I measured another inch of rain in the rain gauge this morning.  The fleeting sunshine outside right now is most welcome.  I hope the sky continues to clear.  It would be nice to dry out a little.   I'm watching a big cloud bank rolling over the pretty blue sky again - I hope it's the tail end of this wet  storm system.

I received this comment from Helen Morrison about the State's new bear law:

I think it is probably a good idea to make feeding bears illegal.  Some folk must keep those bird feeders up and yet get mad, scared, upset when the bears are drawn to them.  I do wish the State would run a Diversionary Feeding Program for bears as they have in an area around Ely, MN.  It has done wonders in keeping bears away from humans, tides them over when food is scarce.  For the most part, bears prefer wild food in the woods, though sunflower seed is pretty enticing.

Take care.  Summer is on the way....right?

HDM

I found a link about the Diversionary Feeding Program Helen mentions and it seems like a sound plan.  Food is very scarce in early spring, and it might be good to feed them in the woods, away from humans, for a short period in the spring to keep them out of trouble.

I read Peggy Pearl's article in today's Caledonian Record about the history of the circus in St. Johnsbury.  Not too many years ago, the circus coming to visit Vermont communities was a very big deal.  I remember going to the circus in St. Johnsbury when I was perhaps six or seven.  There was a performance of trained animals, and afterwards they let kids ride on a big old elephant.  I don't recall anything at all about the show, but I have never forgotten riding on that elephant's back afterwards.  Well, I say "back," but I was the last kid, and probably about the smallest of perhaps eight or ten lined up on that big animal, and I had to hang onto the kid in front of me for dear life or I'd have slipped down over that big rear end onto the ground.  I remember it as being the highlight of the circus that day - but I also remember how hard it was to hang on and my legs were too short to be of any use on that broad back.  I remember the skin was rough and hairy on my bare legs . . .  but for me it beat riding the merry-go-round, by far, and I have to say even the big three-ring extravaganzas in Madison Square Garden take a back-seat to that early childhood recollection.

The last circus I recall going to was in Montpelier, probably in the 1960's.  I believe Emmet Kelly, Jr. was there.   I don't recall anything unusual about that circus except it seems to me we knew it was probably the last time a big circus would come to town, and that made it special.

Peggy mentioned in her historical piece that Edward Fairbanks made several references in his journals to "going to see the elephant." That was a common phrase I've run onto when reading about young men going off to serve in the army, especially during the Civil War years, so I Googled it and found this reference in Wikipedia.  Without seeing his journals, it would be hard to tell if Edward was excited about a circus coming to town or something else going on in his life.  

The sunshine is persisting!  How sweet it is!