We're looking at some much colder weather coming at us today.  We could easily see some snowflakes flying over our pretty apple blossoms, but hopefully the temperature will not go far below the freezing mark to damage crops.  It has been a swift change from last night's muggy air.  I'm seeing 40 degrees on my thermometers, and there's a misty rain going on.

We've heard from Jason at Green Mountain Power Corporation this morning that they are doing everything possible to keep the water level in Joe's Pond within the prescribed limits.  While it may go a little above "normal," the dam is releasing water at maximum and will continue.  We are asked to report excessively high water, should it occur.  Jason said they will have someone monitoring the dam, but it's always good to have eyes on the actual water level as well. 

I've been interested in the progress being made on repairing the power plant after the washout last year.  Jason said the building is finished and the generator has been sent away for repairs.  They will replace the lower portion of the penstock that was damaged last year and expect to be generating power by late summer or early fall this year.   Fred and I will get down there to get some photos soon.  Jason said the road down to the plant has suffered some washout, so we will  probably park at the top of the hill and walk down.  This is how the power plant looked on June 18, 2012, after the flood.

All you Joe's Ponders please remember that tomorrow (Saturday) is our Spring Meeting:  10 a.m. at the pavilion.  If the forecast is correct, it could be a chilly morning, so be prepared.  It may be a long pants, sweater and parka kind of day.  Better to layer and have to shed some clothing than to shiver.  Weather like this we appreciate having the side curtains at the pavilion.  So much for "global warming."

I was contacted this week by Tom Brown (not the Tom that is Fred's brother) of VTDigger.org
They are doing a piece on global warming and wanted some pictures of our Ice-Out pallet on the pond.  I sent them some of this year's setup and we gave them permission to use information from our website.  Tom said he will let me know when the story runs so I can post a link.  He mentioned that some scientist he talked to for this piece believes that within 150 years Joe's Pond will not freeze over at all.  Hmmmmm.  This after we at Joe's Pond experienced one of the later "ice-out" dates of recent years and in Alaska, the Nenana Ice Classic had the latest ever "out" date.  My concern is more about the increasingly more violent and more frequent storms we are seeing everywhere.  But who knows, perhaps future generations will be enjoying tropical weather at Joe's Pond - but what then of Florida, Arizona, Texas, etc.?  I expect scientists have projections about that, too, but I'm not sure I want to know.  In the meantime, I've turned up the thermostat and will spend a quiet day at my computer watching the misty cold rain bathe the lush, vibrant green world outside my window.