From Helen Morrison this morning:

Here is something Pat at Lyford Pond did about the geese.  She put a life-size loon "decoy" on her dock and the geese do not come to it.  They are afraid of loons.   I don't know if it would work to put several along the shore line where these geese are hanging out.

One could also call Fish and Wildlife and see if they have suggestions.  Maybe I will do so Monday and let you know what they said.

And as you say, perhaps the fireworks will drive them off.

Take care.

HDM

I will add a little more to this.  The question came up as to whether there is a difference between human and animal strains of E.coli bacteria the water at the beach is tested for.  I found a site explaining more about E.coli  It would seem from this the geese could be the culprits.  We're still hoping to find more information and will keep you posted.  In the meantime, be aware that big flock of geese has been hanging around, especially in the big pond, and wherever they go, they leave a terrible mess.  Cleaning up is a chore.  The tendency would be to hose off the droppings off the lawn; but by doing so, you will be further contaminating the water along your shoreline.  It's possible that the rain washed a lot of that material into the water and that's why the unusually high bacteria count.  

Just please be careful - watch where children are playing, and if someone becomes ill and doesn't improve in a few days, it's probably time to get a medical opinion. 

We recently learned of the death of Marc Luneau's father,  Charles Edward Luneau,  who died on May 26, his sixty-sixth wedding anniversary.  Mr. Luneau was 87.   Marc's mother, Jacqueline (Montagne) Luneau, passed away in 1987.   Condolences may be sent to Marc and Patrice and their family at their home at 375 Mountain View Dr., E. Hardwick VT 05836. Marc and Patrice have a summer cottage on Point Comfort Road. 

Our sincere sympathy to Marc and his family.

I had a note from Marti Talbot on W. Shore Rd. this afternoon:
We are having a terrible time with the geese here on the big pond. We had 22 on our beach yesterday and I know that Carolyn and Ned had them the other day.  When we went down past Corley's  there were several families of ducks, geese and other birds at the camp next door.
 I can tell you from past experience of being camp director of a couple of camps, that the duck poop etc. is extremely bad. And the water quality goes down hill quickly.
Marti

We'll try to find answers to this situation.  It's really difficult when it's protected wildlife causing a problem.  Perhaps they'll decide to move away from here after the fireworks on Tuesday . . .

This came from Homer Fitts this morning - 

 HI -

    GREAT FRED FOUND IT [the Maple Leaf Seven].     THIS JUST REMINDS ME HOW GREAT IT WILL BE SUNDAY TO HEAR THEM AGAIN AT PEACHAM CHURCH.

    WOULD MAYBE SAY , IT IS MY MOST ENJOYABLE SUNDAY OF THE YEAR.

    WE WILL BE STOPPING AT CAMP AND THEN GO TO SEE SCOTT AND JONI [the Palmers at "Abbie's Ice Cream" in Danville] AFTER FOR A CREAMEE AND THEN TO LA PRADES TO SEE MARGARET'S GRANDAUGHTER, JAMIE,  AND FAMILY FROM MASS. 

    THEN BACK TO BARRE TO SEE HER DAUGHTER AND HUSBAND PLUS THEIR SON AND TWO GRANDSONS  WHO ARE VISITING FROM FLORIDA. 

    WILL BE A BUSY DAY BUT ALSO A SPECIAL DAY.

    WE HAVE NOT DECIDED WHERE WE WILL BE TUES. NIGHT YET.     WED. WE WILL GO TO MY DAUGHTER ELLEN'S IN BURLINGTON TO AN OPEN HOUSE.

    BUSY, BUT WILL BE FUN DAYS.

            LOVE AND BLESSINGS TO ALL AT JOE'S POND,

                                                    HOMER AND MARGARET

* * * * *

Work Update

Danville Route 2 Project

Project:  Danville FEGC 028-3(32)

WEEK OF 7/2/12

 In celebration of Independence Day, crews will not be working on the project Wednesday, July 4^th, 2012.  Work will resume Thursday, July 5^th.

 

ROUTE 2 ROAD WORK

East End of Project:

Crews will be installing gravel shoulders along each side of Route 2 throughout the day Monday.

West End of Project:

Crews will start installing curbing at Passumpsic Bank and will work their way west along Route 2 (on the Bank side-south side of Route 2 only this week).  This work will allow two-way traffic. 

It time allows, crews may start installing islands on the west end of Route 2.  This work would require alternating one-way traffic.

Village Green:

BOX CUT and UNDERDRAIN – Crews will be performing box cut operations and installing underdrainage on Park Street and Peacham Road throughout the week. 

Travel will be reduced to alternating one-way traffic around the construction zone.  Traffic control will be present to maintain traffic flow.  Motorists may experience delays.

Contact Francine Perkins, Public Relations Officer, FRP Enterprises, LLC with any questions or concerns with regard to this project at 802-479-6994 or for a more up to date schedule visit www.roadworkupdates.com.

* * * * *

 

Free Summer Concert Series - Thursdays at 6:30 pm

Outside in the Old Schoolhouse Common gazebo. (Marshfield).  Bring your chair or blanket and a picnic, and settle down for an evening of great music. You might even be inspired to get up and dance. Food will be available for purchase.

July 5. Katie Trautz and the Tall Boys. The band, featuring fiddle, guitar, banjo, pedal steel, suitcase drum set and bass, will perform music from the album Remembering, named best traditional album of the year by the Times-Argus of Central Vermont. Besides Katie Trautz on fiddle, the group includes some of Vermont’s best: Michael Roberts (guitar) of Wooden Dinosaur, Asa Brosious (pedal steel) and Noah Hahn (bass) of JP Harris and the Tough Choices, Nate Gusakov (banjo) of Knotty Pin and his brother Will Gusakov (drums).

July 12.  Cold Country Blue Grass. The band, based in Plainfield Vermont, has been playing since the early 70's. They perform a variety of bluegrass material, ranging from Ralph Stanley standards to more contemporary arrangements, with an occasional "old timey" piece included. The band also enjoys performing bluegrass gospel songs, which are characterized by haunting southern rural harmonies. Members are: Bill Moulton on mandolin, the band's lead singer; Craig Whipple, guitar and baritone; Jeannette Hogan, string bass and harmonies; and Con Hogan, banjo and tenor. The group also features Tony Washburn, well-known fiddle player from Morrisville, VT.

July 19. The ImproVisions Jazz Quartet with Michael Arnowitt. Michael Arnowitt is well known for his musical creativity and innovative jazz concert programs.

July 26. Dana and Susan Robinson, two guitar-playing, banjo-frailing, fiddle-sawing, and harmony-singing troubadours, interpret the American experience. Their unique blend of contemporary songwriting and traditional Appalachian music bring a deep understanding of America’s musical heritage. “Rural America explored with elegant simplicity. Their music and cleanly poetic songwriting bring to mind the great folksingers of our times.” -- Asheville Citizen-Times.

August 2. Atlantic Crossing. For over 15 years, the Vermont band Atlantic Crossing has been thrilling concert audiences and contra-dancers with traditional songs and acoustic instrumental music from New England -- music which has deep Celtic roots in the British Isles and in French & Maritime Canada -- together with original compositions inspired by these traditions.

August 9. Michele Fay Band The Michele Fay Band is a Vermont based, acoustic quartet that features original and roots music. Michele’s heart-felt lyrics are central to the ensemble, which brings forth a comfortable groove of folk, swing, and bluegrass-influenced songs that are woven seamlessly together. 

 * * * * *

We've had good luck getting through the work site in Danville any time we've needed to go that way, but coming back from Littleton today, we came upon the line of waiting cars before we got to the lookout at the top of Dole Hill.  We timed the wait and we were there about 20 minutes and then had to stop again in front of Beattie's for another 10 min. or so.  Cars behind us must have been stopped all the way to Goodfella's.  When we were leaving Danville Village, there were cars waiting on the west side in a long line, too.  They are paving, and apparently the amount of traffic had picked up or something, to make it a really long, hot wait. 

We were amused, though, that Scott Palmer at one point came out with two maple creamees for someone who had been waiting in line right in front of their driveway.  Pretty nice to have curb service on a hot day!  Way to go, Scott! 

The top picture is where we came upon the waiting line of traffic as we headed west.  It was about noon.  As we waited the second time, just below Beattie's farm and above Allie's Ice Cream, we watched Scott Palmer moving his signs around, his black lab following closely at his heels.  There seemed to be a lot of traffic in and out of Marty's 1st Stop, and vehicles seemed to be able to get out of there periodically, depending on which way they needed to go. 


As we left Danville, the line didn't seem to be quite as long, but surely they had been sitting there for a while, too.  As you can see, many of the cars that had been in front of us had either dropped off in Danville or were far ahead of us.  I'm sure there were some short tempers behind the wheels.  In fact, as we waited on Dole Hill, at least one car turned out of the line to head  back towards St. Johnsbury, and another headed east and then turned down Penny Lane.  I don't think there is a way around Danville going in either direction.  Lots of folks explored the possibilities when the Route 2 Project was just beginning.


There are a lot of out-of-state cars on the road this summer.  I guess the somewhat lower gasoline prices makes traveling look better to lots of folks.  Funny how good $3.50 a gallon looks after gasoline has been near the $4 mark.  


I haven't heard any more from Mert Leonard about the beach in West Danville having to close due to contamination.  Some of us are thinking that big flock of Canada geese may have been hanging out there.  Diane Rossi said they had to clean up their lawn with shovels after the geese paid them a visit earlier this week.  I don't know how or if it would be possible to keep them away from the beach (or off people's lawns).  Unfortunately, they seem to want to make Joe's Pond their summer home this year.






 

Fred found a link to the Maple Leaf Seven Jazz Band.  Click on a song title to hear it.  They are really good.

You'll find more music clips on the St. J. Jazz site.   Enjoy.

It's time to think about the big 4th of July celebrations coming right up.  Remember that fireworks will be on July 3rd, at dusk.  It looks as if the weather will cooperate so they will be fired off on schedule, but if it should happen to rain or cloud in so visibility is a problem, they will go on the 5th.  We're counting on good weather.  Remember, also, to get your luminaries to set out along the shore line.  It's so pretty when most of the cottages have them out, and if you put them every few feet, it looks great.  The sale of these benefits the Association, so we hope you'll get some - either at Hastings store or get in touch with one of the ladies below.  Diane Rossi heads up the committee.  She wrote this morning:


I am putting together the luminaries to take to Hastings, and my salesladies.  We will all be out in force between now and the fourth.  Sales ladies are:  Sue Bouchard, Diane Sherwood, Patty Rubulcaba, Joanne Stewart, and me.  --Diane Rossi.






We have a stray lawn chair at the Erdmann's on Clubhouse Circle.  Here's what Ginger told us:
 A green plastic Adirondack chair has washed up at Erdmann’s dock. Call 684-3634 or if yours, come over and get it.

A viewer has asked if we have a sound track for the Maple Leaf Seven.  I searched, but didn't find any.  Sorry.  I found a short video of the BelAires at Danville Fair last year, though.  It was posted on August 15th.  They'll be playing the fair again this year - in August.

I just received notice from Mert Leonard, who tests the water at the beach.  He said the test was unusually bad and the beach will have to be closed.  He's wondering if something unusual happened that would contaminate the pond water.  Perhaps someone knows of something?  If so, either let me know, or get in touch with Mert at the Danville Town Offices.
 

TRAFFIC ALERT

Danville Route 2 Project

Project:  Danville FEGC 028-3(32)

FOR

FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2012

Issued 6/28/12 @ 3:45 pm

ROUTE 2 – EAST END OF PROJECT:

• PAVING – Crews will begin paving the base layer of pavement on the east end of the project between Marty’s and Melody Hill.  Travel will be reduced to alternating one-way traffic around the construction zone.  Traffic control will be present to maintain traffic flow.  Paving operations will create traffic delays throughout the day.

 BOX CUT – VILLAGE GREEN:

• Box cut operations will continue to on the routes around the Village Green.  Traffic control will direct motorists around the construction zone.

 Contact Francine Perkins, Public Relations Officer, FRP Enterprises, LLC with any questions or concerns with regard to this project at 802-479-6994 or for a more up to date schedule visit www.roadworkupdates.com.

As many of you know, I am part of a group of people who report precipitation amounts daily to Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) organization, and those reports from all over the U.S. and parts of Canada are fed into various national data bases where scientists analyze the information.  The coordinator for the program is Nolan Doeskin, at the University of Colorado.  He sends frequent newsletters to all of us "reporters" and we have come to feel we know him as a friend.  I was relieved this morning to receive news from him.  I'm sharing some of it here:

Dear CoCoRaHS participants + friends and family

Many of you have written this week as news of our Colorado catastrophic 
wildfires spreads.  Thanks so much for your caring thoughts and 
prayers.  Here is an update.

Wildfire roared into parts of Colorado Springs yesterday afternoon 
(about 100 miles south of here) and the CoCoRaHS family has once again 
been directly affected.  Comparing the CoCoRaHS maps for El Paso County, 
Colorado from yesterday to today, areas of the map north and west from 
Colorado Springs have gone blank.  We have seen this before -- with the 
2011 tornadoes and floods and also with fire.  When the rainfall maps go 
blank we know people are hurting. That hits home for all of us.  Over 
32,000 area residents in and near Colorado Springs have had to flee the 
fires, and plenty more have done so voluntarily.  It is likely that some 
of our volunteers may have lost homes.  Last night, Boulder Colorado was 
threatened. Today more fires have ignited.  This has been an incredible 
nightmare.  Some of you have experienced this at other times and in other 
places.

Here around Fort Collins our huge (nearly 90,000 acres) wild fire has 
settled down a bit.  It is still burning but now it is higher in the 
mountains and threatening fewer homes.  Still, hundreds of families 
remain evacuated.  The Larimer County maps continue to show large blank 
areas where observers once reported -- just 3 weeks ago.  These are 
indeed terrible disasters  -- similar to Texas wildfires last year and 
other fires this year and previously.  With persisting heat and drought 
(parts of Colorado saw temperatures of 110 or higher for the 4-5th day 
in a row.) we are not out of the woods.  But for our family (back from 
our Upper Michigan vacation), we are safe, our home and animals are 
fine, and the worst inconvenience has been the periods of smoke, intense 
heat and lots of ash in my rain gauge.

Two nights ago I experienced something that is still giving me goose 
bumps.  I worked late and drove home about sunset.  To get to and from 
work I have to drive past the Incident Command post for our fire (called 
the "High Park fire").  It's just down the road from our building here 
on the foothills campus of Colorado State University.  As the fire 
spread, firefighting crews increased and the National Guard joined the 
effort.  The Incident Command post grew to become a huge and noisy tent 
city illuminated day and night.  It has been hard to concentrate here 
with all the activity and with episodes of smoke.   Of particular 
interest were the large helicopters shuttling back and forth --  
hovering while reloading fire retardant and then racing off to protect 
nearby homes. Helicopter activity peaked each time the fire approached 
residential areas.  At last things were quieting down as the active fire 
zone moved farther away.  Driving home I passed what used to be a large, 
open pasture but now it was the heliport, the heavy equipment staging 
area, the portable shower and portapotty area, the mess tents and the 
security check point.  Beyond that were tents set up with t-shirt sales, 
refreshments and even portable massage tables to bring some relief to 
tired and sore firefighters.  Then, to my surprise, the road was lined 
with people -- young and old -- holding up signs and cheering 
exuberantly for each truck as it returned from the fire to the camp.  As 
I drove past, dozens of large trucks were coming back to camp  -- 
responding to the cheers by honking and sounding sirens.  It seemed 
surreal -- a slight taste of what it might have been like when our young 
men returning to the U.S. after the end of WW2.  I won't forget this.


The smell of rain -- the glorious rainbow

Today, we were surprised by rain.  We had thought that nature had 
perhaps given up on that part of the hydrologic cycle.  Several showers 
moved in dropping temperatures from the 90s back into the 70s and 
bringing the smell that only fresh rain can bring.  The winds then 
shifted and blew down from the mountains.  Instead of the smell of pines 
-- it was that smell you get when you douse a camp fire with a bucket of 
water.  For miles, the forest smelled of wet ashes.  The National 
Weather Service quickly issued a flash flood warning.  Even though 
rainfall was light, runoff from recently burned slopes can bring down 
ash, mud and much debris.  And then, as the day ended, the sun broke 
through the clouds and there was the brightest, boldest, beautifulest 
rainbow I've ever seen.

I just want to remind JPA members that the Annual Meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on July 7th.  I've had several people indicate they thought it was this Saturday, so please pass the word - the pavilion is rented this Saturday - our meeting will be on the 7th.  I'll remind everyone again next week - hope to see many of you there.  These are some of the bright, smiling faces we enjoyed seeing at the spring meeting.  All are welcome - Camilla will have coffee and doughnuts waiting for us!

I'm sorry that I didn't see this in time to get it on for today, but now you'll know about the planned programs for Wednesdays, and I'm sure Dee will send me more info on upcoming programs, or just get in touch with the library to find out what's in store for the rest of the season. 

Attention all dreamers!  Join us at the Pope Memorial Library for summer reading fun.  The theme of this year's program is "Dream Big - READ!"

The program kicks off with a magic show at the Danville School Library on Wednesday, June 27 at 11 am.  Tom Joyce will bring his "Dream Big" magic show to delight, entertain and make the audience laugh!  This show is recommended for ages 4 and up and is FREE!  Hope to see you there.

The Pope's summer reading program continues on Wednesdays, July 11, 18 and 25th.  Call or stop by the library to register.  684-2256.

This is pretty much the way our weather here at Joe's Pond has been for the last three days.  We have received 1.75 in. of much needed rain, and things are looking much perkier.  Last night we needed a little heat in the house - a huge difference from last week when we were doing everything possible to keep the house cool.  Today the thermometer hasn't reached 60 yet, but the weather people assure us that is going to change in the next few days.

We need to let people know that the Town of Cabot is going to be replacing a culvert on West Shore Road - near Bertrand's, I think.  There have been cones set up since we had a big rain a few weeks ago that took out some of the ditch near that culvert.  There is now a sign warning that the road will be closed on Thursday morning, so people should find other routes - either through Walden or over Danville Hill.

We've been asked about the water level in the pond being affected by the break in the penstock.  As far as I know, the water level has remained within the limits set by the Public Service Board.  Green Mountain Power found the break before the pond level had been drastically lowered.  Now that the penstock is out of use, water will again be released directly into the brook as needed to compensate for all the rain we've had and maintain the desired level in the pond.  If you recall, the penstock was out of use all of last summer while they were replacing the upper end of it, and except for one time when blasting shook up the controls too much, there were no glitches in maintaining the water level in the pond.

Jim Kellogg told us there was significant damage done in the brook below the power plant when the penstock broke.  He will be assessing that with his group of scientists and will hopefully keep us somewhat in the loop regarding how serious the brook ecology has been compromised.  Here's some of what he said.  " . . .  the water level of Joes Pond fell only 0.1 feet which would have little effect on the biology of the lake. Downstream, there was considerable damage to Joes Brook resulting from the large volume of water released. My section plans on doing a chemical and biological assessment on the inflicted reach early this fall to document any changes above and below the water release."

We've just learned that the pulled pork dinner planned for tonight for the benefit of the Cabot church has been postponed for two weeks until July 10th.  We called this morning to reserve take-outs and when we didn't get any response, we called the minister, who told us about it being postponed.  I'll try to remind you about that again closer to the time - after I've checked to be sure they're actually having it.  Sorry about misleading you.  I actually thought it was last going to be last Tuesday, so this is the second time I've been disappointed.  Actually, last week I was confused; this week I'm disappointed.

This morning I received information from Jim Kellogg (Birch Bound Rd.) answering the question about the dead critters in the water.  Here's what Jim told us: 

While up at the lake on Wednesday June 20^th , I saw the exoskeletons of mayflies floating around the edge of the pond. They were Hexagenia limbata commonly called the Big Yellow or Giant Mayfly. What was visible from the shoreline was the remnant exuvia (molt or skin) when they transformed from larval insects to adult flies. It must have been a tremendously large hatch. They hatch generally at twilight, but only live a few hours or days. The females rise from the water and rest in lake side trees and brush while the males swarm above the waters. Shoreline trees are critical habitat for the female mayfly during the pre-courtship ritual. When the males are swarming, the females enter the swarm seeking a mate. It’s the male that makes the selection and a midair connection is made. Once fertilization is complete, the male flies off with hopes of further mating while the female soon after drops to the lake surface and pushes her abdomen in to the water where she can release between 4,000 to 7,000 eggs. The delicate female drifts off and quickly disintegrates from the wave action. Often, she’ll be eaten by a fish while lying on the surface.  It’s during this period when the lake is strewn with bodies that the trout that normally feed in the deep water come to the surface. The males will mate six or more times before dying off as well. The eggs will drift down and after a couple of weeks, tiny nymphs will emerge that will burrow in to the sediment. They need clean, cold well-oxygenated waters and burrow in the shallow littoral zone in silty areas. These mayflies live a larval immature life stage for up to two years before swimming to the surface and flying away briefly as adults.  They are an important food source for fish and crayfish.

Thanks, to Jim for that info.  Jim's contact information is: 

Jim Kellogg – Environmental Scientist

Watershed Management Division

Monitoring, Assessment and Planning Program

Biomonitoring and Aquatic Studies Section

Jeffords Hall – UVM

Burlington, VT

05405

Cell Phone – (802)-249-3370


 Bill and Diane Rossi have visitors - and lots of 'em.  Can you imagine the noise these guys make in the morning when they're waking up?  I'm told they really are unwelcome as you can imagine what a mess this many geese will make on a lawn.  I guess they're here for a while, anyway - and will make the rounds of lawns, getting shooed away only to paddle off to another location.

Just a reminder, too, that Kevin Johnson's baseball guys will be picking up returnables on the Saturday after the 4th.  They'll be around  between 9 a.m. and noon, covering both sides of the pond, so plan to have your cans and bottles ready.

This is Lightning SafetyAwareness Week.  I've mentioned before how dangerous lightning is, but here are some facts and safety rules everyone should remember:
 

Lightning Safety Awareness Week
"When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!"
June 24-30, 2012

The nation will focus on lightning safety this week during National Lightning Safety Awareness Week, June 24-30, 2012.
NOAA states that summer is the peak season for one of the nation's deadliest weather phenomena— lightning. But don't be fooled, lightning strikes year round. The goal of their website is to safeguard U.S. residents from lightning. In the United States, an average of 545 people are killed each year by lightning.
Hundreds of people are permanently injured each year. People struck by lightning suffer from a variety of long-term, debilitating symptoms, including memory loss, attention deficits, sleep disorders, chronic pain, numbness, dizziness, stiffness in joints, irritability, fatigue, weakness, muscle spasms, depression, and more.
Lightning is a serious danger. Through their site we hope you'll learn more about lightning risks and how to protect yourself, your loved ones and your belongings. As a start, you can get an overview of Lightning Safety or stop by NOAA's comprehensive page of handouts, brochures, links and more.
To find out more visit: Lightning Safety Awareness Week
Recently lightning expert Ron Holle gave an excellent talk on "Lightning and Its Impacts" via our CoCoRaHS WeatherTalk Series. This episode is archived and available to view by clicking here: Lightning Impacts

HI -

    GREAT ARTICLE ABOUT DANVILLE IN THE VERMONT MAGAZINE THAT ARRIVED YESTERDAY.     I CALLED HASTINGS STORE TO TELL THEM AS THEY WERE IN THE ARTICLE.

                                                                                HOMER

Attention Cabot Parents: Soccer Summer Camp Signs up start now! Camp starts July 30th-August 3rd from 9-12. The Cost is $50.00 for the week. Please contact Rebecca Nally @ 563-3503.

Amber Bothfeld
amberbothfeld@aol.com

Hi Jane,
We have a dock that we would like to give away.  We have new docks this year and can't use that section. It is a pressure treated approx.  17 x 3 feet.  At one end it goes out to an octagon shape of 5x5.
If anyone would like to see it , it is on our beach..
Could you put the word out for us?
Thanks.
Marti Talbot
1239 W. Shore Rd.

I received the following a couple days ago - sorry, Jack, it got lost in the shuffle:

Hi Jane,

On our boat ride last night we retrieved a green and white golf umbrella with a St. Johnsbury Academy logo from the middle pond, in front of the Laperle camp.  Its owner can call me at 476-4505.

We also still have a bright orange 55 gallon plastic barrel that we found floating in the big pond last fall that we would like to return to its owner.

By the way, we've noticed a bit of confusion on what pond is what.  For some people, the first pond is the big pond and for others the first pond is the small pond in West Danville.  I suppose it might be different depending on whether one is from points east or points west.

So rather than call them first, second and third as we have conventionally, we are now referring ot them as big, middle and little.  It is great that life at Joe's Pond gives us such weighty issues to think about.  :>)

Jack

I don't know what to tell you about which pond gets called "first" - but I think big, middle and little are a good solution.  Personally, I tend to work from south to north and think of the first pond being in W. Danville, making the big pond the third, and then the Rogers Ponds (Kettle ponds to some) further up the channel the fourth and fifth.  It's too darned hot to labor of it, and I don't think there is any "right" or "wrong" to it.

Speaking of being hot - Woody was pretty hot again today, but found a cool spot in the shade on the deck.   He spent much of the afternoon out there while Fred was mowing the lawn.  He didn't even know I was taking his picture!

We're looking forward to some relief from the heat perhaps tonight.  I expect it may come in the form of severe thunder storms, but at least we should get some much needed rain, and a drop in temperature.  It's too bad it's coming on the weekend, but perhaps it'll still be pretty nice here at the pond.  We sure can't complain about "no summer" - we've already had more summer weather than lots of past summers.

Work Update

Danville Route 2 Project

Project:  Danville FEGC 028-3(32)

Week of 6-25-12

ROUTE 2 ROAD WORK

East End of Project: 

BOX CUT – Early week, crews will continue to work on the box cut working their way west on Route 2. 

FINE GRADE AND PAVE – Once the box cut work is finished, possibly mid week, crews will fine grade the east end of the project followed by paving of the base course.  A mid-week update will be issued as to the work plan for mid-late week. 

VILLAGE GREEN -

CVPS will be running wire to residences around the Village Green all week. 

 Travel will be reduced to alternating one-way traffic around the construction zone.  Traffic control will be present to maintain traffic flow.  Motorists may experience delays.

Contact Francine Perkins, Public Relations Officer, FRP Enterprises, LLC with any questions or concerns with regard to this project at 802-479-6994 or for a more up to date schedule visit www.roadworkupdates.com.

We had to go into St. Johnsbury to do errands this morning, so we decided to go early to beat the heat, if possible.  We did pretty well, and were back home by a little after 10:30.  We stopped in West Danville to pick up the mail, and Fred got some pictures.  There is little, if any, water going over the dam right now.  We don't know if it's a result of the burst penstock from last Friday or because there's been no rain for quite a while.

Fred spoke with one of the employees of Green Mountain Power, and he was concerned about the old plant having been so badly damaged.  There's no "quick fix" to be had, I guess. 


In Danville, we were delayed due to the road work.  The town and the road are more torn up right now than they were last year, it seems to me.  Access to the bank was severely limited, and there was a long stretch of construction from the bank to about Marty's.  It's hard to figure out why things that were all torn up last year and then seemingly put back together are now being torn up all over again.  Seems counter productive, but then, it is a big undertaking and very complicated, I'm sure.

 I sure don't envy those workers out there on days like we've been having this week.  It was hot and dusty, even at eight o'clock in the morning. There were long lines of traffic in both directions, but as far as we could tell, everyone was being patient and enduring the wait in the heat and dust and the really rough road without fuss. 

St. Johnsbury was hot, too, and we got back home as soon as we could.  We think the weatherization we did last year is making quite a difference in how fast the house heats up in hot weather, too.  We keep it open at night to let in what cool air there is, and then close it up before the sun gets hot in the morning.  With the shades down and windows closed, it stays pretty cool.  We cut some trees last year that gave us quite a bit of shade, and I'm missing them; but even without the benefit of shade, the house seems to stay comfortable, especially with the ceiling fans going.  Today even our cat, Woody, seemed to mind the heat.  He was quieter than usual, and spent quite a bit of time sprawled on the floor here in my office.  Normally he'd want to be on the rug I keep on my desk for him.   He's outside tonight, though, enjoying the lovely cool night air.


Fred had to go back to West Danville late this afternoon.  The beach was still busy - it has been a great week for swimming.  All the schools are out now, so families are looking for relief from the heat.  We're expecting rain tomorrow, so there will be some relief for everyone. 



We're thinking this weather is at least two weeks earlier than we're used to - haying started earlier and lots of other things seem to be happening ahead of schedule.  If our weather pattern continues to change, we may be raising peaches and avocados - and already some scientists are warning our lovely maple trees may not survive the new warm temperatures.

HI TO ALL,

    JUST WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THIS GREAT SUNDAY SERVICE.     A JAZZ WORSHIP SERVICE

FEATURING PHIL BROWN AND THE MAPLE LEAF SEVEN FROM ST. JOHNSBURY.    THEY ARE GREAT !  TO BE AT THE PEACHAM CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH ON JULY 1st AT 9:30 A.M.    THIS IS AN ANNUAL AFFAIR ON THE FIRST SUNDAY BEFORE THE 4th OF JULY.

    EVERYONE IS WELCOME !

            WE PLAN TO BE THERE............

                                    HOMER AND MARGARET

Katie Trautz, and the Tall Boys play at the Marshfield Bandstand July 5^th, 6:30pm 2012! www.katietrautz.com. This is the first of the six free Summer Concert Series at the Old Schoolhouse Common on Thursdays at 6:30 pm through August 9th!! Check out www.marshfield.lib.vt.us for the list of the bands.

    The band features fiddle, acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, bass and vocals.  Katie Trautz and the Tall Boys perform original folk, americana, and honky-tonk.  The group is composed of some of Vermont’s finest musicians including: Katie Trautz (fiddle, guitar, songwriting) of Wooden Dinosaur and Mayfly, Nate Gusakov (banjo and harmonies) of Knotty Pine, Asa Brosius (pedal steel) of Dollar General, and Jeff Murphy (bass) of Wooden Dinosaur. 

Recent Performance Venues:

Club Passim, Cambridge, MA

Parima Lounge, Burlington, VT

Chandler Music Hall, Randolph, VT

Mile End Guitar Shop, Montreal, QC

 Katie Trautz is a native Vermont fiddler who has toured across the country sharing traditional music and original folk songs.  She has released three albums in the past three years, under different titles.  She plays guitar, fiddle and banjo, and crosses genres in her numerous ensembles including: Mayfly (www.myspace.com/mayflygirls), Wooden Dinosaur (www.myspace.com/woodendinosaur) and the House Carpenters Stringband (www.summit-school.org).  She is the director of the non-profit folk music school ‘The Summit School of Traditional Music and Culture’ based in Montpelier, VT. 

 www.katietrautz.com AND

www.myspace.com/katietrautz have plenty of tunes to check out – old-time meets new folk, music intertwined with haunting melodies and southern fiddle tunes.

Booking Contact: Katie Trautz

802-279-2236

katietrautz@yahoo.com

Don't forget to search for articles for the Cabot rummage sale held on the Fourth of July.  They can use almost anything, from household articles to good used clothing.  Call Terry Persons, 802-279-6818 and she will arrange to pick up whatever you have.  Terry will also be working at the Jacobs camp near the JPA pavilion this weekend, so you could arrange to leave your items at the pavilion (but call Terry to let her know first, please). 

Then, come to Cabot and enjoy the parade and all the activities - great fun for all ages, great food, and a great time to celebrate with family and friends.

Just wanted to know if anyone else has had a large number of dead creatures that look like a small crawfish or a dead mayfly in the water. Today we found one swimming. I have no idea what it is. We have never seen them or our neighbor Phil Porter knows what it is either.
If anyone wants to see a picture of it I have one.

Thanks

Carol

 

Carol Sue Byrd
carolsuebyrd@aol.com

We have just been notified that a set of Subaru keys were lost somewhere between Injun Joe's Court, the Joe's Pond Association Pavilion, or possibly Toll's Island during the Ted Chase wedding a week ago Saturday.  The keys have a heart-shaped remote starter and another medallion plus the key.  If found, please call 684-3883.

We had an interesting letter recently from someone in Illinois - this person was asking about a book he wanted to buy, but also asked if we were aware there is a town named Vermont in Illinois.  None of us knew that, but I checked, and sure enough, there is!  Vermont, Illinois, exists, named, according to our informant, by early settlers from New England.  Who knew?!  

I also had a nice note from Pat Karnady, who now lives in Florida with her husband, George.  The Karnadys were Joe's Ponders for 25 years, Pat said; they've been gone from here for 10.  George loved fishing and hunting, and still comes to Vermont for deer hunting.  It was very nice to hear from them, and although we miss them here at the pond, we wish them well and understand their wanting to by away from the cold winters.  If the weather continues to produce milder winters, perhaps they, and some others we've lost to warmer climes, will migrate back north.

Speaking of migrating, Tom and Camilla Dente watched a very large gaggle of geese in front of their camp this morning.  Tom sent this picture.
We all know every group needs a leader in order to make any progress, and this group surely has one.  This seems to be a mix of adults and youngsters.  This article about "moulting geese" may explain not only the apparent diverse age/size of these birds, but also how they happen to be here this time of the year instead of having flown further north.

Thanks to Tom and Camilla for the picture.

I recently had a request for information about a restaurant in St. Johnsbury that existed some years ago.  That started me looking for answers, and fortunately, I went to the right person.  Bryce Montgomery (long time Joe's Ponder who hailed from St. Johnsbury) knew exactly what we were looking for.  It was a "beer joint" that was under the Portland Street bridge, called "Onie's" that was owned by Onie Delosa, until perhaps sometime in the 40's, Bryce thought.  He said although it was kind of a rough place, the spaghetti was very good, which agreed with what my friend was remembering when he said it was almost as good as Bove's in Burlington.  Bryce told me where the restaurant was was called the Boomer Block, and there had been a dance hall upstairs called the "Bucket of Blood."  Now, doesn't that sound like a great place to spend a Saturday night?  He also remembered a dance hall upstairs in the Mruphy's warehouse, which he said he thinks is still pretty much the same as when it was used for dancing.

Years ago there were lots of "upstairs dance halls" or  meeting halls, often beautifully finished with a stage and painted curtains.  I took dancing lessons years ago in one of those upstairs halls in St. Johnsbury.  It was in the Pythian Building, I think it was on the third floor, and there were two large halls divided by a partition that had big sliding doors that rolled back into the walls so the rooms were more or less joined.  Mrs. Doyle taught tap and ballet, and later I learned she also taught ballroom dancing, and when I married and went to live in St. Johnsbury, I often met people who had been in her dancing classes.  Don Mullallay at the radio station was one, my husband, Ray Dimick, was another.  They were both great dancers, but their wow factor was the jitter-bug, not so much ballroom.  There were lots more places to go dancing in those days, too.  Harvey's Lake, Point Comfort (click on picture at left to see it better, that's the dance hall in back of the restaurant), Cole's Pond, Forrest Lake in N. H., Shadow Lake and lots more I can't recall.  Then there were the barn dances - Frye's Barn and Robinson's come to mind.   It was great fun to dance to live music, and there were lots of bands and combos around that played big band swing or country music - take your pick.  Great fun, good memories.

ATTENTION: The Cabot Recreation Department is looking for a summer soccer coach for highschool boys. If interested please contact Rebecca Nally @ 563-3503. Thanks!

Amber Bothfeld
amberbothfeld@aol.com

*****

 

We were contacted this morning by Josh Castonguay of Green Mountain Power Corporation who let us know there was a serious break in the penstock that leads from Joe's Pond to the power plant in the valley below.  The upper end of the penstock was replaced last year, but the break was apparently underground near the power plant.  They were alerted Friday evening that there was an outage at the plant, and when they arrived, found much of the earth near the plant and parts of the building's foundation gone, eroded from the rushing water.  

The situation is now stabilized and heavy equipment has been brought in to begin repairing the damage.  Castonguay said the plant will not be operational for some time, but he emphasized the water level in Joe's Pond should not be impacted.  The area will be restricted to workers only, so they ask that people do not try to go there.  The earth around the plant is still unstable, making it dangerous even for workers.  

Fred and I walked down, but stayed well back from the huge hole where earth had been washed away from the power plant.  We will be happy to share the pictures we took this morning, (here's a slide show) but will respect the restrictions and won't be going there again until it is declared safe to do so.  GMP will keep us informed and we will pass any further information on to you as we get it.  In the slide show, you will see it as we did, first as we walked down the steep hill, where there has been a temporary road constructed over the existing penstock in order to get down to the plant, and finally, as we climbed back up the hill towards the tower to where our car was parked.

JPA president, Tom Dente, has been made aware of the situation and will have more details at the next meeting of JPA regarding any possible impacts on the pond.  As of this morning, the future of the West Danville power plant is uncertain.  The building and all the equipment inside is considered a total loss at this time.

I have posted information about the West Danville Power plant and the penstock in earlier blogs.  To find those, enter "penstock" in the search bar at the right above.

It seems as if the weekend has whizzed by.  We were at the historical society building in Cabot yesterday afternoon, working to rearrange things to get ready for the Fourth of July.  We can count on quite a lot of visitors then - we serve coffee and doughnuts, and it's a nice place to get in out of the hot sun for a few minutes.  Besides, there are lots of interesting items to see in the museum.  We still have another day or two of work to finish up, but it's taking shape and looking good, thanks to Bonnie, Peter, Joanne and Fred - plus three really hard working young men who came to help move the heavy stuff.  They were real pros and we were very grateful that they showed up.  They wouldn't accept any pay, either - it was very kind of them to spend part of their Saturday afternoon with us old folks.  They were all college age and all have jobs, so I'm sure they had more interesting things to do on their weekend off.

Today we did some of the chores we couldn't do yesterday since we were not here, and then after supper we went down to camp to see if any of the family were there.  Bill, Monika and the girls were just packing up to go home, so we had a few minutes with them.  Tangeni (I can't believe she will be one year old in two weeks!) was sound asleep in her mom's arms when we got there.  They had just been for a boat ride, and like most kids her age, Tangeni was lulled by the hum of the motor and motion of the boat and was fast asleep in no time.  Bill was going to put her in her car seat, and as soon as she heard him tell Monika he was putting her in her seat, she woke up.  No way was she going to be relegated to the car seat when there were visitors.

We had a great time with her after she was fully awake.  At first she just wanted to cuddle with Grandpa Fred or me, and then she began to join in, laughing and dancing with her big sister, Jo-Ann, and was wide awake by the time we left.  She's a live wire - and of course we took pictures.  Here's a very short slide show.

I did a small project for the Cabot Alumni Association today, pulling together pictures from the classes of 1962 and 1987 from class yearbooks.  It was fun seeing some of the pictures from those years - my cousin, Bonnie Bolton and Marvin Greaves in the Class of 1962; another cousin, Kimberly Jo Bolton and our mailman, Tim Gochey in the Class of 1987. There were 13 graduates in each of those years.  My class had only six in it, and three are now deceased.  I don't remember our thought process at the time, but we decided against a traditional class yearbook, and went with pictures in a sort of album.  We probably didn't want the hassle of selling ads to help pay for publishing the book, and since there were only six of us, there wouldn't be much to put in it anyway.  As it was, we had pictures of us, the basketball teams - no soccer, football or baseball at Cabot - our senior play and prom, but no text.  I don't think any of us bought class rings, either.  We were not really a "traditional" group, I guess, probably because there were so few of us.  Our class started off in our freshman year with something like 14 in the class, but some moved away and others dropped out.  The two boys and one girl went into the service shortly after graduation; one girl got married, the other girl and I went on to school.  

Keep cool and safe, and enjoy the hot weather coming up this week.

Sounds like a great meal at a bargain price! 

Community Dinner, sponsored by Cabot United Church, Cabot, VT.

Tuesday, June 26^th from 5:30 until 7:00. Adults $7.00. 
Take-outs available.

Our famous pulled pork, salads, rolls, desserts, drinks.  
 Let us cook for you!

Cabot Church, On the Town Green, Route 215, Cabot, VT.

For information or take-outs call 563-2278.

Work Update

Danville Route 2 Project

Project:  Danville FEGC 028-3(32)

WEEK OF 6/18/12

 ROUTE 2 ROAD WORK

East End of Project: 

BOX CUT - Crews will continue working on the box cut working their way west on Route 2.  Travel will be reduced to alternating one-way traffic around the construction zone.  Traffic control will be present to maintain traffic flow.  Motorists may experience delays.

CONDUIT INSTALLATION:  Crews will be installing street light electrical conduit from Marty’s west to the center of Town.  

Contact Francine Perkins, Public Relations Officer, FRP Enterprises, LLC with any questions or concerns with regard to this project at 802-479-6994 or for a more up to date schedule visit www.roadworkupdates.com.

* * * * *

You may have already seen this on the news, but if not, check it out:

 Robbery in Cabot.  Many of us know Leonard Spencer - he lives in Lower Cabot, and is a house painter, specializing in Victorian decor.

Please be wary of strangers coming to your door, and keep your doors locked.  Sad but true, it doen't pay to trust anyone these days.  We're glad Leonard wasn't hurt.

I read the comments posted below the article - interesting stuff.  

Be safe.