We're slipping back into winter weather after our spring break.  We've had gusty winds all day, and now we're getting a little snow, but not enough to begin to make up for all that we lost.  As we traveled from West Danville to St. Johnsbury today, even Danville had lots of bare ground, and in St. Johnsbury, there was hardly any snow.  Here at Joe's Pond, it's still more white than brown, but our snow pack is less than half what it was a few days ago.

I stopped to pick up mail at Hastings Store and, as you would expect, people there had the recent stabbing by local Rodney Hill on their minds.  FOX44 interviewed some local people yesterday about Rodney Hill, and also about this year's Ice-Out Contest.  I am struck by the contrast.  As Diane at the store said, they probably wanted to cover the Ice-Out as long as they were in town, but for me there is a sharp contrast between the attack by Rodney Hill and our strictly for fun contest.  That's the way reality is, I suppose.  There is the very serious side of life where awful things happen to good people; and then there's our "get shed of the winter blues" fun contest where we try our darndest to see the lighter side of things. 

Here are some photos I've put into a slide show.  You'll see we were in West Danville, and Fred took pictures of the water rushing over the dam into Joe's Brook - then we got some pictures of the pond and the fishing shanties at the State Fishing Access.  This is where we have had our Ice-Out flag set up in past years, but because there is so much traffic on and off the ice at this location, we will move it up the pond where it will be in front of Bill and Diane Rossi's home.  The flag won't be out until mid-March, but we'll let everyone know as soon as it's out.  We believe you will still be able to see it well from the fishing access, as well as from other points on Old Homestead Road and of course West Shore Road.  Plus, you will be able to see it on Rossi's web camera, plus you'll be able to see the clock, as well.  We'll have more on all of this later on.

 We've lost so much snow in the past couple of days!  It's raining hard outside and even my back  thermometer is reading 40 degrees.  Two days ago I measured 18 in. of snow at the stake, yesterday morning 16 in., and this morning it's showing 8 inches.  I took this picture from our living room looking across at Route 15 late yesterday afternoon.  Soon after, the fog settled lower to the ground and I shot the picture below of the logging machine in the woods by our house, lights blazing, still working in the fog and drizzle.

 This morning there are a few more bare spots here and there, and it's raining hard right now so there will be more before the temperature drops enough to send us snow again.  We will likely have some freezing rain before the snow, and that could be trouble on the highways.  There are predictions of high winds, too.

Some of you may know that our community has made headlines again with the apparently random stabbing by West Danville resident, Rodney Hill, of a California woman in the lobby of a Littleton N. H. motel.  Here's a short clip of the WCAX report.

I haven't spoken with anyone local who knows Rodney Hill, and we don't know him, either.  It's tragic that something like this could happen, and one can't help wondering about why and how or if  this sort of thing be prevented. 

We have a new author in our Joe's Pond community.  Evelyn Richer's mother, Doris Demick, just published her first book, Mary's Treasurers.  Doris is 91 and lives on Sandy Beach Road.  Doris has been a friend for a long time - I was her secretary when she was curriculum coordinator for the St. Johnsbury school system.  We confused everyone - our last name was the same, but I spelled mine Dimick, and to my knowledge there was no family connection between her husband, George Demick and my husband, Raymond Dimick.  We've remained friends over the years, and it makes me very happy she has written this book.  It's quite an accomplishment at any age, but at 91, I think it's even more remarkable, but knowing Doris, I'm not surprised in the least.

I just had a note from Evelyn and Ray Richer asking if we could help get the word out that here have been unattended dogs hunting in their area.  Here's what they wrote:

I wanted to contact you to see if you might post the fact that there are
two dogs (a beagle with another mixed breed dog) 'hunting' around our
house (Looking for rabbits I suppose) doing their 'hunting howling calls'
and driving our dogs crazy... which in turn disturbs our resident.  I
hate to complain, but I do believe there is a leash law when these dogs
aren't hunting (with a person)... this happens rather frequently
lately... we are just hoping whoever owns the dogs, might please restrain
them...

I gave Evelyn and Ray the Animal Control Officer Joe Guertin's number 802-748-4230, and also the Cabot Town Clerk's 802-563-3232.  We had a problem last spring with dogs around the recreation area and North Shore Road, but this may be a different situation.  Hounds like to run and are of course natural hunters, and if left on their own, will run all day, I guess.  That can be very annoying if they are in the woods nearby a residence, as in this case.  If you know who the owner of these two dogs might be, please let them know there is a problem.  

I just heard that there were three airplanes that landed on the middle pond Sunday.  We were here, but inside, and didn't hear or see anything.  Does anyone know who they were - and did you perhaps get pictures?  One plane landing would be news, but THREE?  If anyone has details, let me know, please.

Here's a short movie of Johnny Doyon taking down our big old maple tree yesterday: 

 

There is an account in the Barre Times Argus of the accident yesterday afternoon on Route 2 by Molly's Pond.  Click here.

We began getting snow around 10:30 this morning.  It came a little earlier than expected, and about noon a fire engine went down past our house.  I switched on the scanner and learned there had been a bad accident on Route 2 by Molly's Pond.  There's a little hill there and the road curves a bit, and it's always been a bad spot.  They did some work on that section of road a while back, but I don't think they touched that particular spot. There's something about it can send vehicles into spin mode when coming from Marshfield direction.  This time it was apparently a tractor trailer truck, and I'm not sure what the second vehicle was, but I heard them say there would be a transport, which indicates someone was hurt.  Then there was a call for "two good big wreckers."  

The road crews were busy salting the roads, but it was still pretty cold, and snowing quite hard, making it difficult to keep up, and road crews described the roads as "pretty slick."  Cabot sanded West Shore Road mid-morning, but the snow covered it in a short time.  We had a couple inches by late afternoon, and I think it's still snowing, but I haven't looked out.

We spent lots of time watching Johnny Doyon cutting the trees in back of our house.  It's interesting watching the machine he uses - it looks as if a giant praying mantis had mated with a huge caterpillar.  There is a big chain saw on that arm that cuts through the tree while the big claws grip the trunk above and keep it from falling in the wrong direction.  A tree is taken down, limbed, cut into log lengths and loaded onto the trailer in a matter of four or five minutes.  Then the limbs are piled and will eventually be picked up and taken to the landing, which is still at Don Encarnacion's.  When the trailer has six or so big logs on it, Johnny heads to the landing and deposits them on the pile waiting to be picked up by a logging truck.  When there is a big enough stack of limbs and scrap trees, a chipper moves in and spends a day chipping into big box trucks.

Our back yard looks decidedly different and it's going to take time to get used to it, but we like the idea of being able to see up the hillside in back of our house and down our side lawn towards the pond.  I still don't know if we'll eventually have a view of the pond again, but perhaps.  We regret that we lost our last big maple tree this afternoon, but like the other two planted there by my parents in 1963, it had begun to show signs of disease, and we knew we would lose it within another year or so, so we decided to have Johnny cut it now rather than wait and Fred have to tackle it.   I watched as a small oak tree was cut on the lower lawn - if I'd though in time, I would have asked that it be spared - there aren't many oaks around our area, and we've watched that one struggle.  Now I need to have Fred go down and tie a ribbon on a transparent apple tree before that goes, too. 

Here is a notice that came from Liz Sargent today - sounds good, and Liz said this is an excellent dinner. Click on the poster to make it large enough to read easily.  

Also, below is a message from Cabot's town clerk, Tara Rogerson: (copied from Front Porch Forum)

2013 Town And School Meetings

Tara Rogerson – Town Clerk, Cabot

The annual School and Town Meetings are held in the Cabot School Gym. Ballot polls will be open from 10am to 7pm on March 5, 2013.

2013 School Meeting will be held on Monday, March 4, 2013 at 6pm. The School will hold Australian Ballot elections for two School Board members, one for 3-years and one for 2-years. School Australian Ballot Articles will be voted on Tuesday, March 5 while polls are open from 10:00am through 7:00pm. All other School Articles will be voted on the floor at the time of the meeting.

2013 Town Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 10am. The Town will hold several Australian Ballot issue votes and the election of three Select Board members, one for 3-years, one for 2-years and one for 1-year. A meeting to discuss Town Australian Ballot Articles will be held on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at 7:00pm at the Willey Memorial Building Selectboard meeting room.

2013 Town and School Meeting Warnings can be found at www.cabotvt.us/elections.php

We're almost at the end of this cold spell - about to embark on a whole different kind of misery when the weather warms up and coats everything with ice.  Not a pretty prospect, but not that unusual in January.  This morning when I first looked out, the sun was coming up over West Danville, as it does this time of year, and a little north of it, there was a lovely "sun dog."
I think it was about zero - it didn't get quite as cold last night as it has been, but there was a haze that was probably ice crystals - it wasn't snowing, and was too cold to be regular fog.  Turned out to be a pretty nice day, though.

Our logger was busy this afternoon, and we're beginning to see a big change in back of our house.  It's probably going to look awful for a while, but at the rate our tall spruces were snapping off in these all-too-frequent wind storms, it seemed sensible to harvest the mature trees and let new growth take over instead of having mutilated and dying 20 foot stumps and criss-crossed logs lying around too high to climb over and too low to crawl under.  It was beginning to remind me of how our woods looked on the farm after the 1938 hurricane.  Every now and then a cow would get into one of the tangles and couldn't figure out how to get out and sometimes didn't have room to turn around.  She'd just stand there and bawl. Cows aren't the brightest animal on the farm.  My cousins and I used to draw straws to see who had to go into the slash and back her out.  Anyway, we have already noticed the sun hits our house quite a bit longer now the big spruces close by are gone.  That's a plus this time of year, but we're going to miss the shade this summer, I fear.

Speaking of summer, I had this note from Butch Bouchard today:   

Jane & Fred, just thought we’d share a pic of Tom and Camilla Dente joining us for a lunch on Sunday. We don’t get to see many ponders during the winter months and after some e-mails, we decided that a good half way point between our homes was in Sturbridge Mass.  It was good to see them and it just got our thoughts directed to warmer weather, pontoon rides and other summer activities at Joe’s.   Butch

That was really nice.   At first I thought they might all be in Florida, but then I noticed Camill'a anorak on the back of her chair . . . I guess it's cold in Massachusetts and Connecticut, too.

Our cat, Woody, has a new routine these cold days.  Every morning he asks to go out.  We let him into the garage where he can go through his cat door to get outside, but he never does.  Sometimes he stands for a moment looking out the little window in the kitty door, but he's smart enought to know from the temperature in the garage it isn't spring yet, so he'll do a quick check of the woodpile to see if there's anything living there that could offer some brief entertainment, and then he's knocking at the door to come in.  When we open the door he bolts into the kitchen and spends a few minutes darting around flying onto chairs or sometimes bounding onto the counter and straight up to the high cupboards where his catwalk is where he'll crouch in hunting mode on one of the boards.  It doesn't take long for him to lose interest in us moving around in the kitchen and then we hear him plunk down onto the top of the refrigerator and another thud or two as he jumps onto the freezer and then the floor.  Apparently resigned to spending another dull day in the house with his humans, he has a snack and then selects one of him many favorite spots to take a long nap.  By mid afternoon he's usually pestering to go outside again, I suppose mainly to check the weather, much the same as we check the temperature several times during the day.  On really cold days, we don't bother to let him out again, and he usually gives up after a little bit.  He will be happier when the temperature moderates later this week, even if it's not really spring yet; but then, won't we all!

 

We're heading for another cold night.  I don't really know how high the thermometer got today on the front side of the house - I have the window where the thermometer is covered with a window quilt because there seems to be a lot of cold air coming in on that particular window.  I checked the thermometer on the back of the house and the highest I saw was zero.  It's probably heading downward again by now.  We're cozy inside, but by mid afternoon I put up the window quilts on the big living room windows, too.  They are a huge expanse of glass to have to heat.  Love the view, hate the heat loss.

I had an interesting note from Helen Morrison today.  As some of you probably know, Helen taught science at Cabot School for many years.  Today she told me about one of the courses she taught that I had never known about.  I knew she took groups on field trips, once exploring and camping out on the route that Col. Jacob Bayley followed when he built the military road in 1776 over Cabot Plain, but that was quite different from the course she mentioned today.  Here's what she wrote: 

I've also been thinking about the very cold weather for a number of days now.  I personally like it and respect it.  It was very long ago that this was a typical occurrence...a week, sometimes longer, of -20 deg, even colder.  I remember when I first started teaching at Cabot in the early 80's, we would do a winter survival course with the kids.  We would prepare them all fall...how to make fires with no matches, how to stay warm, how to build a shelter of tree branches and snow, how to make a pack frame of sticks.  Then in Jan or Feb we would go up to Sterling College and go out for a 3-4 day winter campout.  The first time it was around -20 deg the whole time, day and night.  We kept our lunch warm in our armpits or it would freeze solid.  We'd hike all day, keeping relatively warm.   At night, we'd warm our fronts and then our backs, rotating, in front of the fire, while we also cooked over it.  We'd snuggle down in our snow/branch igloos for the night.  It was a challenge and we met it.  It felt good to do that.

The important thing about lengthy periods of very cold weather is that it kills off and prevents pests, diseases, etc. from making their way north.  With Climate Change and Global Warming, without that killing weather, we are looking at a serious change in what we have to deal with up here, including those pests and diseases.

 Like I told Helen - I bet those students think often about those trips and it must be a source of great pride and accomplishment for them, even now.  Even in warmer than below-zero weather, camping out in the winter is not something everyone would do, but how great that those youngsters did it and will always have those survival skills.

I really like the idea of killing off the bugs, too.  We've already seen some changes in patterns of animals and birds that are probably due to Global Warming/Climate Change - it helps to be able to think of this stretch of bitter cold doing something good for us, not just enlarging our heating bills.

Bitterly cold all day, and last night I think our thermometer was frozen at -20 degrees.  It is not quite as cold tonight, although the forecast is for about the same range of temperatures overnight.  Right now I'm reading 15 below.  One thing that made today very uncomfortable outside was the wind.  It blew relentlessly all day, sending clouds of snow across our lawn and whisking down West Shore Road.  I've been putting those window quilts I made last year to good use, and they certainly help prevent drafts off the big picture windows.  I don't like being in the dark all day, so I opened them up this morning, but after the sun was no longer shining in, I closed them again. 

Woody went out only once today, and that was for about three minutes in the garage.  He knocked to come in and when I opened the door, he bolted into the house like something was after him.  For about ten minutes he was full of pep, racing past us wherever we went, dashing through the house in a very playful mood.  I think he was filled with joy that he got back into the warm house.  It would be pretty tough on a pet to have to be outside, even in a garage on days like this.

Tom and Camilla Dente, sent the obituary for Bob Lockwood.  Tom's comment:  What an outstanding individual. We were so blessed to have him at the pond for so many years. Tom

Messages to Bob's family may be sent to:  Martha Lockwood, 3277 7Lks W, West End, NC 27376-9302.   

The address looks a bit odd, but the Lockwood home is at Seven Lakes, in unincorporated West End, Moore County, North Carolina. 

I received this message this morning from JPA President, Tom Dente: 

Hi Jane,
 So sorry to have to inform you that Bob "Col." Lockwood passed away last evening at home with his family. He had been in declining health the past several months and his wife Marty wrote at Christmas that he was failing. He did a lot for Joes Pond from adding on a section of the pavilion to organizing and running as  “Commodore” the sail boat races on the pond. He will be missed as a friend.  
Camilla and Tom

Many present and former Joe's Ponders will remember Bob and Marty.  They bought the big island in 1976, but it wasn't until Bob retired from the United States Marine Corps in 1983 that they spent their entire summers here and became very active in the Joe's Pond Association.  When Jules Chatot was president of JPA, he designated August 13, 1987 "Bob Lockwood Day."  The Lockwoods restored and rededicated the small chapel on their island in 1988, opening it for ecumenical services and weddings.  They welcomed visitors and enjoyed relating how so many local people assisted in the restoration of the chapel.  About 2004, Bob and Marty sold the island to Abel and Kitty Toll and left Joe's Pond to be closer to their family.  We are saddened to learn of Bob's passing.  As soon as I have more information, I will post it here.

#####

We had a cold night, as predicted, last night.  My back yard thermometer registered -20 degrees when we first looked, and it's still only up to -18.  At the front of the house where the sensor is under the deck, we had a low of -13 degrees, and now it's up to -7.   Not a day for the beach, by any means.

 We went to watch granddaughter Jo-Ann play basketball last night.  It was pretty darned cold to be anywhere except inside, but we had fun, and her Waterford team won handily over the Lyndon girls, I think the final score was something like 35 to 7.  Waterford girls are unbeaten so far this season, but they still have some tougher teams coming up.  They are pretty good, though, for seventh and eighth graders. 

We didn't get to see much of little Tangeni - she slept through the whole game, whistles, yelling and all.  Monika said she'd been having a cold and hadn't been sleeping as well as normal, but she was sure making up for it last night.  We didn't stay for the boys' game, but Monika said they would stay, at least until Tangeni woke up hungry so they'd need to go home.

It was still very cold when we left St. Johnsbury, about 8 above zero, and by the time we got back to our house, it was exactly zero.  Not many people around - many of the places we thought would be open, like Anthony's and Tim's Deli, were closed, but I don't know if they would normally be closed on a Tuesday evening or if it was because nobody was stirring.  The pizza place on Portland Street was open, but there were no customers that we could see, and not much moving on Railroad Street.  We got sandwiches at Subway and brought them home, which we often do when we go to a game.  

I was out briefly this morning to measure snowfall for CoCoRaHS and clean off the front deck.  It was one of those nose-pinching mornings, for sure, and I was glad to get back inside.  We'll go out again around noon to walk/run the hill, but it will hopefully be warmer by then.  Maybe.

This will be another cold night for us.  The thermometer has hardly moved off the zero mark all day, and now there are snow squalls and a gusty NW wind.  It is not going to be a good night to be outside, for sure. 

We just had a message from Homer and Margaret Fitts who are spending some time in Florida - it's warm there, of course, and they are very much on the go with friends.  I'm pretty sure Homer was just "rubbing it in" a bit when he sent his greeting.  I don't often envy our friends who migrate to Florida each winter, but as this stretch of super cold weather continues, I may have some those thoughts.


In case you want to check it out, I've updated the Joe's Pond Ice-Out page and Fred activated it today.  We have more to add, like photos and also a news release about the changes in the location of the pallet and flag this season.  We'll have it all up to date in a day or so.  Sometimes life gets in the way of our hobbies, but I promise we'll have it done soon.

It's COLD!  I don't think the thermometer has been over about 12 degrees above all day.  Last night it dropped to about -10, but tonight it's we're seeing a little warmer overnight temps, just a tease before the bottom drops out on Tuesday and Wednesday.  For some reason, it felt colder to me today than it really was.  Even when the sun was out.  There was a gusty wind that seemed to cut right through you.  Walking is getting better, though.  It's cold enough so the snow sticks to the ice better or packs down better - something has changed.  I always wear my creepers when I walk on Jamie and Marie's hill, but for a while even those spikes didn't help much.

Last week Fred found out the hard way (and I do mean hard) that you need to be really careful when it's icy underfoot.  He's used to running, both up and down our driveway and Jamie's, but on Wednesday, he fell coming down (wasn't wearing his creepers) and apparently bumped his head a good whack.  I say apparently, because when he got into the house, he couldn't remember.  He couldn't remember falling, nor being at Jamie's, and kept asking me where he'd been, how long he'd been gone - really strange behavior for my normally very composed husband.  He told me he thought he must have fallen because there was snow on his jacket and trousers.  After I asked him a few basic questions and got strange answers, I called the Danville Health Center and they said get him to the emergency room.  

Now Wednesday was a blustery day - we had just come home from St. Johnsbury where I'd had a dental appointment and Fred had done some shopping.  The driving wasn't great (see picture above taken as we were approaching Danville just before noon), but we got back into the car and I drove him to the ER.  They went to work on him immediately with lots of tests, scans, x-rays - the whole shebang.  In the meantime, he was beginning to make sense again, but there remained a period of about half an hour he didn't remember.  Temporary amnesia, they called it.  

By the time we got back home and had some lunch that was actually supper because it was so late, he was saying he was fine - no bump on his head, only some sore muscles across his chest.  I followed instructions to wake him up every two hours during the night, but after the first wake-up call, he insisted I forget about that and we could both get some sleep.  Next morning he had more sore muscles and some lameness, but still no bumps on his head.  The folks at the ER said his winter toque may have prevented a bruise; they also said as we get older, things in the cranium area tend to shrink and when we get a blow to the head "things can slosh around more easily and get damaged."  Who knew?  Anyway, he's fine now - but he's wearing his creepers more.  Not always - but most of the time.  He forgets he's not a kid anymore, like lots of us try to.

Johnny Doyon is beginning to cut the mature timber on our lot.  He told us he isn't quite finished at Don Encarnacion's, but since he'll be using the landing at Don's he's just working it more or less all together.  Of course we have mixed emotions about cutting the trees down.  We love our woods, but every wind storm takes out a few more of the biggest trees - or snaps off their tops.  Since we made the decision to harvest them, we have begun looking at them differently, like old friends we won't be seeing much longer.  In a way it will be good to have more sunlight this time of year, but I know we're going to miss the feel of deep woods and  probably some of the privacy the big trees afforded.  I know the wind will likely be able to hit us full blast, at least for a few years until the smaller trees get tall enough to protect us, but I will be interested to see how it changes our views from the house.  Don's place has certainly changed radically, but I think he had more taken out than we will - or at least I hope we aren't picked quite as clean as he is.  The good news is that it only takes a few years for trees to grow back again.

Fred got some pictures this morning on his way to recycling in Wolcott.  It was beautiful and sunny early this morning.   This photo is on Route 215, just before turning onto Route 15 in Walden Heights.  He had just come off of Brickett's Crossing Road.  I think the temperature was still in the single numbers above zero, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

I've just finished updating the Ice-Out page for the website.  It isn't up yet, but I think Fred will have it ready to go very soon.  He's presently working on a website for Lake Parker, over Glover way, so has been busier than usual and like the shoemaker's kids that go barefoot, our own website must wait.  We want to be sure everyone knows about the changes being made to the contest this year - the change of location for the flag, the new clock, the cameras, buying and paying on line - and besides, every year dates need to be changed and figures updated.  I'll be putting blurbs in the newspapers, too, which will give the media something different to chew on this year.  

If you go to the Lake Parker website above, you'll see their present website, not the one Fred and his partner are working on.  That will take a while to be finished and ready to put in place.

Diane told me this morning she's changed the view on the cameras so you can now see some of the ice fishing activities further down the pond.  Take a look - just remember to use the Internet Explorer browser when you log onto the website, otherwise you won't be able to get the webcam views.

Mentioning the shoemaker above reminds me - I watched Danny Kaye in Hans Christian Anderson last night.  I think I saw it years ago, but had forgotten it.  Those old movies are fun to see again.  It can certainly be said that "they don't make them like that anymore."

It's been cold today.  We didn't come close to the -15 degree prediction with a low here of -5.3, but on the other hand, the high so far today is only 12 above.  I was out at noon to walk up the hill to Jamie and Marie's and it wasn't bad except a short stretch from our mailbox a little way up Henretta Splain's driveway.  The trees along Jamie's driveway shielded us from the wind, but right on the road by the three mailboxes, it was bitterly cold.  There's still quite a bit of wind outside, and now the sun is dipping behind the trees in back of our house, so the temperature is heading down again, hovering just a couple degrees above zero.

I laughed when I saw the headlines in the Caledonian Record today - "TOTAL RECALL, Petition Circulating To Create A Way To Oust Elected Officials."  I have to wonder why this hasn't happened months or maybe even years ago.  I don't know how long it's been that the St. Johnsbury Select Board has been making St. Johnsbury the laughing stock of the state, but it's been a while.  It is too bad a lovely town like St. Johnsbury has to be in so much turmoil. Perhaps if the recall provision is adopted, just having it available will help to keep elected officials from being bullies.

I stumbled onto a file today that I had started about the time things began to get serious on the Route 2 Project in Danville.  That was probably around 2008.  In the file was a time line I probably posted at some point here on the blog - but perhaps not.  Finding it led me to do some research to bring it up to date, and in doing that, I came upon the diagram that is posted at Danville Town Hall showing the proposed changes.  I found it especially interesting since we are nearing the end of the project and next summer will bring about changes to the Green and finishing touches.   In case you have forgotten, or never knew, the project was first debated in 1980.  Yep, it's been in the works that long.  Right away there were legitimate arguments against placing the new road south of the village, through the village or north of the village.  Of course, eventually that got ironed out and   the first phase, Dole Hill, was voted on in 1982, and passed.  There were other big questions, funding, since costs were climbing even as the debates continued.  Then there were questions on  how to slow traffic through town, Martha Dole's oak tree, sidewalks, overpasses for pedestrians which stalled the project,  but in 2003 AOT received $300,000 which allowed them to move ahead.  The plan was accepted for the road to be improved going through town.  Act 250 permits, home owner bids and securing rights-of-way took literally years, and finally in 2011, the actual digging, blasting, paving, and general disruption began.  Now we're down to mostly finishing touches, as I understand it, including improvements and landscaping on the Green.  Finally, hopefully by the end of next summer, we will see what $6.6 million (more or less) has bought.

I'm going to resist digging too deeply into old files from now on.  During the winter months, I usually have big projects to work on, but right now I don't have a time-sensitive project, so I do have time to rearrange and clean out files on my computer, and that's how I happened on the Route 2 timeline.  I find I've saved some pretty strange things, most of which I've forgotten about, and actually it's probably better that way. 

We finally ordered a cell phone!!  We've resisted, but finally it seems we really need to be more like other folks.  At first we could sincerely say we simply weren't interested in having a phone with us every minute of every day.  Cell phones became popular about the time we were retiring, and after having phones ringing around us and being obligated to answer as soon as physically possible, we appreciated any place without a telephone.  In later years we made feeble attempts to convince ourselves we should perhaps get one, but we had the phone in the car that General Motors provided and that we seldom used, and we reasoned we were usually together either in the car or at home, so what was the point?  

That all changed this past week when we went with our friend, Elizabeth, to meet her son, Michael, coming to visit from Alaska.  Our first indicator was when Michael called to tell us his plane was delayed for at least half an hour in Chicago.  He would call when he took off.  Ok, except we were taking Elizabeth's car and she had neither a car phone or a cell.   No problem, we thought, we'll just go and be there in plenty of time, weather is good, we'll wait at the airport.  So we left, made a leisurely stop at Harrington's in Richmond, and got to the airport a little before 5:30, which was when Michael would arrive if the plane was only delayed 30 minutes.  We asked at the United desk and they agreed his flight had been delayed and would be arriving soon.  We went up to the next level to wait for his flight.  After about half an hour, Fred went to see how much longer the plane would be delayed.  He was told it had landed at 5:30.  Ok, so we'd been right there, and no passengers had arrived at the designated gate.  Now, here's the embarrassing part.  A gentleman had been sitting near us as we waited and chatted during that half hour, and he had just gotten up and was strolling about, probably waiting for a connection to wherever he was going, and then I saw Fred, cell phone in hand, next to that gentleman, obviously calling Michael.  Turned out, Michael had been waiting on the lower level all the time we'd been waiting up above.  How we missed him we'll never know, but then and there we decided we'd best be thinking about having a cell phone for situations like this.  They probably don't happen often, but every now and then when something like that happens, we realize - it's time to get with the times, Fred and Jane!   

We're back in winter mode here in Vermont.  We expected to be well below zero tonight, but as I write this, we're still about 5 above on our thermometers.  Of course there are pockets that will be colder than it is here - even a little difference in elevation can produce either warmer or colder temps.  It is not a night to be caught outside for any length of time.

Woody, our cat, has teased to go out a couple of times this evening, which is normal.  But tonight we are not opening the door even to let him go into the garage, because we know he'll be knocking to get back in within a couple of minutes.  I think he's a slow learner.  Anyway, he has everything he needs inside, and as usual, he's given up pestering to go out and is curled up at my elbow on the desk. 

I haven't heard how much ice was left after our few days of January thaw, but we've heard of a couple of accidents involving going through the ice, one when a snow machine broke through ice on a pond in New Hampshire, and in New York a fisherman drowned when he broke through the ice while ice fishing on a river.  Tonight we'll be making more ice, for sure, and each year that passes with no accidents like that here, I feel very grateful.  I recall only one such accident, and that was a number of years ago when a man and his daughter broke through the ice when going through the narrows on a snow machine.  They were ok except for being cold and wet - it's fairly shallow there - but always dangerous because the water flows more rapidly and the ice is thinner.  The snow machine was a rental, as I recall, and was fished out of the water a few days after the accident.  I believe they were visiting from out of state.

The other thing that's been happening here is skiers are getting lost because they ski off the trails.  We've had more than the usual number of those rescues this year, and it's just dumb luck that nobody has been severely injured, neither the airheads who do that stuff or the emergency  squad members.  We've had so many rescues this winter, I expect towns will need to begin charging; however, officials say they really don't want to do that because they are concerned people won't notify them if they get lost and know it's going to cost them money, and that could mean more serious injuries or even loss of life.  Not a choice anyone wants to make.  They might think twice before they head off into the woods on their own, though.

We are sad to report we've lost another of our long-time Joe's Pond Association members,   Virginia "Ginny" Hoar. Ginny and her late husband, Dick, were one of the first to build on the land at the northern end of the pond, I'm guessing in the 1960's, that is now Channel Drive.  Ginny was 84.  Her presence will be missed here at the pond. Our condolences to her family.

Selectboard Vacancy

Tara Rogerson – Town Clerk, Cabot

The Town of Cabot Selectboard has received the resignation of Dan Dunham, Selectboard Member, creating another vacancy in the Board.

On March 5, 2013 the Cabot Town Meeting will hold Australian Ballot elections for the following Selectboard seats:

Selectboard Member 3-year term
Selectboard Member 2-year term
Selectboard Member 1-year term

Petitions for Candidate Nomination due Monday, January 28, 2013.
Those who wish to be considered Candidates for upcoming elections at the 2013 Town Meeting must submit a Petition for Nomination with signatures from 1% of Cabot voters (15-20 signatures to be safe) to the Cabot Town Clerk's Office no later than 5:00pm on January 28, 2013. A Consent of Candidate form must also be submitted, no later than Wednesday, January 30,2013 no later than 5:00pm. The petition will be reviewed by the Town Clerk for duplicate signatures.

Petitions for Articles to be placed on the Town/School Meeting Warning due January 24, 2013.
Vermont law requires the Selectboard to place petitioned articles on the ballot when the petition, containing signatures of 5% of the voters (60 signatures to be safe) and has been received by the Selectboard or the Schoolboard at least 40 days prior to Town Meeting. 17 V.S.A.§2642(a).

Please visit http://cabotvt.us/elections.php for more information and candidate petition forms.

Willey Building Insulation Bids Wanted

Tara Rogerson – Town Clerk, Cabot

###Invitation to Bid Willey Building, Cabot

The Town of Cabot requests bids to reinsulate the unheated attic of the Willey Memorial Building, 3084 Main Street, Cabot. The project includes removing floor boards from approximately 2,370 square feet, removal and disposal of existing cellulose insulation, creating dams around all bypasses with heat and fire retardant dam around operating chimney, polyurethane foam insulate and replace floorboards. Also to perform pre- and post-project blower door tests.

Submissions should reflect the cost of work with and without temporary heating for duration of curing, include proof of insurance, and three letters of recommendation. Please send the bid by January 31, 2013 at the Cabot Town Clerk’s Office, PO Box 36, 3084 Main Street, Cabot, Vermont 05647.

All bidders must schedule an appointment to walk-through the building with Town representative by calling 802-563-2279.

### The final report from the Cabot Corridor Transportation Enhancement Scoping Study is now available at the Town of Cabot website.

### The Cabot Planning Commission has issued a Request for Proposals for consultant services related to comprehensive revisions to Cabot’s Zoning Regulations. Proposals are due on February 7.

Hi all -

Don't forget to come to Butters this Saturday and hear music by some of our young local talent.  This Saturday, we'll be doing Teen Night at Butters.  I've attached posters - please feel free to circulate them to people you know - especially anyone under age 20 - who like to play or listen to good music.

Cheers, Gwen.

--
__________________________________
Gwendolyn Hallsmith

gwenhs@gmail.com

work address:

Director, Department of Planning and Community Development
City Hall
39 Main Street
Montpelier, VT  05602
ghallsmith@montpelier-vt.org
802-262-6269

Hello Everyone,

Please don't forget to attend the final meeting coming up this Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 7pm in the Willey Building.

There was quite a bit of discussion at the last meeting on January 9th. It did appear that of the people in attendance, more seemed not quite happy with the project than liked it. The cost was a major issue. Less costly alternatives were suggested. Many concerns were voiced, however there still seems to be many unanswered questions.

Also even though the Chronicle stated there would be no public comment at this meeting, the Select Board, when asked, said that was incorrect and the public will have input this Wednesday as well. The Select Board also stated they had nothing to do with the listing in the Chronicle, and did not know who placed that listing.

There a lot of other aspects of this project that should be considered and your input is needed!

Thank you,
Tamara (Tamie) Marian
A concerned citizen running for Select Board

* * * * *

Completion of the Main Street Scoping Study has made the Town of Cabot eligible to apply for VTrans grant funding; which was the primary purpose of the scoping study.

To that affect the Cabot Corridor Revitalization Committee is hoping to apply for a VTrans Alternative Grant for the purpose of raising the sidewalks between the school and the recreation field, enhance the crosswalks at the church and at gym road, to add new gateway signing at either end of Town, and narrow the mouth of South Walden road to ensure motorists are coming to a complete stop before entering Rte 215. These modifications are meant to slow motorists and create a safer corridor for use by the Town’s children as they move between the school and the recreation fields.

On January 16th the Cabot Corridor Revitalization Committee will present the grant application to the Cabot Select Board and ask for their approval to pursue the grant. This meeting is open to the public and will be at the Willey Building prior to the regular Select Board meeting.

If approved by the Select Board, and if Cabot’s grant application was to be chosen by VTrans, there would be a series of public meetings during, and throughout the design phase of the project.

Jeanne Johnson

802-595-7710 

CORRECTION - The VTrans Alternatives Grant will be presented to the Select Board at their regularly schedule meeting, starting at 7:00PM.
The final version of the scoping study is available on the town web site  www.cabotvt.us

Looks like our January thaw is about to end.  The thermometer has been slipping downward all morning, and is at the 40 degree mark after being close to 50.  It remained warm last night - around 38 or so, and came up for a while this morning when the sun was out, but now the clouds are closing in and the wind has picked up a bit from the northwest.  We lost a lot of our snow cover.  I measured at one point last week 18 inches at my back yard stake, and this morning it's showing just under 11 inches.

When we walked this morning, the road was very wet and the main road has plenty of sand or gravel on it; but underneath is ice.  There could be some icy spots as the temperature continues to drop, but actually the road by us doesn't seem bad at all.  Jamie and Marie's driveway is still snow covered, and will probably be pretty slick when it freezes.  I guess it depends on whether we get snow with the colder temperatures or not. Snow sometimes helps if it falls on the still moist ice.  And sometimes it just adds to the problem.  You can see that our driveway is clear and fairly dry, and the road below is shiny wet in spots.

I spoke with Diane Rossi this morning and she's wondering about the ice, but said yesterday there were fishermen out as usual, and some snowmobiles.  There's water on top of the ice in spots, and I expect most of the snow has melted, but perhaps there hasn't been too much loss of ice depth.   Jack and Sue LaGue reported around Christmas time they measured 6 inches in front of their house on Sandy Beach Road, and we had lots of below-zero nights after that, so there probably was a good base of ice when this thaw started.

We will be meeting with Larry Rossi this week to discuss the new placement of the Ice-Out Contest flag.  I'll have more to report on that probably this weekend.  The flag won't go out until sometime mid or late March, depending on the weather.  It's hard to tell at this point if there what to expect, and we may be rushing to get things set up before the ice is too dangerously thin to be on; or we may have some nasty March weather that will keep us from getting the flag set up, maybe even until after the contest closes on April 1st.  That has happened in the past.  Nobody wants to be out on the ice fiddling with ropes and wires in a blizzard.  We'll begin having regular ice reports soon - Fred will post them on home page, and I'll mention any developments here, too.

Speaking of home page - if you've noticed our web site is loading infuriatingly slowly recently, we have, too, and Fred is trying to get it corrected.  We don't know if it is a problem with our present host or with our internet service.  Either way, it's frustrating and Fred has been working on it since last Thursday, trying to get answers from GoDaddy or Fairpoint.  So far he hasn't made much headway, but will keep after it until the problem is solved.

This is a response from retired Cabot teacher, Helen Morrison yesterday's blog re. the school choice question coming up at Cabot's town meeting:  

I really liked your comments on the blog vis a vis school choice.  I, too, have heard that it could cost a whole lot more, and we'd lose a say in the education of our kids.  Add to that having to get the kids to the other schools, and the loss of an institution that helps make a "community", and we need to think very carefully before we change the set-up.  My understanding is that the high school is doing much better, the kids are into it, the rigor is going up.  I say, let's wait and, as you say, see what the State settles into.  Helen

I was going through a few days worth of newspapers this morning and happened on the article about Peacham Elementary School facing similar issues as Cabot.  It becomes very difficult for smaller schools to continue operating as population shifts occur and enrollment first swells and then dwindles.  In Cabot, this has happened repeatedly.  At one time or another there have been 14 school "districts" set up, each following the population shifts.  School was kept sporadically in the early years, according to weather or harvesting cycles and whether there was a teacher available.  Sometimes classes were held in centrally located homes, or in the meeting house, but over time, one-room schools were built and became the center of each cluster of residents.  The schools were where neighbors met for social gatherings and to conduct business meetings, and they were headquarters in times of crisis.  Not unlike Cabot School today.  Only, families were larger then.  With all eight grades in one school, a family might have four, five or more children going to school at the same time.  Schools in Cabot were located so no child would need to walk more than two miles to reach it.  And walk they did, or rode horseback or came in a buggy or sleigh, if they were lucky.  

After eighth grade, Cabot students who wished to continue their education had to go to academies in Danville, Hardwick, Barre, Montpelier or St. Johnsbury.  And that worked for some, but others simply couldn't manage it because there were chores to do at home and they had to help, or they couldn't afford to go.  Most, girls and boys alike, as soon as they were big enough, had to either work at home or go out to work to help support themselves and their family. 

Cabot established its first high school in 1909, a two-year school, and gradually, nearly everyone "went on to school" from eighth grade.  Eventually, as population centers shifted, one by one, all the one-room schools in Cabot were closed and children who lived in outlying areas were bussed to school in the village.  The dynamics certainly changed for those students coming from the hills to the village.  Over time, most adapted, but along with the new experiences and more choices, there was a loss of the closeness and special learning process that came from being in a small school where they helped the younger students and respected the older ones - their extended family.  

Today, in the fast-paced, irreverent, often violent society we have, it's a fair question to ask whether a larger, more diversified school setting is better for our youngsters or would we be exchanging a not-so-great situation for a really bad one?  Will there be more caring teachers?  Will parents still have input?  Will fewer kids "slip through the cracks"?  

There is a lot to think about, and I'm really glad I'm not a parent facing these questions.  But it's very much on my mind as I sit here with my computer and dusty history notes.  I sure hope we make the right decision, if indeed there is one.

I've seen a couple of things on Front Porch Forum recently to indicate the vote on school choice in Cabot will take place at the meeting held the evening before the regular town meeting.  Someone wrote today that it should be voted upon by Australian ballot at regular town meeting.  I don't know the logistics, reasoning, or even if this is what is going to happen, but I think voters in town should ask the right questions and get answers before it's too late and lots of people are surprised at the outcome.  Best to ask our town clerk just how this vote will be handled.  The office will be open at 9 a.m. on Monday.  Phone there is 563-2279.

If you haven't been following the school issue on Front Porch Forum, you should begin taking note and perhaps go to the library to read back issues copied there.  This is a complicated issue, and we need to think seriously about what's best for the children, weighing commuting to other schools, the type of education they'll get at other schools vs. Cabot, community financial gain or loss, less oversight regarding school policies - all kinds of things.  Once the high school students have left,  we will still have the elementary school on the same campus needing the same repairs, plus there will be the added expense paying tuition.  One estimate I heard was that tuition costs could add  an extra  $400,000 a year to the school budget, and that might be a conservative guess. 

The State of Vermont is apparently struggling with education questions.  It makes me wonder if we should hold off making a decision like this until things at the state level settle.  You never know - the trend towards unionizing schools could turn around and local schools could become the wave of the future and Cabot would then be ahead of the trend.

This lovely big turkey was cruising for food in our back yard this afternoon.  The few fern  seeds still available sticking through the deep snow were of interest, but every step was difficult, so after struggling past the apple trees, she took off in a graceful low glide just inches above the snow and landed in the bushes beside the road on the lower side of our lawn.  I imagine there would be better feed there.

Woody was very interested, but seemed content to hang out where it was warm and watch through the window.  Smart cat.  If you enlarge the photo by clicking on it, you may see how the bird's feathers are ruffled and wet appearing in places.  It had just begin to rain when I got this photo.

 * * * * * 

Please join us the Friends of Cabot School for a

Free Community Spaghetti Dinner

Saturday, January 26th
at 4:30- 6:30 pm

At the Cabot School Cafeteria

4:30- 5:00pm- cheese and cracker greeting

5:00- 6:00pm- dinner

6:00- 6:30pm- presentation

In March the people of Cabot will make an important decision related to the future of our high school. This dinner event will provide an opportunity to learn about the high school students' accomplishments and understand the value to the entire community of keeping Cabot High School open. 

Childcare will be available during the event in the gym

If you’re inspired, bring a dessert to share!

 

We had a pretty nice day today - much warmer than it has been, but we didn't get any rain.  It was cold last night, though - got down to 13 degrees - but during the day it got up to about 34.  

We got together with Bill and Diane Rossi and Don and Diane Sherwood last night at the Rossi's.  It was Fred's birthday, and Diane made his favorites for dinner, chicken pie and white cupcakes with chocolate frosting.  It was soooooo good, and we had a great time.  

I know some of you will be surprised that the Sherwoods have been here since just after Christmas, and it hasn't rained yet!  They have brought rainy weather here every year at this time for I don't know how long.  We're glad to see the spell has been broken, and I have to say, bringing snow and great skiing weather this year has helped them regain some status after all those years of being dubbed "rain makers."

Don and Diane told us the cottage next to them belonging to Laurie (Ailes) Maguire has been bought by abutting neighbors Mark and Robin Nicholson.  That is good news as the old Ailes camp is ailing and needs help.  Diane was saying there is a lot going on along the east shore of the pond - Mary Ellen Stover is putting an addition on her camp, then there's the Keach cottage that was removed and there will be a new one in the spring.  Further up the pond there's work going on at the Richey's on North Shore Road, and there may be others she mentioned, but I can't remember.  We haven't been over on that side since early in the fall.  We do know that our neighbor, Henretta Splain, will be moving to her father, Henry Mills's place on Clubhouse Circle within a week or so.  We'll miss Henretta as our neighbor, but I'm sure she'll enjoy her new home, and we'll still see her.

I've been going through a recipe book that belonged to Grandmother Dimick.  It had belonged to her mother, or perhaps even an earlier relative of the May family in St. Johnsbury.  There is a printed recipe book dated 1845, and lots of hand-written recipes on various bits of papers - envelopes, pieces of calendars and letters dated in the early 1900's, so these are definitely old.
Here's the recipe for making yeast:
5 potatoes mashed.  Pour on 1 1/2 pints of boiling water, add 1 pint cold water and 1/3 cup of sugar.  Add 1 cup of yeast, set 5 hours and then bottle.

I was curious, so I searched on line for yeast made from potatoes, and found a slightly different recipe.  I expect more than yeast was made from potatoes back in the day here in Cabot, at least; potatoes were one of the best crops around for many years, and this is still good land for growing them.  There were stills aplenty as well, and I came across detailed plans for making a still when I was working on the Thomas Osgood collection last year.

Another recipe I found today that I particularly liked was for rusks.  These are hard biscuits that were easy to carry in a saddlebag or in a pocket, and they do not go bad, they just get harder.  I think they are the plain country cousins of Italian's traditional almond and lemon flavored biscotti, which I enjoy with my coffee.  This recipe for rusks is unflavored:
One pint of milk, one cup of yeast, one cup of sugar, half a cup of butter and two eggs.  Work up like bread, let it rise, then mould, rise again and bake.

Normally, even plain rusks are twice baked, I believe, which is what makes them dry and hard like biscotti, but this recipe doesn't mention baking time or temperature, so perhaps they were just baked slowly until good and hard.

There are lots of other recipes, and I'll probably transcribe some of them, at least, even though I don't know exactly who used them.  They are probably pretty representative of what people were eating in the mid to late 1800's, and that makes them interesting to me.

I read each scrap of paper - some I couldn't make out very well because the writing had faded with time, but twice I found this quote written neatly at the bottom of a recipe:  "Strength to my weakness - Rest to my weariness" - one had the date of November 8, 1897; the other was at the end of a recipe for "Cake that never fails being perfect," and was dated January 28, 1883.  Tomorrow I'll decide how to preserve these precious old recipes.

Here is the obituary for our friend, Irv Pollack:  Irwin W. Pollack

Cabot Planning Commission Meeting

January 10, 2013

Willey Building, 1^st Floor Meeting Room

6:30 pm

 AGENDA

      1.       Issuance  of Request for Proposals – Zoning Revisions

      2.       Flood Hazard Regulations – process and timeline for adoption process

      3.       Planning Commission membership and recruitment

      4.       New Business

Submitted by Gary Gulka 1-8-13