Can you see that beautiful butterfly on our birch tree? Fred got this picture this afternoon. We thought it was pretty early for butterflies, but there it was, probably enjoying some birch sap in the warm sunshine. I hope the poor thing doesn't get caught in a snow storm this weekend.

I had a comment on yesterday's slide show - a viewer saw what she said looked like a window in the middle of the fifth slide. Turns out it is actually just a glimpse of the pond through the trees and there happened to be a twig above and some saplings along both sides that made it look like framework. I think she must have an artist's eye to have seen that "window" where there was none.

We aren't able to see the pond in many places now, and especially when the leaves are out, but from where we were yesterday, high on the hill on the west side of the pond, we could see the water through the trees in a few spots. As the years have passed, the trees have grown up so the pond is disappearing from view. Our neighbor above us has pretty much clear cut the woods below their house, so I expect their view has improved except for the trees that are closer to the pond below them. They are a good bit higher than we are.

Speaking of pictures, I contacted the Caledonian Record and they were kind enough to send me a copy of the picture taken by their reporter, Taylor Reed, of Judy Lavely and George Anderson from Saturday's Ice-Out check presentation. It appeared in the Wednesday edition, and I thought was a great shot of both of them.
We were glad George was on hand to make the presentation. Most of our officers are still basking in the sunshine of the deep south. They are missing some pretty nice weather right here, actually!

I went to Cabot Village this morning to deliver a newsletter to the Cabot Village Store because they had an ad, and to the town clerks of Cabot and Walden - plus some for each of their select board
members. We began including them on our newsletter mailing list a few years ago. The three towns that border Joe's Pond, Cabot, Walden and Danville, each contribute to our boat inspection program, and we appreciate the cooperation.

On the road to Walden, I went by a farm with all these cattle outside. Some of them were kicking up their heels, enjoying the sunshine and warmth. A little further along the same road on the opposite side, I got this picture of a lovely sugar woods.
Can you imagine how lovely it must be to have a home right in the middle of all those lovely maple trees? Nice shade in the summer, beautiful fall colors, and still plenty of sun during the winter months. Plus, they seem to be pretty well sheltered from the north and west winds.

I came home over Brickett's Crossing Road and found one of Cabot's trucks spraying in one of the fields just beyond the cemetery. There is some discussion right now about exactly what the waste liquid is they are spraying. It used to be they sprayed whey left over from cheese making, and that wasn't exactly terrific - smells to high heaven, especially when the sun begins to heat and rot it - but it made the grass grow, I guess. Now there are protests going on saying the material they are spraying is a mix of chemicals used in sanitizing the plant and equipment used in making the cheese, which could be pretty bad stuff to have running off into streams or even to have saturate grass our animals eat and we walk through. I didn't smell anything today, and couldn't tell what it was coming out of the pipe. Everything is suspect these days, but for now, it's just a picture of work getting done on a beautiful April day.