We had a little snow last night. It really didn't stick to much, but the temperature hasn't gone up much all day, either, in spite of the bright sunshine. Mostly it's been in the 30's. I reported a trace of snow, and I guess we're going to have more on Saturday night.

We're making all kinds of progress here at "Jane's Weather Station." When we were in St. Johnsbury yesterday, I picked up a 10' piece of PVC for my snow depth post. There were a couple of guys behind the counter while I was being helped by a very nice female clerk - she and I zipped out to the storage building across from the main store and found just what I needed and she found a cap for it - and it took no time at all. The guys had overheard me telling her I would be cutting about 4' off the 10' piece, and I guess they thought I'd be using the 4' piece to measure the snow. When I said I would be using the 6' piece, they kind of snickered and I'm sure thought I was out of my mind. One said he sure hoped we didn't get that much snow, and I heartily agreed with him, but having had experience with a 4' stake buried out of sight, I want to be sure I have something in place I'm not going to have to jimmy-rig because it doesn't do the job. I checked the ones for sale on a website and they are only 30"! They wouldn't be much use here most winters, I'd have to say.

Before I got lazy, we used to put up an outdoor clothesline every spring. Fred dug a hole and made me a nice cement receptical for the old folding clothesline my mother always had out when my parents lived here. I used to look forward to hanging the laundry outside, but I never do it now - seems like I have too much to do to spend time pinning clothes to the lines and then rushing to get them in before it rains or the dew falls on them. So the hole in the ground was a little hard to find - I'd covered it neatly with a flat stone and in the three or four years (probably way more) that it hasn't been used, grass had neatly covered the stone and we had to probe for it.

Fred cut the PVC to size for me and I marked off 5' 10 ". With any luck, we won't come close to burying it this winter. It's away from any really large trees, in about the only spot we could find that doesn't drift much and is still close enough to the house so I can check it with the binoculars. I will take core samples from time to time, but now I can at least report snow depth on a regular basis - without wading through snow or using snowshoes.

Then, happily, my new thermometer with minimum and maximum readings came in the mail today. That is now attached to a window in the kitchen that won't get much sun. Now if I had a proper wind gauge . . .

The neighbor's dog put Woody up a tree this morning. Cassie, Henretta's dog, has just been diagnosed with diabetes, and has been feeling poorly, but when she arrived home with Henretta in the car and found Woody ambling across her lawn, she sprang into action and gave chase. I think it gave her a whole new lease on life. Woody normally doesn't run from dogs, but apparently Cassie obviously surprised him, so he didn't stop to find out if she meant business, he just flew into the nearest tree.

Fred and I were just coming down Jamie's hill on our noon-time run/walk when we heard the commotion. Otto was with us, but he was more interested in Cassie than he was Woody, so he trotted right over to see what all the fuss was about. I think Cassie was a little timid about Otto's presence, so she scrambled back to Henretta. Cassie is normally full of barks but prefers to be on "the other side of the door" when she's confronted with another dog. Smart girl.

Henretta was able to collar Cassie and the neighborhood settled down. Fred went on with his run back up the hill with Otto, I gave a whistle for Woody, but I could see he was still crouched on a limb at least 20 feet up a big maple on the far side of Henretta's lawn, and I didn't expect him to come down right away. However, a few minutes later, I saw Otto racing up our driveway and into the garage - obviously looking for Woody, so I guessed Woody was home. He hung out in the woodpile until Fred was back, and then he came in and made it only to the middle of the kitchen where he sprawled in the middle of the floor, exhausted. He's asleep by the fire now - happy to be in a safe place and able to get in some nap time before the evening hunt. I expect that's more exercise than he's had for a while.