We got another inch of snow yesterday and last night.  Nothing is happening right now, and that includes no sunshine.  It isn't terribly cold - in the mid 20's - and the new snow makes everything look fresh and clean.  Should be a nice day on the slopes or snowmobile trails.

Some of you know I've been doing precipitation reports for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) since I think around 2009.  It isn't a big job, but I enjoy actually measuring the snow amount instead of just looking out at it and guessing how much we got.  I also like the idea that I'm contributing in some small way to the information gathering process that may help scientists learn more about current weather patterns, global warming trends, etc.  There are volunteers like me all over the U.S. and now some in Canada, but there is a need for more.  Weather varies, even within a few miles, and the more data that's collected, the more information can be learned.  So no matter where you live, if you have a little time (like 5-10 minutes) each day or when there's significant weather, your report would be valuable, and it's easy to become an observer.  Here's a link that will explain about joining, or go to the CoCoRaHS website to learn more about it.  If you click on one of the maps on the website, you can see areas that have no reports coming in at all, while others have numerous ones.  That doesn't matter, but your observations will matter, wherever you are.  There are other observers near me, but we often report different information - it may have rained a mile down the road, but not at my house.  Give it a try - I think you'll enjoy being part of collecting weather information.

Another think I'd like to remind Cabot residents about is the school meeting that is going to be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 4th.  Please take the time to go to the meeting and vote.  This is an important issue - whether or not to close the high school - and hopefully you have kept up with the conversations on Front Porch Forum so you know the pros and cons.  One thing I would say is that closing the school will not guarantee a reduction in your taxes; on the contrary, paying tuition for students to go to other schools could be far more expensive. I don't believe anyone can say with any assurance how our taxes will be affected since the State of Vermont seems not to have made the formula clear yet.  There are many other aspects of this important decision, so go to the meeting, hear the discussion, and vote.  Please be there promptly at 6 in case the vote is called early.