We didn't get a lot of snow or rain overnight, but we're getting sleet this morning.  The temperature is 24 degrees, and colder surfaces are showing white where the sleet is sticking, not melting.  The worst of the storm will hit us today, and winter conditions will likely last through the weekend.  Not pretty weather, for sure.  The road crews are salting and keeping on top of things, but it's not a good time to be traveling in our area.

Homer Fitts has heard from some friends at other locations: 

  I rode over to Woodbury to check my camp and like you I found the pond is still socked in.Same with North Montpelier. Going to be a few weeks yet for Ice to go. CHICO


From Lake Seymore, another friend wrote yesterday:

We have our I/O block out front and we are thinking some time in July!  We do one in Island Pond and that one usually goes out about a week after Seymour's.   We only got to about 38 degrees today as I graded our road and my grader wouldn't cut through the frozen ground in some places.

These reports pretty much tell the story about the weather here.  Lots of people who picked early dates for the Joe's Pond ice to go out are already out of the game and not quite all of the tickets have been logged in yet.  It's a different year, for sure.  Who knew that after a fairly moderate winter we'd get a nasty spring?

This little guy was looking for bugs or anything else to eat yesterday outside our bedroom window.  I'm not sure what he is, and I haven't taken time to check through my bird books.  Maybe someone knows.  I don't think it's a tufted titmouse, and it was bigger than a chickadee by quite a bit, and not quite right for a junko, I thought. 

And did you notice?  That picture at the top of this page is our new Ice-Out setup in front of the Rossi home on W. Shore Road.