The wind seems to have died down a little and there is still cloud cover, so perhaps we won't have a severe drop in temperature tonight.  It got pretty cold during the day, and the wind was fierce.  You can sort of see what it was like - the top picture was taken on Route 2 just before Point Comfort at about 10:30 a.m.  The snow was sifting off the trees in the wind, and blowing across the highway.  The roads were relatively good, but slushy with snow wet from the salt.

I measured about 4 inches of snow in my collection tube this morning.  That's about the same as we got yesterday.  It is very dry and light because it's been so cold.  It hadn't built up that much on the measuring stick in the back yard which was probably due to the wind blowing it away at that location. 

The second picture of West Danville was taken minutes later, and there seemed to be a lull in the wind.  We didn't stop at the store, but I'm certain it was very cold in the village with the wind right off the pond.  There wasn't much moving except snow - a few cars on the highway and one snowmobile was all the activity we saw in West Danville. 

St. Johnsbury was just as quiet.  It didn't seem to be as cold there, and in fact our car showed 24 degrees as we were driving along Railroad Street.  When we had been in West Danville just a few minutes before, we noticed it was 12 degrees.  It's now a few degrees above zero and I've put the quilts across the big windows in the living room.  It's cozier that way, and I don't see the snow whipping by.  From my office window I can see the clouds moving overhead - being blown south at a pretty good clip, and the tree tops out back are waving at me, so there's still plenty of wind.  It will be a cold night.

Lots of you know Kelly Gamble, who owns Rebel Rubbish out of Walden.  Kelly contacted us recently to have a business card on the website, and we were very happy to do that.  I had no idea he can provide rolling dumpsters.  I guess I knew he does light hauling in addition to trash pickup in our area, but I had no idea of the large area he covers.   Every now and then someone new to the pond or this area asks about rubbish removal, and we always mention Kelly.  I knew he has been working this area for a long time.  Turns out he's been in business 36 years!  Hardly seems possible. 

I don't know Kelly well, but his father and some of his aunts and uncles went to the Cabot Plains School when I did.  They lived about where Walt and Julie Ackermann's house is now, on Cabot Plains Road.  Kelly's great grandfather lived where David and Val Covell live - they were Rose and Jim Gamble, and I think they might have come here from Ireland.  His grandparents were Ed and Gertie, and they had a fairly large family of which Kelly's father was the youngest.  His name was Robert, but we always called him "Pete."  They were good neighbors, and I remained friends with Pete's older brothers, Richard and Bill over the years.  Richard lived in St. Johnsbury when I did, and he and his wife used to stop by my house occasionally. Bill married a Cabot girl and lived in Cabot, and I saw them fairly often, especially after I retired.  They are all gone now, but I think one or two of the girls may still be living.  The girls moved away and I lost track of them, but we were all students in the one-room school which made us closer, I guess, in spite of age differences.

There isn't a lot going on here right now, but that could change quickly.  I believe we're due a pretty nice day tomorrow, and something of a warmup trend.  Then back to stormy weather.