

Of course, this all works in reverse, too. Those of you basking in the mild temperatures of your winter "escapes" in Florida, Arizona, California, and every spot in between, are welcome to send photos of your "warm scenery" and activities to taunt us as we brave the elements here at Joe's Pond.

We had a light frost here last night - not our first; we had a couple frosty nights a few weeks back. We are expecting the temperatures to continue a downward trend now, and frosts will be a nightly event. While there have been a few snowflakes reported in the hills of Walden and on Cabot Plain, we haven't seen any here. However, the forecast last night was for "accumulating" snow later in the week. Maybe. The forecasts are not always right on.

We're ready, though. We've got the snow blower tuned up and waiting for its first run whenever needed. We were at son Jamie's yesterday and saw his latest acquisition - a small second-hand walk-behind John Deere snow blower he picked up to use on their deck. It's a perfect size and will be so much easier than shoveling. Even our small deck is a chore to keep clear - enough so I've said if I had it to do over, I would not build an exposed deck. I'd go with covered, screened porches with steep-pitched roofs. One day, when I gather enough courage, I think we will enclose our deck. Even though it isn't huge, like Jamie's, it's hard to keep clear of snow, and if we didn't shovel it, the snow would soon block the front door, and that wouldn't be safe. I want plenty of escape routes, just in case. However there are certain disadvantages. I keep my CoCoRaHS rain gauge on the deck this time of year so I don't have to put on boots to get to it, and if we enclosed the deck I'd need to find another nearby location. Complications of positioning in the snow, away from the snow blower area, etc., make it really difficult.

The thermometer has climbed from 39 degrees at 9 a.m. to 42 now, at nearly 10 a.m., so it's going to be a nice day worth getting outside to enjoy.