The public beach at West Danville has tested ok for swimming again this week, testing only 6 MPN/ml.  Investigation is still on-going according to Mert Leonard, health officer in Danville.  They will be testing at least once a week, and possibly more often, and taking additional samples to try to locate trouble spots.  Mert said they may volunteers for transporting the samples to the state lab, now located in Burlington.  If anyone makes regular trips in that direction, give Mert a call at 802-684-3426, or e-mail him at mert.leonard@danvillevt.com

Mert tells us the testing is being done with the cooperation of the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), and the results will let them know if the E.coli is from birds, animals, or humans.  These are expensive tests, but are deemed necessary to find out the source of the erratic bacteria counts.

Along that line, I read in the Caledonian Record today a short article about a beach community on one of the Great Lakes that's having a big problem with geese and high E.coli tests.  They have been using fake coyotes, moving them around so the geese will think they are alive to keep the geese from coming ashore on the beach.  Imagine how difficult it must be to control the geese population on a body of water that big!  I guess Canada geese are about the most unpopular birds around these days.

We have learned that we had wrong information when we told you F. W. Webb and St. Jay Hardware have the dye tablets that cottage owners can flush to find out if their septic systems are working properly or leaking into the pond.  I spoke with John Gebbie yesterday at St. Jay Hardware, and he's ordered the tablets - in various colors so if your neighbor is also testing, there will be no confusion as to whose system is leaking - you just have to know what color your neighbor used.  

I also heard from JPA Vice President Don Sherwood today that B&B Septic is ordering the tablets for us.  We will have them available soon for our members to use.  I'll let you know more about that as I learn more.  We're having good cooperation from a lot of people already, asking for the tablets because they want to know if they have a problem.  

 We had a two very nice birds on our back lawn yesterday - a couple of flickers.  It seemed to be a male and a female, and they were there for a long time, eating bugs in the grass.  They are a bit larger than an adult robin, and smaller than a partridge. 

CRAFTERS NEEDED

APPLE PIE FESTIVAL, CABOT, VERMONT

October 13, 2012

Cabot Gymnasium, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Contact Bonnie Dannenberg at 802-563-3396 or bonniesd@together.net
for a Registration Form and information.
The Apple Pie Festival is for the benefit of the Cabot Historical Society, and is our main fund raiser, with lots going on and high attendance.

We've had erratic weather most of today - sunshine, clouds, showers, and showers with the sunshine.  It's staying pretty cool, too - around 70 degrees, in the sun with rain falling.  The garden is loving it..

Diane Rossi sent an e-mail a little after noon saying there was a white barrel floating down the pond.  I didn't get the e-mail right away, but when I did, Fred called them to see if it is the Sunken Island barrel, but they couldn't tell - I guess they couldn't see really if it was there or not.  I've spoken to Jamie and he said it is the Sunken Island barrel and he'll get it back out tomorrow morning.  It's hard to see the island when the water is rough to know where exactly to put it, so it will be easier in the morning, he hopes.  In the meantime, it's lodged on the southeast shore so won't be going anywhere.

We went to Danville yesterday - Fred did some errands for one of our neighbors, and I took the opportunity to stop by the town offices to check on recent property changes on the pond.  Two places have sold this summer - Bob Buzzi's camp on Route 2 has been sold to Jeremy and Judith Emmons from Barre, and the Ide cottage on Island Drive was sold to Reed and Karen Korrow of Northfield Falls.  We welcome both families to Joe's Pond.  Ray Rouleau is "on the job" paying them a visit and letting them know what the Joe's Pond Association is about, and we look forward to meeting them next spring - if not before.  

We were impressed at how quiet Danville was yesterday when we were there.  The ladies at the town office were delighted with the change, enjoying not having to compete with bells, whistles, and roaring engines or blasting while they prepared for today's election.  Fred could move around the common without worrying about being in the way of machinery or workers, and took some pictures while he waited for me.  The picture above is the town hall.  The whole village was this quiet.  Here's a short slide show.

Some of you have been very kind about purchasing my books, and I appreciate that.  The company that publishes for me, Lulu.com, recently updated their offerings, and I've taken advantage of that.  First, they offered an opportunity for me to put the books on sale, and then they came up with "buy" buttons to make it easier.  Best of all, the two books are now available as e-books, that can be downloaded to those gadgets kids (and adults) love.  I don't have one of those gadgets, but I'm happy to update so my stuff is available for them.  We have books and other items available  on the website - go to "Local Products" .

 By the way, we still have that nice little HearthStone propane stove we replaced with a wood stove this summer.  We'd kind of put selling it on the back burner during the summer, but now that the days are getting shorter and the evenings cooler, it is time to think about things like that, and we're hoping someone will want it.  Here's a picture - it has everything with it, manual, thermostat, stovepipe and wall vent.  It's blue enamel with a soapstone top - very pretty, especially when it's burning.  Nice to watch the flames through the big front door.  It's in perfect condition - let us know if you're interested.  We'd like to have someone put it to good use. 

The minutes from the Joe's Pond Association's meeting held on Saturday, August 25, 2012, are posted under Joe's Pond Association on the website's home page - see Minutes.

I received the following from Liz Pearl Sargent this evening: 

 Vandals have struck again! My nephew went to the island today (Sunday, 8/26) for a swim and discovered vandals had used it as a party spot, ransacked the camp, cut the screens, used a crowbar as a javelin to spear a hole in the out-building, tossed beer cans/bottles around and raised havoc! If anyone knows of people partying out there, we would appreciate knowing the date and if they know any names. 

How sad that this happens time and again. Pearl Island has been targeted altogether too often over the years.  I hope someone saw or heard something and will contact Liz at 802-748-1456, or send her an e-mail: lizsargent@charter.net  Or you can contact me by leaving a comment by clicking the "No comments" button at the bottom of this page.  You can do that anonymously and I won't publish it, but will pass the information on to Liz.  Even something that seems insignificant may be important.

Seems like this has been a busy week - well last week, anyway.  Nearly every day or evening had some appointment or meeting - and that's ok, but I'm afraid I don't get much done otherwise when that happens.  My policy of saying "no" sort of went out the window as my curiosity got the better of me and I agreed to be on a steering committee in Cabot.  I don't like to get involved in that sort of thing much, but because I've been aware of various efforts within the Town of Cabot to organize, update and invigorate the town, I decided to go on the basis of assurance that this was only one meeting to set things in motion.  I wasn't sure I'd be of much use, but like I said, I was curious.

As things turned out, I wasn't much use, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.  There were perhaps 20 people there, from all parts of town and all ages, from a couple of high school boys to an old geezer (me).   The facilitator, Paul Costello, from the Vermont Council on Rural Development, knew how to handle the group and got things done.  He explained our mission, and how his group works with communities like ours, and then we got down to business. Within the space of perhaps a little over half an hour, we had identified categories of concern that included the so-called Cabot corridor; food and agriculture; economic vitality; school and community; arts, culture and recreation; transportation and infrastructure; and the challenge of poverty.  From there we listed names of people who might have good input and solutions.  By the end of the session (and Paul said we'd actually finished up a little sooner than he'd anticipated), we had set a time for the first meeting, what media coverage we have available and how to get people to attend, how many individual groups there would be, where the facilitators would have lunch and how we'd feed the participants.

As I sat there listening to one good idea after another followed by sensible, reasoned comments, and suggestions rather than arguments, I thought back to only a few weeks ago when the community was so torn over ATVs and disrespecting e-mails among our officials, and I was very proud to have witnessed this kind of cooperation.  I left the meeting feeling I'd been part of something special, and I was glad I'd agreed to go to that meeting.  

I had another uplifting meeting on Saturday.  It was our final meeting of the Joe's Pond Association, and we'd had a week of phone calls, e-mails and chatter about the E-coli in the pond that has caused the beach to close numerous times during this summer.  We've had issues come before the Joe's Pond Association that have caused considerable concern, and it was clear from the comments on the web site, people wanted answers.

The president of our association, Tom Dente, opened the meeting and immediately put the issues out there and let members know everything possible is being done to get to the bottom of the problem.  Tom has been working with local, state and federal agencies, and there have been some answers - at least one failed septic system identified, and more on the radar; the goose situation is being handled for next year; and definite steps are being taken to clean up the water and find out exactly why the tests have been so high in bacteria.  Again, there were solutions and responsible people are at work to fix the problems.  Makes you feel better just to know there's someone on the job, doing the best they can.  The minutes of our meeting will be on the website within a few days, if you want to read details.
 

Fred and I took a walk in our woods today.  We've been meaning to do that all summer in order to find out if many trees are down after the winds we had on the Fourth.  We found a few trees down, and some broken off high overhead, but it wasn't as bad as some of our neighbors experienced - like on Brickett's Crossing Road.  What we noticed most was that the underbrush has increased in most places - lots of berry bushes and foot-tangling vines, ferns and branches, and we couldn't even find the trails we used to use.  It doesn't take long to change.  It was nice up there, although very hot being midday, and it wasn't as wet as we've seen it most years.  Some of the normally swampy areas were mostly dry.  We probably won't go again until there's snow on the ground.  It's a lot easier to get around up there when we can walk over the underbrush on our snowshoes.  Or this fall we might go out with the chain saw and machete to make some trails for next year. 

The top photo shows some of the underbrush - a mixture of small bushes growing and fallen trees and limbs.  The second picture shows how some of the trees snapped off high off the ground and remain hanging - widow makers, they're called by loggers.  We lost a nice ash here, but we are happy it wasn't worse.

THE FOLLOWING IS A STATEMENT ISSUED TODAY, AUGUST 24, 2012, BY JOE'S POND ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT, TOM DENTE: 

What can the Joe’s Pond Association (JPA) and members do about the E-coli situation?

 • The JPA can work with Federal, State and Town authorities for a solution to problems affecting the State of Vermont’s water, called Joe’s Pond. The Association is currently and has been working with Federal, State and Local officials on septic, geese problems and other water quality issues.

 • The JPA can ADVISE members to inspect their septic systems or to test their system with red dye.

 • The JPA and members can and should report suspect properties that may be leaking septic, to the Town of Danville (Health Officer 684-3426) or Cabot (563-2279). If you smell septic you should report the property to the proper town office.  I have done this, but members need to be more vigilant in this area and get involved. Identifying these properties is needed.

 • The JPA CANNOT require Members to do anything regarding their property. The JPA authority is limited to JPA property.  If you have not had your septic system inspected under the new rules you should, particularly if your leach field is within 30 feet of the shore. State engineers and private engineers are available to inspect your system. 802-751-0130.

 • The JPA power is in having the large number of members influence elected and other officials to do the right thing, at least as far as Joe’s Pond is concerned.

I have had a number of conversations with the Danville Health Officer, Mert Leonard, concerning the E Coli situation. He has gotten the ANR office in St. Johnsbury on board and a meeting is being planned for next week. He said the best thing Joe's Ponders can do is to report anything to him. He has been out here several times and one system is currently being repaired. The process is to notify the town health officer who then notifies and gets ANR involved. We are now at this level. 

And the good news is - - - wait for it - - -THE BEACH IS OPEN AGAIN.  Some of have no doubt been following our on-going problem with contamination of some sort at the beach and at least some other spots around the pond.  The cause remains a mystery, but you'll be happy to know that lots of people are working to find the cause and correct it.  

JPA has a "goose committee"to try to avoid a population explosion next year such as we had this year.  The possible human problem, from septic systems or farm runoff, is not as easily handled.  However, we have been working on that, too, and hope to have cooperation from camp owners around the pond and if needed, assistance by state personnel or whatever it takes.  There will be discussion and information at Saturday's JPA meeting - members should attend, and anyone else affected by this situation.

Work Update

Danville Route 2 Project

Project:  Danville FEGC 028-3(32)

WEEK OF 8/27/12

 In observation of Labor Day, no work will be performed on the project through the holiday weekend, including Monday, September 3, 2012.  Work on the project will resume Tuesday morning, Sept. 4^th.

 Village Green:

UTILITY CREWS – Crews from FairPoint and Charter will be working for the next few months to relocate their lines underground. 

Crews will be installing new sidewalk around the Park all week. 

Route 2:

Miscellaneous clean-up work will also be performed throughout the project.

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.

  

I've been noticing some of our maple trees seem to be turning just a tad earlier than usual this year.  This is one in front of our house that usually provides a remarkable display of color every fall, and it's definitely beginning to dress up for us.

I was sitting out on the deck with Woody for a few minutes this afternoon, watching the humming birds at our feeder.  They will be heading out pretty soon.  In the meantime, the crickets were chirping away and there was an occasional scream of a bossy bluejay, probably in contention with a chipmunk over something both wanted to store for the winter.  

I made applesauce this afternoon.  I knew I had to get out there before the deer or I'd just plain be too late.  We don't spray our apples, so they aren't the best looking, by any means; but they taste very good, and although I don't make pies much anymore, I do like fresh applesauce.  This time I made it without any sugar.  We've been cutting back on sugar, even before all the health experts decided it is "poison" for our bodies.  I never have had much of a sweet tooth, but for Fred it was always part of his diet until a few years ago.  He began cutting back on desserts in general, and now having cake or pie in the house is a real treat.  I like a cookie with my tea after dinner, but I'm getting along with fewer - if I make a batch I freeze most of them and then I'm not quite at tempted.  I was experimenting with making cookies with less fat in them - now I guess I have to find ways to cut back on sugar, so it really kind of defeats the purpose all together.  I'm content with a  piece of bread and butter and my unsweetened applesauce.

I was thinking today about all the kids going back to school - most in our area have started this week or will start next week.  I remember how hard it was to leave camp in the summer and go back to town when the weather was this nice but we had to go because school was starting.  We were always so sad.  I could sympathize with my kids because when I was a kid, I never looked forward to school, either.  It was mostly ok once I got there, but on really nice days I remember being very anxious when three o'clock rolled around and I could race home and enjoy the last rays of summer.  It was hard to sit still inside when the weather was this nice.  This photo was of me with two of my cousins - I think we were on our way to bring in the cows from the pasture - a daily job that took us at least an hour, often much more, but we loved it.

Now I marvel that granddaughter, Jo-Ann, looks forward to school starting.  She has been busy all summer, and been to various "camps"so there was plenty of time for her to play, so it's different for her.  The last think I wanted was to go anywhere there was organized activities.  I spent the whole summer either helping on the farm or "doing my own thing" - walking in the woods, reading my favorite books, building a dam on one of the pasture brooks or, when I was younger than Jo-Ann, cutting paper dolls out of the Sears Roebuck catalog.  I had cousins around to do things with most of the summer, but if they weren't around, I enjoyed being by myself and had plenty of things to do.  If I complained of being bored, my mother could always find a chore for me, too, so that didn't happen often.

No, summer camps with swimming lessons and crafts wasn't for me, and summer camp for my kids was being at Joe's Pond.

Yesterday I asked to hear from people concerned about the beach closing due to high E-coli bacteria counts off and on this summer, and we've had several comments posted.  To see these, go to home page and click on "comments."  Instructions are there in case you wish to post a comment of your own.  

When I was at the post office in West Danville this morning, I glanced through the remaining envelopes of Ice-Out tickets Garey has been kind enough to let us leave at the store all summer.  These tickets are for Joe's Pond Association members to either buy themselves or sell to friends - which is designed to help us keep the Ice-Out Contest one of our biggest fund raisers for the Association.  Ice-Out tickets are a fun item to sell.  Talking about our contest is a great "ice-breaker"(pun intended!) and people everywhere are generally interested in what it's all about, and including one or two tickets in birthday cards, holiday greeting cards, or as gifts to co-workers or employees is an inexpensive and fun gesture.  We even have a neat PAID stamp we will use if you prepay and wish to use them as gifts.  

The point is - there are still a lot of envelopes with members' names left in the box.  Names of people I know have been here this summer or are still here, but for some reason didn't pick up their batch of 10 tickets.  There are still a few days left before I pick up the box on Saturday morning to take to the JPA final meeting (at 10 a.m. at the pavilion), so I'm hoping by that time lots of you will remember to grab yours so I don't have mail them to you.  

I had a nice note from our neighbor and fellow Joe's Ponder, Henretta Splain - many of you know Henretta because of the theme dinners for Pope Library in Danville - and also her daughter, Kelli Merrell, who you might have seen last night on WCAX-TV and who is our liaison with the Agency of Natural Resources.  Henretta has extended family in Italy, and on one of her visits sent me a wonderful picture of her family there.  She and Kelli went to Italy for the wedding of one of Henretta's cousins, and now that cousin's daughter, Giulia, is 15 and was a visiting student at Stamford University this summer.  Henretta wrote:

So my very favorite cousin's daughter was at Stanford this summer for a special program.   She is about 15 years old.   Her proud grandmother sent me this link showing me what Giulia was up to this summer.  She lives in Milan with her mom and dad and younger sister.   She is quite a remarkable young woman and you will see in the video she speaks english very well!

This is a wonderful project and a great experience for this youngster to be involved with such an effort.  

Today is bargain day for videos on the blog!  I have another one to show you, an interview on WCAX-TV with Sue Carpenter in Cabot.  Sue and her mother, Barbara, have an organic farm on the far west side of Cabot - a beautiful spot - and at one time Sue and her sister, Mary, owned and operated Hillcrest Nurseries in Cabot, so I'm sure Sue has beautiful flowers planted purposely for the benefit of migrating butterflies. 

I'm going to sign off with a picture Fred took of a very nice flicker on our lawn yesterday morning.  Not long after, the young buck with the crazy antlers came for breakfast under the apple tree, and while it may not have been the same bird, there was a flicker there for quite a while, too, but not paying much attention to the deer. 

Fortunately, Woody was out by the garden in back of the house so he didn't see the flicker - but he kept a close eye on the deer as it sauntered to the apple tree and munched apples.  I don't know what startled the deer, but he ran off before I could get a picture of him and the bird breakfasting together.

A friend wrote today that she is feeling a little depressed because "there is fall in the air."  It's interesting that each year there seems to be a distinct cut-off time when it's suddenly the end of summer.  From now on, no matter how warm the days may get, the nights will be cool and crisp, and in another week or two we'll be covering tomato plants to let the fruit ripen a few more days before we call it quits and settle for "fried green tomatoes."

There is a new comment posted on home page re. the beach.  There are lots of opinions on what the cause of high bacteria counts off and on all summer is, and we invite you to post yours.  It's a perplexing problem and apparently the cause remains a mystery.  It was first assumed it was due to an unusually large geese population this summer; however, the geese seem to be gone, but the problem is still with us. We'd like to know what the public thinks.

Attention Cabot Parents: We need a 3/4 soccer coach and possibly a 5/6 coach. We are going to NEED parents to step up and help in any way if they want their kids to play sports. We hold monthly meetings, please contact me, Amber Bothfeld, @ 563-2147 or Rebecca Nally @ 563-3503. Thanks,

Amber Bothfeld
amberbothfeld@aol.com

We are definitely getting into late summer/fall weather - which seems to be pretty normal, at least for now.  Cooler, dry air and today bright sunshine.  Yesterday was showery but still comfortable.  I went with some friends to Perennial Pleasures for afternoon tea.  It is lovely there, and the perfect setting for strolling through lovely gardens, and of course I took quite a lot of pictures.  They were quite busy, both serving tea and in the nursery selling plants, but people were spread about the patio and gardens so we hardly knew others were around.

My friend, who lives in the village, told me the hardware store which has been closed for many weeks, was sold at auction to someone who intends to open it very soon.  Although we had heard someone was interested in it as a multi-use space, including hardware, lunch counter and gift shop, this seems to be a different buyer who is reopening it as a hardware store; but time will tell.  We hope there will be gas pumps and whatever else they do with the store, we wish them well.

We have a new dry hydrant at the intersection of Bolton Road and Cabot Plains Road.  There has been one until about a year ago, but I believe the new. larger pond, will replace the small pond that was there.  There may have been two small ponds at one time, and I haven't been up to look at the place, so I don't know if the small ponds are still there or if they have been allowed to drain and there is only the small brook, like it was years ago.  We'll take a walk up there someday soon, now the weather has cooled off a bit.

I brought in my first tomato from the garden today.  I was rearranging the heavily laden vines to get them off the ground, and as usual, a few dropped off.  There is one nice red tomato on one of the plants, but I'm going to leave it for another few days.  One of the ones that dropped is very yellow, and may ripen off ok inside; and two others are very green, so will get used in stir-fry with some of my summer squash.  I didn't plant zucchini this year, but there will be plenty of summer squash from two plants.  My cucumbers are doing well, too.

Some of our neighbors near the pond have an infestation of insects that are defoliating their tomato plants and eating some of the fruit.  From the description, it sounds like they have hornworms.  So far, we haven't seen any here.  I'm keeping watch, though.

Don't forget the pig roast is tonight at the Joe's Pond pavilion.  I haven't heard if there are tickets left, but give Michelle Parker a call, 684-3358.

Remember a few weeks ago there was a "Spirits of Vermont" wine tasting event at the Joe's Pond Association pavilion?  There have been great reviews - everyone who went had a great time and enjoyed sampling the wine and other Vermont products featured.  Our neighbor, Henretta Splain, one of the planners, sent pictures taken by another of the planners, Dee Palmer, at the very beginning of the event.  Here is a link.  Click on "Play Slide Show."

 

REVISED:  CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS WILL BE WORKING IN THE PARK....NOT COMCAST.
Work Update

Danville Route 2 Project

Project:  Danville FEGC 028-3(32)

WEEK OF 8/20/12

 Village Green:

UTILITY CREWS – Crews from Fairpoint and Charter will be working for the next few months to relocate their lines underground. 

Route 2:

Crews did not finish installing curbing last week.  Crews will continue installing curb around the Park, at Walden Hill Road and along the four (4) traffic islands on Route 2.

This work will require alternating one-way traffic around the construction zone.  Traffic control personnel will be present to maintain traffic flow.  Motorists should expect delays during the day this week.

Miscellaneous clean-up work will also be performed throughout the project.

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 went for a short walk this morning - a little later than usual, but still it wasn't too oppressively hot - and we took some pictures along our stretch of West Shore Road where all the "action" seems to be this summer.  As we were leaving our driveway, we noticed a new toadstool at the edge of the woods.  I really admire the patterns and colorings of nature.  I'm not sure what this duo is attached to, but I'm pretty sure it hasn't been there many days.  These things seem to pop up overnight and are often gone just as quickly.  I used to collect the ones that grow on decaying logs in the woods, and the kids would draw on them, or sometimes I'd paint a scene or a design on them.  These we found on our lawn aren't that substantial, so I expect they'll eventually wither and disappear. 

 Then we moved on down the road to see how Don Encarnacion's lumbering project is coming along.  There is only one machine working there, but the piles of logs are growing daily.   This is a picture of one of two piles we saw - there may be others, but these are close to the road which will make it easy for the truck to pick up.  

There are some piles of brush that look like they will either be chipped or perhaps burned, once snow comes.  When they are finished, the land around Don and Mary's house will be open for the first time in at least 60 years.  This is a picture of that hillside about 1910.  The set of buildings you see behind the big island was the Will Somers farm, later Wilbur Ewen's, and now where Pupino's house is, directly across from the Encarnacion's.  Helen Morrison's is a little left and up the hill slightly, and our house would be just out of the picture on the right.  You can see the railroad tracks at the right of the picture, close to the water.  The picture was taken from the road that is now Route 15.  The hillsides were hay fields and pastures.  The trees along the ridge would have belonged mostly to the Bolton farm.  The big island was called Richaradson's Island, now belonging to Kitty and Abel Toll, and just to the right of it is Sim Whittier's little island, now Pearl Island. If you click on the pictures you'll get a better view.

Cabot Selectboard Meeting Agenda

August 15, 2012 at 8:00pm

(Location CSPAC / After Traffic Study Visual Workshop)

 

        I.            Call Meeting to Order

      II.            Opening Remarks by Chair regarding meeting expectations

    III.            Review, Amendment (if needed), Adoption of this Agenda

    IV.            Review, Amendment (if needed), Adoption of Minutes for August 1, 2012

      V.            Public Comment General (30 min)

   VI.    Administrative Duties (45 mins)

a.       ATV Ordinance Public Survey

b.      Molly’s Falls Pond Reservoir discussion – Carl Powden

c.       CCA / Coalition Asset Transfer & Town Contribution

d.      Efficiency Vermont Incentive Agreement for WWTF

e.      Ennis Road Bridge Project – Dubois & King

f.        Doug Newton Invoices

g.       Constable discussion

h.      ICS Training follow-up

i.        Town Audit – Possible Bid 2012

j.        Tax Prepayments (process)

k.       Road Crew Worker position (selection)

l.        Well closure request (follow up on final monitor)

  VII.            Administrative Duties (On-Going)

a.       2012 Budget

b.      Public Works Ordinance

c.       Zoning Board of Adjustment  / Development Review Board discussion

d.      VLCT Request to discuss “Wellness” with Town Employees and the Board

e.      Marijuana  Dispensaries possible ordinance discussion

VIII.            Officers Reports

a.       Chairs Report

b.      Vice Chairs Report

c.       Road Commissioners Report

d.      Traffic  Committee Report

e.      Other

    IX.            Correspondence

      X.            Legal

    XI.            Other Business

  XII.            Adjourn Meeting

How does it come about that being retired means we get busier than we were when working full time?  Seems like everyone I meet who is retired has the same problem.  Someone recently pointed out that we naturally don't have as much energy and probably don't move as quickly now that we're old enough to retire, so that has to be considered in the equation; but I don't think I've slowed down THAT much!  Some days I'm impressed with how much I've accomplished.  It's kind of like when I had only one child, I seemed to be really busy; then I had a second and a third and wondered what I did with all the spare time I must have had with just one.  

There's one thing about being retired that wasn't so when we were working - we get to do such a variety of things, no two days are alike and sometimes there's nothing even vaguely resembling a "schedule."  I used to keep one of those nifty day planners when we were working.  Now we mark the big calendar hanging on the inside of one of the kitchen cupboard doors.  It gets pretty filled up sometimes, but mostly our "engagements" happen unexpectedly.  A neighbor calls with a request or someone e-mails and I spend time researching to answer a question or Fred cranks up his computer to post something on the website.

Some time ago Diane Rossi sent me a picture of "chair skiers" on the pond.  She wasn't sure who it was, but snapped a picture for me to post on the blog.  We were at Bill and Diane's on Sunday, watching their neighbors water skiing, and Diane reminded me of that picture.  I realized I'd neglected to post it.  Must have been one of those busy days at the Brown's house.  

It might surprise you to know that I have files with all the pictures Joe's Ponders have sent over the years, so it was no problem going to the Rossi file and finding the picture in question.

On Saturday my cousin Marilyn and her husband, Dave, stopped by the historical society building, and he was asking when rural areas of Cabot were "electrified."  He thought it might have been around 1931, but I thought our farm, at least, had electricity before that.  We searched in the oral history book about Cabot, and I found that the Merritt School on the So. Walden Road didn't get electricity until 1940; then it closed in 1944.  I didn't recall seeing much evidence of kerosene lamps at my grandparent's home or in ours, except there were some stored on the top shelves of cupboards for use when the power was off in a storm.  

So today I got out some diaries that belonged to my Grandfather Bolton and started in 1929, going backwards, looking for clues.  There were regular payments noted to "the electric company." and one notation about purchasing "five light bulbs," in 1926.  Finally, in February of 1921, I found a notation where my grandfather had paid Ed Badger to "wire the house for electricity."  Something in my memory clicked and I recalled there was a story behind the Bolton farm getting electricity sooner than other nearby farms.  Apparently the power company contacted my grandfather for permission to put their lines through his pastures and fields to connect from a line along Route 2 over the hill towards Cabot.  The only way he would agree to it was that they would run power to the farm buildings, a short distance from their main line.  There was some resistance, but the power company - I believe it was called New England Electric Company at that time - was anxious to proceed to get more lines installed and more towns signed on to their grid, so they finally agreed.  It probably was another four or five years before some of our neighbors had power.

There was a favorite story in our family about a neighbor, Dean Macy, who came with a pail one day asking to "borrow some of that electricity juice" so he could run the brand new electric clippers he'd just bought to sheer his sheep. 

When electricity was new, it was not uncommon that it was misunderstood.  One woman called the company to come to level her kitchen range because she thought the "juice" was all on one side.

Just about every town wanted street lights, and soon there were bright neon signs and lighted store fronts and barber poles, and lights twinkling on the hillsides as power spread from the towns to the surrounding farms.    Electricity changed the way many farm chores were done.  There were electric cream separators, water pumps, heaters, power tools, and electric appliances in every kitchen within a few years. Electricity lengthened the day so people didn't go to bed when it "got dark under the table;" they could read or listen to the newfangled radio, or even do extra work. Then somebody got the idea that leaving lights on in the hen house would produce more eggs, so even the hens had to work overtime.

If we didn't have electricity, "retirement" would be a whole different ballgame.  I don't think I'd want to go back to those days.  I probably would have even less time on my hands than I do now - and I'd work a lot harder, too.

The 82nd Danville Fair is history.  There used to be a saying that "it never rains on Danville Fair," but that is no longer true.  While there wasn't a downpour yesterday, apparently it did rain on the fair at least a little, and sprinkled last night while we were at the Bel Aires concert.  It didn't seem to dampen the spirit of the crowd, and while the numbers may have been down a bit, there seemed to be plenty of enthusiastic fair goers under the big canopies provided.  Here's a short slide show.

We were joined by one of my cousins and his wife from Barre at the Bel Aires concert last night.  I had mentioned some time ago that middle son, Bob Dimick, plays keyboards with the band - mostly only at Danville Fair and sometimes at the Stars and Stripes Festival in Lyndonville.  We were pleased to see several people from Joe's Pond there - Homer and Margaret, Bryce and Esther, Phil and Lorraine - and there were other folks I hadn't seen in a long time - all long-time fans of the band.  Like every year we've been to the fair, and there are many, we always bump into someone we haven't seen in ages and it's great fun. I guess the highlight of the evening for me was when the band did Hey Jude.   

 
Fred did another short video of a Bel Aires crowd pleaser, Paul Toney doing Only the Lonely.
     
As you can see, these aren't youngsters, but seasoned musicians.  They all have day jobs, but love music of the 60's and 70's.  They may not be fashion plates, and sometimes they admittedly hit a sour note when singing, but anyone watching can tell right away they enjoy making music together.  Bob says that's what is so much fun for him - nobody takes their stage life too seriously.

Kitty Toll MC'd when it was time to draw the winning raffle tickets, and she told a very nice little story about the parade held yesterday morning.  She said the fair theme honored Melissa Jenkins, the teacher who was brutally murdered earlier this year.  There was a float with pink balloons, Melissa's favorite color, and as the parade progressed, someone noticed a hawk circling gracefully overhead, and then one pink balloon mysteriously rose from the decorated float and floated upwards, seemingly to join the hawk overhead, until both were out of sight.  Kitty said Melissa loved Danville Fair and had said she would love to have her wedding at the fair someday.  Sadly, that won't happen, of course, but for the many people at the parade who knew, admired and loved her, it seemed the hawk and balloon were signs Melissa was present in spirit, and as Kitty said, she was watching over them.  

The Town of Cabot website wants to include your business!

 With the continuing development of the municipal website we would like to add information on local businesses –your business name and contact information, and even your website!  Daycare, auto repair, foods, clothes, construction… all are important to our community! 

 Don’t be left off the list – send an email to tcocabot@fairpoint.net with ‘Cabot Business’ in the subject line and be listed among Cabot’s already impressive business community!  Please provide the name of your business, website address, contact information and a brief description of what services you provide.

 Please feel free to contact Tara Rogerson for more information.

 Tara Rogerson
Cabot Town Clerk & Treasurer
PO Box 36, 3084 Main Street
Cabot, Vermont 05647

802-563-2279

802-917-2992 (cell)

BID TOWN-WIDE LAWN SALE SATURDAY & SUNDAY

Aug 11-12 Lawn Sale maps are available at

Cabot Village Store
Butters
Masonic Hall Cabot United Church

OR

You can print them from the web at:   Cabot Lawn Sale Map

Work Update

Danville Route 2 Project

Project:  Danville FEGC 028-3(32)

WEEK OF 8/13/12

 Village Green:

ELECTRICAL SERVICES – Utility crews will be connecting new underground electrical services to businesses and residences around the Green for the next two weeks.  This work will require power interruptions for 2-4 hours at a time.  Notices will be provided regarding power interruptions.

Route 2:

Crews will work on completing curb installation on both ends of the project and along Park Street near the Village Green. 

Curb work will also include installing four (4) traffic islands on Route 2.

This work will require alternating one-way traffic around the construction zone.  Traffic control personnel will be present to maintain traffic flow.  Motorists should expect delays during the day this week.

Miscellaneous clean-up work will also be performed throughout the project.

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.

I had some comments about that funny-looking little caterpillar's picture I posted the other day (see photo, left).  Here are the links sent: Number 1, with the comment, "looks like it's a pretty standard moth.;  Number 2, saying, "I saw the same caterpillar today, I looked him up and this is what he is;" and Number 3  from a Canadian reader who has "visited Joe's Pond a couple times in the past."   

Thanks to everyone - I'm glad to know we aren't being invaded by some strange creature due to global warming or something.  Of all the pictures on the sites above, I think this Vermont bug shows off his colors best.

From: Andrew Stickney <andrew@vermonttechnologies.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 8, 2012 at 5:23 PM
Subject: DEMO 2012 - Chance to Pitch!
Good evening everyone! 
Startup America has created a fantastic opportunity for 8 nationally selected companies to compete at DEMO Fall 2012.  This is a chance to follow in the footsteps of E*Trade, Salesforce, and TiVO along with countless other companies that launched at DEMO.  The only catch?  You have to win a spot via a pitch contest!

Startup Vermont is looking across the state for submissions to find the most innovative company!  All you need to do is submit a 1-minute video pitching your company, the problem you're addressing, why you are the most creative team, and why you are the most likely to succeed in the market with your idea.  This is a tiny effort, for a potentially huge reward!

The pitch contest begins Wednesday, August 8th, and ends Friday, August 17th. There will only be one winner from Vermont, so make the sixty seconds count.  The regional winner from Vermont will be announced on August 24th, and the 8 national companies selected to present at DEMO will be announced September 15th.

All the necessary information can be found here:   http://www.s.co/regions/demo2012

Please call or email me if you have any questions, and good luck!

Best regards,

Andrew Stickney

Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies

NEXT GENERATION JOBS FOR *THIS* GENERATION OF VERMONTERS

|m| 802-522-0858
|e| andrew@VermontTechnologies.com
|w| www.VermontTechnologies.com

|L| http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewstickney

VCET is an independent 501 (c) 3 public benefit corporation serving all of Vermont. The Vermont Seed Capital Fund, L.P. is managed by the VCET Capital Corporation, a wholly owned VCET subsidiary.

Right now it looks very threatening outside.  There are dark clouds and the air was absolutely still until just a few minutes ago when a breeze picked up.  I went outside and snapped this picture of the sky in back of our house - and I got wet.  It started to pour before I could get back inside the house.  We're getting a nice steady rain now - no thunder or lightning.

We went to Butters Restaurant last night for dinner with friends.  We had a really nice time and enjoyed the evening.  The food was very good and they even have draught beer.  (Spell check is taking exception to that spelling, but you know I'm talking about "draft" beer . . . )  We went early, but still there were a few people there and I expect it got busier later on.  We met another friend outside who lives nearby and she told us she and her husband go to Butters often.  That's always a good sign when the locals like a restaurant. 

We didn't have room for dessert, but believe me, I was tempted.  They had blueberry pie on the menu.  They also have creamees.  The general store had a stand for a little while, but the flood damaged them quite a bit last year and then this year there was repair work going on, so they decided not to try to do it again. 

We heard there is someone very interested in the Hardware store, having in mind to continue offering the hardware line in the basement area, which is accessible from a driveway at the side of the building, and on the ground floor have a gift shop/craft shop and maybe expand the little breakfast/lunch area that's in the back of the store to serve breakfast, or maybe more.  It sounds like an ambitious endeavor, but we wish them well.  It would be very nice to see the place active again.  

On our way home, we went across the flat on the Plain, near where I grew up, and took a picture of the old Maynard farm.  It is gradually falling down, unfortunately, which is very sad.  It was once a very productive farm run by Fred and Julia Maynard, well into their senior years.  Fred died in 1968, and then one of his sons, Ken, ran it with his mother for a number of years.  After Julia died in 1980, the place became vacant and has quickly deteriorated.  It is surprising how many people ask about the place, even now.  It is such a pretty location.

I've been working on the history of the A.M.Foster Covered Bridge for the Cabot Historical Society web site.  Richard Spaulding, who owns Cabot Plains Farm which used to be the Hartwell Stone property, built the bridge to honor his great grandfather who invented the Foster sap spout.

I met Tim Osgood and his wife at the historical society building yesterday.  They are both history teachers and were interested in the Osgood family that used to live in Cabot.  I believe Orton Osgood was the last of that family to live here, and he died in 1969.  I've been working at preserving the "Osgood Papers" which we bought some years ago for our collection.  There are literally hundreds of bits and pieces of Cabot history in those torn and faded scraps of paper kept by our former town clerks, Thomas Osgood and later on, his son Thomas Osgood, Jr.  I enjoyed showing the young Osgoods around the museum, and they spent some time looking over the documents.  Then I sent them off to Butters for lunch before they visited the Center Cemetery, where William is buried.

I guess you know Danville Fair is this weekend.  We hope the weather cooperates.  There's a lot going on in Cabot, too.  There is a town-wide yard sale, a flea market on the common, and the Alumni Luncheon - all on Saturday.  Busy places, but lots of fun and another indicator that the summer is on the way out and cold weather heading our way.

I just asked Fred to build a small fire in the wood stove, and now I'm beginning to see the weather is brightening up some.  I will expect thanks for bring back the sunshine!

This came from Suzanne Masland:

Could you please put a post on the blog about speed boaters being careful of running over loons? Two evenings in a row now that I've watched some pretty close calls. This is on the third pond, just a few doors down from Homer's.

Thanks! Suzanne

ps this evening there were five out there :-)

Boaters should be aware that harassing the loons is against the law.  Please watch out for them.  If you think you are scaring off the pesky geese, that may not be the case, so be careful to correctly identify birds that are on the water before you purposely go close to them.  Wildlife Protection agents tell us it's ok to frighten the geese so they'll perhaps move on; but it is not ok to harass other water foul - including ducks and loons.  You may not see the loons clearly - they sit quite low in the water, so keep a sharp eye out for them.  We try hard to protect our loon families so they can raise their young and come back to Joe's Pond each spring, and we ask boaters to be careful.  (Photos by Ted Decker) 

I took down my perennial sweetpea vines today and uncovered this handsome fellow on the trellis.  I'm not sure what he is - I don't think I've ever seen a bug quite like him.  He wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere, but I'm sure he was surprised that his cover was blown.  He'd obviously been hiding out among the thick vines of the plant and maybe was shaken off as I pulled them away from the trellis.  I left the trellis in place to give him time to find another hiding place.  He looks like he's in the caterpillar family, and if so, I'm wondering what kind of butterfly he'll turn into.

Our weather has turned cooler, and that's a big relief.  We've had a little rain, but not enough to replenish the water table, I expect.  Even so, we're much better off than a lot of people in U. S. this year, and even though it seems as if we haven't had much rain, most of Vermont has had average rainfall this year.  Only the southeastern corner of the state is reported as unusually dry.  Here at Joe's Pond we've had long stretches of days without any rain, but then we've had heavy rain that adds up to about normal overall.

Within a few weeks we'll see a marked difference in the weather and all sorts of reminders that fall and winter are on the way.  We usually get a light frost along about the last week in September.  I used to count on our first snowfall during the first week of October, but that hasn't happened for a few years.  It's always interesting to see when snow first comes, though.  Here it comes on Cabot Plain and along Walden Heights first - then we begin to see is on the lower levels nearer the pond.  The frost is different - sometimes the higher levels don't get the frost that our valleys get.  

I'm noticing the bluejays are getting noisy now, and this morning there was a really big grasshopper on the lawn when I was out picking string beans.  I haven't heard crickets yet, but it won't be long before they're chirping away.  The sun dips behind the big spruces in back of our house a little earlier each afternoon.

Our neighbor is clear cutting around his house, and we're wondering if that will open up our view of the pond.  We won't be able to tell until the leaves are off because we have hardwood trees between us and his lot.  We don't have many very big spruces, though, so we might gain some view.  We're losing view across the road from our house every year, and don't expect those neighbors to take out any lumber right away.  In the meantime, we have trees of our own that we planted as a windbreak growing up quickly, so we may not have much of a view to the northeast.

Fred just sent me a link to a very nice article about Butters Restaurant in Cabot.  We enjoyed brunch there a few weeks ago, and recommend it.  I have their menu and was looking over their breakfast offerings - anything you can imagine, including oatmeal, pancakes, fruit cup, yogurt, french toast - even a breakfast burrito or hash 'n eggs.  Their dinner menu includes pasta, steak, and chicken and there's a kid's menu with things like mac and cheese, grilled cheese, and "chop-sue-wee."  Did I mention they serve beer and wine? 

Butters is open Wednesday through Friday for lunch and dinner 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for brunch.