I hope you've all played or been the victim of April Fool's Day pranks by now so we can put it behind us and get on with the day.

I apologize for being late with the morning report. Can you believe I actually forgot to blog? I was busy and the time flew by and it wasn't until after lunch that I remembered I hadn't even opened Fred's pictures from this morning and reported to you. I bet some of you thought the clock had stopped and that's why I wasn't on line this morning - well, April Fool! All is still secure, and except for things we can't see that may be happening under the ice, nothing has changed - except the open water wasn't open any more. I think this picture says it all - the sunrise shining on all the frozen open water.

Our day started off with a few breaks of sunshine, but that didn't last. I guess on April Fool's Day we should expect we're going to have snow flurries, but after all the teasing of spring weather, most of us are ready for something better. The thermometer seems stuck at 39 degrees, but still there's snow falling. Fortunately it isn't sticking to the ground, but it's still a little depressing. Nearly all this week we've had what I call "blah" weather - which has been good for us so the contest wouldn't end before the end of the day today, but it gets pretty silly watching the open water freeze repeatedly, then thaw and freeze again.

We've had reports the pond was rumbling again last night - making ice, no doubt. Fred made a detour down Sandy Beach Road to get pictures from a different angle and you'll see all the frozen open water in the slide show.

I'll have a more timely report for you this evening. In the meantime, if you haven't taken your tickets to one of the outlets still open for business, you may be out of luck. This late in the afternoon, most of our outlets are closed, so you'll have to wait for the 2013 contest to begin along about June to get in the game.

Good luck to everyone who has a ticket or tickets riding on this contest. Diane and I and all the folks who help organize our Ice-Out Contest appreciate the wonderful enthusiasm you have all shown. Without the help of so many of our members and friends, it would all be just too much work, so we thank you all. And to all the people who buy tickets, the notes you send with your tickets are great fun for us, and we love knowing so many of you enjoy playing our game. And now we wait.