I know this is going to be hard for some of you to believe, but when we came home over Cabot Plain this morning from Cabot Village, there were snowflakes in the air.  As soon as we go to a lower level, it was misty rain, but still the wind is cold and the thermometer hasn't gone above 40 so far today at our house.  The low last night was 32.5 - I'd say that was just barely escaping a frost.  We were out checking the apple trees yesterday and all have buds - some, like the crab are further along than others, but a hard frost could almost certainly do damage to this season's apple crop.  I think the forecast is for colder temperatures tonight, then perhaps a gradual warming again.  This photo was taken late Saturday afternoon.  If you look carefully, you can see the rainbow colors through the trees as the setting sun bounced off raindrops over the pond.

I know Fred posted on home page this article that Henretta Splain found and sent to us recently, but when I read it, I thought it was worth posting on the blog, too.  I do think this stuff is important to know about, but I also sometimes wonder how in the world those of us who are fortunate enough to have been around for a while have managed to survive.  I guess there are more people, thus more pets, plus more bad stuff in everything we have that gives us pleasure and the so-called good life of modern days.  There's always a trade-off, isn't there?

When we were in Cabot this morning, we stopped at Harry's Hardware to check them out and Butters Restaurant.  Stan Linkovic who owns Butters Restaurant at the far end of the hardware store, wasn't there (they are closed on Mondays) but the building owner, Bobby Searles, let us go in to take some pictures for the blog.  That's Bobby in the first picture of the Harry's Hardwarae group.  Click on the names to see short slide shows.

The official "Grand Opening" of Harry's and Butters is on May 18th.  Harry's is sponsoring a fishing contest for kids under 16 years of age, with prizes for the biggest trout and/or biggest fish of any kind, caught in any pond, brook or river in the area.  Harry's has a very large assortment of fishing gear, we noticed - lots of lures, etc.  Stan at Butters is doing an outside BBQ, and there will no doubt be other festivities going on to celebrate the two businesses.  There will be more in the Hardwick Gazette, and I will have more information from that on Thursday.  In the meantime, if you know youngsters who might like to enter the fishing contest, have them contact Bobby Searles at Harry's Hardware, 802-563-2291.


Ok, now it's snowing outside again.  We've been having snow squalls most of this afternoon.  The temperature is still around 38, so of course the snow isn't sticking, but if it gets much colder tonight, we could wake up to a white world tomorrow.  Seems like we go through something like this just about every year lately.  I believe springs aren't as defined as they used to be.  I don't recall when I was growing up on Cabot Plain being subjected to really hot weather until after Memorial Day, and then there were gradually warming days when we let the cows out in the barnyard for a few hours before they were put into pasture for the summer, and finally, sometime after the worst of mud season was over, we'd take the young stock to their summer pasture down the hill towards the pond from the farm to the Fisher Lot, which is land across the road from where we live now.  That pasture was broken up into lots and sold when my uncle Bill Bolton owned the farm and is now owned by John and Liz Randall, Ken Coleman and David Mayhew. 

Back then the hot weather usually didn't arrive late May or June, and then we were in the fields planting corn.  I remember that because we had a one-row horse-drawn corn planter and at least at the beginning of corn planting each year it was my job to lead the horse to keep the rows straight.  After a while the horse would learn to follow the lines drawn in the soil by a wooden contraption that marked three or four rows at a time (also drawn by a horse, and as I recall a walk-behind like the corn planter).  Horses are smart, and while the horse might follow the line just fine on its own, after crossing the big field a couple of times, the horse would begin turning a bit too soon at the end of each row, shortening each row by a few feet each turn.  It was usually my Uncle Bob Bolton who walked behind the corn planter and he was good with horses, but there was one white mare that no manner of rein tugging or shouted instructions could persuade to continue to the end of the row; so then I'd be called into service again.  I never calculated how many miles we walked back and forth across that 40 acre field, but I remember being hot, dusty and bone tired after a few hours in the hot sun.  Farming is definitely governed by weather.  I've often thought that was something farmers have in common with sailors. 

By the way, those of you who are followers of the Walden Church Suppers will want to mark you calendars.  The first is on July 16th, then one on July 30 and on August 13.  They always start at 5:30 p.m.   If you have questions, call Diane Cochran at 802-563-2392.