We are having another beautiful warm, sunny day. This picture was taken minutes ago from our deck. It's literally the calm before the storm.  We are being told there's a good possibility of a pretty awesome storm coming our way by the first of next week.  It will depend on where Hurricane Sandy finally moves - if it continues off the coast, it might not be too bad, but it could turn inward and join another big storm moving across U. S. from the west, and if that happens, it will be major.  At very least, we can expect rain and high winds for several days because it is such a large storm. 

We need to take inside anything that might blow around and anchor objects too large to store inside, especially if you are on the water.  The water level in the pond will likely rise and anything not tied down is going to float away.  After every storm like this we have numerous calls and emails about items missing or found, and it sometimes takes weeks for everything to find a way back to owners; and sometimes stuff just disappears - probably goes over the dam or sinks.  So use this lovely (we hope!) weekend to prepare for the storm, and with any luck, we'll get through it without too much damage or inconvenience.

In the meantime, we are making progress on our new Ice-Out Contest setup for 2013.  With luck, we should be able to watch the flag and the clock right from our computers.  Bill and Diane Rossi have had a crew of technical experts on hand yesterday and are now working with Charter to get the system up and running.  We'll let you know as soon as it's available on line.  Of course, the flag will not go up until sometime in March, and we'll start the clock then.  But we hope to have a real-time video image of the pond available soon so you can see sunrises over Joe's Pond and watch our seasons (and the weather) change even as you bask in the warmth of some southern paradise.   Stay tuned.

Henretta Splain has asked me to post a big "thank you" to the Good Samaritan who cleaned up garbage from a rental cottage a couple of weeks ago near her father's cottage - Henry Mills on Clubhouse Circle.  She said she got a message that it was strewn over her dad's lawn, but when she got there to clean it up, it was already taken care of.  Henretta is most grateful to whoever it was.

Please make better arrangements to have end-of-the-year or any renters' refuse taken care of while someone is there to watch out for it.  When it's left, even overnight, animals will find it and make a mess.  It's best to drop it off at one of the recycling spots on their way home - in St. Johnsbury, Montpelier, or Hardwick.  Those are open during the week; Cabot and Danville are open on Saturdays.  Or, if you have someone clean after a rental, make arrangements to leave the garbage inside where animals cannot get to it and pay the cleaning person a little extra to dispose of it properly.  Our year around residents and occasional off-season visitors thank you.