We are getting taste of real spring weather - on Thursday we had sunshine and yesterday we got a little rain.  It was milder than it has been, and the snow pack is down a couple of inches.  We're in for a wintery mix again, starting tonight, and we may get another four inches or so here over the weekend.  So far the roads have been ok - wet and a little slushy, but no mud yet.  We took a nice walk down our road and made the loop to Meadow Lane and up Sandy Beach Road, getting pictures as we went.  It's still pretty wintery with lots of snow everywhere, but there are signs of spring, by golly - a little running water and puddles along the road, all encouraging signs we may be thawing out here at Joe's Pond.  Once again, I put the photos into a short slide show.  I hope you enjoy the walk with us.

Homer sent an e-mail this morning saying they'd had some rain in Florida, too.  He and Margaret are just happy they aren't here in all the snow with us.

I also had a nice note from Walter Ruf.  His sister, Mimi, has been diagnosed with cancer, as many of you already know.  We are all concerned for her and hope and pray she will be able to return home soon and that we can enjoy her company here at Joe's Pond this summer.  Here's what Walter wrote:

 Hello to all of our friends at Joe'sPond. First I like to thank the many friends (I did not know that we or my sister had so many friends) that sent her cards and/or called, it is very heartwarming also to me that the Joe's Ponders are such a wonderful group of people!! My sister is now in a rehab place in Venice, FL. and after that she will have chemo for maybe 5-6 months. We all hope and pray that it brings her back up to Joe's Pond. Greetings to you all and we hope to see you ALL UP THERE.  Walter

If you would like to send a note or card to Mimi, her home address is:  Mimi Pilo, 407 Signorelli Dr., Nokomis FL 34275.

Mimi is a very strong and basically healthy lady.  Every summer she walks almost every day from the cottage on Meadow Lane all the way to the Cabot Plains Cemetery and back.  It must be at least a 5-6 mile jaunt, and she does it at marching speed, always with hat and sunglasses, sometimes stopping briefly to chat with neighbors along the way.  I look forward to seeing her on that familiar route again very soon.

 

It's been a while since I made a slide show for the blog, but here are some pictures Fred took one day last week when he went to Cabot Village to distribute more Ice-Out Contest tickets.  It was a lovely day, and as you'll see, and he took these on his way home.  I tucked in a couple at the end taken of the logging at the head of West Shore Road . . .  See the slides!

We're in for a wintery mess today - we've had snow earlier this morning, and now it has changed to rain.  My thermometer is reading 30 degrees, but seems to be on the way up.  This is going to make the snow very heavy, so there may be some stress on roofs, also, tomorrow night we're expecting more snow - the heavy spring kind.  Finally we're getting some spring weather, unpleasant tho it may be.  It would have been nice to get a few gently warm days to take the snow pack down before it rained on us, but as usual, we don't have a choice.

Yesterday Diane Rossi did an interview with Fox News 44 television.  Fred has a link right above the main menu on home page.  Jane Larrabee was also interviewed.  Nicely done, ladies.  We'll expect a nice bump in sales from that!

Our long-time friend and neighbor, Louise Siemers passed away yesterday morning at NVRH.  Louise was friends first with my parents, and later with us.  We shared many good times with her going out for lunch with other neighbors, or at dinners at our house.  Louise was special in many ways.  She was an artist and animal lover, sometimes a philosopher and always opinionated; she loved her religion, her family, New York City, and classical music.  She often said it was her husband, Howard, who picked Walden as their retirement home, but she came to love it there, taking great joy in feeding the birds and animals that came to her spacious deck every day.  She was known for her love of cats and over the years had cared for literally dozens.  After Howard died, her cats became her valued companions as she continued life in rural Vermont.  I always thought it took lots of courage for a city girl like Louise to live alone on a back road in Walden.  We will miss Louise - her humor, her often unique opinions, her friendship, and the wisdom gained during her long life.  I'm not certain, but I think Louise would have been 96 this May.  She told us many times in recent years that she was "ready when the Lord calls me," and that gives her family and friends comfort, I'm sure.  But we'll still miss her.

 * * * * *

Below is a schedule of events at the Cabot Public Library:  

(Click on it to make it larger.)

This came from Helen Morrison, who will be collecting bottles and cans for the Kingdom Animal Shelter:

Folks can call me (563-2488) to come get their returnables; or they can leave them in front of my garage. [936 West Shore Road]  The money I collect from them will go directly to the care of our cats. 

We are an all-volunteer, non-profit, true no-kill Shelter located in St. Johnsbury.   We service surrendered and stray cats from the Danville, Peacham, Cabot, Walden areas, as well as St. Johnsbury and east.  A cat that comes in our doors is with us until they are adopted.  We take kittens, teen cats, older cats, special needs cats, shy cats, friendly cats, grumpy cats...all kinds. We have placed over 500 cats in loving, forever homes since 2009.  Thanks, Helen.

It's remarkable the shelter has placed so many cats - just think, that's 100 cats a year!  Wow, who knew?  Good work, Helen and Kingdom Animal Shelter.

I received a message from Karen Keene who is with her family in Colorado: 
 Just an update, we discovered Peyton has a torn rotator cuff and will need surgery, so sadly he had to pull out of his two races.  We will be cheering Ryan on!  
Karen

We were sorry that Peyton has been injured - it goes with the territory, I guess.  Boarding, just like skiing and other sports, can lead to injuries.  We wish him a speedy recovery, and will be anxious to know how Ryan does in the competitions.

Good Morning!
This promises to be an almost springlike day.  I say "almost" because it's not going to get very warm.  This photo was taken a couple days ago by Diane Rossi. In a normal March, the Ice-Out Contest flag would be in view, too; however, with temperatures remaining in winter mode, we haven't had the heart to ask Larry Rossi to go out on the frigid, windswept ice to set it up.  It might be difficult to keep it in place with the wind whipping down the pond, anyway, and the last thing we need is to have to chase a runaway pallet sailing down the pond.  So what you see here is a lovely sunrise without any contest paraphernalia - the view you can see if you go to the web cams at just the right moment.  These "Kodak Moments" never last very long.  Great shot, Diane.  When the  weather changes, Larry will get the flag out, but it may not be until after the sale of tickets closes on April 1st - could be well into April before it's out, the way things are going.

Today has been a very "March" day, with some snow squalls and lots of wind.  It hasn't been very warm, though, more like January with the temperature not getting out of the teens all day except perhaps in sheltered, sunny spots.  Woody watched early this morning as the snow whisked past the window.  He seemed to understand it was cold on the other side of the glass, but was interested in watching bits of bark or dry leaves being driven by the wind across the snow.  He was content to stay inside, as was I.  Fred and I walked briefly this afternoon, starting off facing into the wind as we headed towards Brickett's Crossing Road.  We only got to the edge of the big field before I was too cold to continue.  There was no protection there  from the wind at all, but as soon as we turned around and headed back, it was very pleasant - the sun was on our faces, the wind at our backs pushing us along and we didn't feel cold at all. 

Fred decided it was time to uncover the stairs leading from the parking area on our driveway.  Whenever we have a winter with lots of snow, he tries to keep the hand rail more or less clear of snow, otherwise it's inclined to become damaged by the weight of the snow.  With all the snow blowing and keeping the driveway clear, lots of snow has piled up. The bottom picture is of the snowbank along our driveway, and the pretty sky that makes us think it's a lot warmer outside than it really is.  Fred got a little artistic with this one - it's sort of a robin's-eye view, except there are certainly no robins around here yet.  Smart birds!

 This is what "spring" looks like this morning here at Joe's Pond.  We had 3 1/2 inches of new snow overnight and it's still snowing.  The temperature has moderated a bit, about 25 degrees this morning, and heading up, but there's a brisk NW wind out there, typical of March, blowing snow around a bit and dusting off the trees.

It's certainly going to be a while before Fred can put away the snow blower.  However, you can see that there are bare spots on the driveway, and if the sun comes out even a little while later today, the driveway will be clear; that's a good indicator things are beginning to warm up a bit.  The earth, if not the air!

All this snow is good news for the skiers/boarders/snowmobilers.  We heard from Dan and  Karen Keene (W. Shore Rd.) this week  they are heading to Colorado where the boys, Ryan and Peyton, will be competing in boarding.  Here's what Karen wrote:

Hi Jane,

Here are a few pictures of Peyton and Ryan in action.

Both boys will be out competing in the USASA Snowboard Nationals at Copper Mountain Colorado March 29th - April. 4 th.

Peyton is competing in both Slalom and Giant Slalom which is amazing considering he broke his arm about 5 weeks ago while training.

Ryan is competing in Slalom ,Giant Slalom, Boarder Cross, Slope Style, Banked Slalom, and Rail Jam. Both boys are very excited to compete and represent the Northern Vermont Series.

Prior to nationals the boys will be attending a BK Pro nationals preparation camp which will be coached by their uncle Bud Keene. Bud is the former US Olympic snowboard Team Half-pipe Head coach. He now exclusively coaches 2 time Olympic Gold medal winner, Shaun White.

Our entire family has been longing for good times at Joe's Pond and cannot wait until great weather arrives. Cheers, Karen

Who knows, we may be cheering on one or both of these young men at the Olympics a few years from now!  We wish both Ryan and Peyton successes in competition - and no more broken bones!  (Top photo is Preston competing at Stowe; bottom photo is of Ryan.)  They are fortunate to be able to work with their Uncle Bud Keene, who was prominent behind the scenes in Sochi. We'll keep an eye on these two!

'Possums in Vermont

I received this picture the other day from a reader of the blog.  I had no idea there are opossums in Vermont, but apparently the change in weather patterns (until this winter!) may account for them being this far north.  I believe Mary lives in the Waterbury/Middlesex area.  Here's what she wrote:
 Well, this is a first.  I've had a pair of opossums coming off and on all winter, after 7 at night, but this little guy showed up before 4 this afternoon!!   They are nocturnal creatures, so I'm wondering why he came out in broad daylight.  He's smaller than my Blue Russian cat, Miyara.    : )    She's busy eating some tuna fish while the opossum is eating sunflower seeds that I throw down for my cardinals, chickadees, sparrows, goldfinches, and juncos.   Mary

Well, here we've had the first day of spring, mostly with snow flurries.  I have to admit the temperature got into the mid to upper 30's for a little while today, and there was some very mild melting going on along West Shore Road, but even though we're going to be treated to a pretty nice day again tomorrow, we can expect more cold weather Sunday and Monday nights - I mean really in the neighborhood of zero.  But then it looks as if March might go out on a gentler trend and the sugar makers might even get a run of sap in there somewhere.

Although right now we think summer may be a really long way off, plans are being made.  The Danville Fair Committee met recently and Kitty Toll let me know the fair is on for this year, August 8th and 9th (Friday and Saturday).  The theme is "Back on the Green in 2014!"   There is a lot of excitement about having it on the Green, especially since there are so many improvements - it should be a great celebration.

Those of you coming back to Joe's Pond will notice some changes in the landscape this summer.  There has been a lumbering operation directly across Route 2 from West Shore Road, where the road to Farmer John's is.  Much of that has been logged off, and today we noticed there's more logging on the south side of West Shore Road - that small piece of land that went with the Blackadar place just above the power line. These were mature stands of mostly soft wood and probably needed to be harvested.  Both the original Blackadar farm that Bill and Jane Ward owned, and the house that Dorothy "Pete" Blackadar built across Route 2 from the farm, have been sold fairly recently. 

We appreciate that spring is here, according to the calendar, at least.  With luck April will be a gentler month without being a too drastic change into summer.  But this winter has taught us that we should be prepared for the unexpected, so have the sun block handy and shine up the golf clubs - summer may come early this year after all!
 

There's been a change of plans  - we won't be on KIX and WSTJ tomorrow.  I'll let you know if there are future plans to do so.

What a beautiful day today!  Bright sunshine and temperature is close to 30, but last night was below zero again.  My thermometer showed a low of -7.2.  While the sun is nice, there's still a cold wind, and very little melting going on.  I spotted some wet spots on our paved driveway, and notice some spots in the road are melting, but overall, it's still winter.  The sugar makers are concerned that this will be a record year - for the fewest runs of sap, that is.  

Joe's Pond folks who winter in Florida or Arizona check in with us from time to time to let us know they are relishing the warmth of the weather and enjoying friends from up here in the frozen north who are visiting.  It's tempting right about now for lots of us, but this close to mud season, it's hard to tear ourselves away.  We wouldn't want to miss it.  

This picture is from 2001 - it's the flat just beyond our turn, going towards Cabot.  Somebody stuck a log in a giant deep hole where the road had washed out around a culvert.  Lots of folks are saying they think mud season will be epic this year because of the frost being so deep. That will likely turn back roads into ribbons of soup.  There's a philosophy at work in their thinking, though:  Expecting the worst possible scenario helps make whatever happens easier to handle.  Then there's the rest of us who subscribe to Murphy's Law:  Whatever can happen will happen.  That's just the way it is.  

One thing I'm pretty sure about is that there will be lots of folks waiting until the very last minute to enter their picks for the Ice-Out Contest, and some who already sent in their guesses may decide to buy a few extra tickets now winter is lasting well into the area of spring, just so they can hedge their bets a bit.

Dorothy "Dot" Cutting

Here is a link to the Dorothy Cutting obituary:  Dorothy (Conly) Cutting

My apologies - OF COURSE I meant Happy St. Patrick's Day!!  I was rushing because I had forgotten to do a new header for this page to celebrate the day.  Lots of stuff going on right now, but it's really nice to know there are a few readers out there at least, and you are paying attention.  Thanks for letting me know about my goof.

I've been busy getting interviews about our Ice-Out Contest set up with KIX-FM and WSTJ radio on Wednesday.  Diane and Henretta will go with me - we will be talking with Don Mullallay on WSTJ-1340 at 8:30 and with Val Davis on KIX-105.5 at 8:40.  Both studios are on Concord Avenue in St. Johnsbury, so it's just a matter of dashing down the hall to get from one to the other.  Fred will be recording the interviews here so we can put them on the website.  You can also listen live by clicking on the above links.

Beautiful day today, but still cold.  I heard we've set some record low temperatures lately.  I keep wondering what this will do to our Ice-Out Contest.  The latest the clock has ever stopped was on May 6th in 1992.  At this rate, we may have a new date to brag about!

We are saddened to learn of the death of Cedric "Rick" Towne, 95, father of Dr. Brad Towne (Otis Drive). Condolences may be sent to Dr. and Mrs. Towne at 98 Sugarwoods Rd., Barre VT 05641.

We also learned today of the death of a long-time Joe's Pond resident, Dot Cutting, mother of Barbara Thurston (Point Comfort Rd).  Mrs. Cutting was 102.  I'll have more information at a later time.  Condolences may be sent to Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Thurston, 12 Shetland Cir., St. Johnsbury VT 05819.

Our sincere condolences to both families.  Both Mr. Towne and Mrs. Cutting had lived long and full lives, and they will be sadly missed by family and the many friends they've made over the years. 

The March wind is blowing, but we got only a little over two inches of new snow yesterday and last night.  It was cold, though, a couple degrees below zero for a low last night, and today mostly in the teens.  The sun has been out off and on, but it's kinda weak, and the snow is blowing around - still like winter.  Typical March weather except that it's so darned cold.
 
After the storm finally stopped, Fred went out to put the finishing touches on our driveway and Jamie and Marie's.  I ventured out, I think it was Friday, to climb their hill, and took some pictures.  The wind was blowing like the dickens, but it was still nice, and I was impressed with the "sidewalls" where Fred  had widened Jamie and Marie's driveway with the snow blower.  Even though the snow is thrown well away from the roadway, there are walls of snow all the way.  Jamie and Marie are pleased their road is nice and wide so when the snow begins to melt, the water (hopefully) will find its way into the ditches.  Jamie said he would get stuck with the Peach if he tried to plow where Fred was able to go with the blower. We all agree the driveways are "works of art."  Fred says he's had lots of practice - I think he'll be really glad even for mud season.  Above is the Peach, ready for action. 

Middle son, Bob, stopped by yesterday.  We don't see him often in the winter - he spends most of his free time skiing, but a bad tumble a few weeks ago tore something in his knee and slowed him down a bit.  He's hoping the snow will last so he can get in more skiing after the injury heals.  In the meantime, he's been busy working with two bands. 

There are a lot of people who will be sorry to learn that the popular local group known as the BelAires, has disbanded.  They had been together for 35 years, but when Paul Toney recently retired, the others decided they'd been on the road enough, too.  Bob had played keyboards with them in recent years, and lots of folks enjoyed their music at the Danville Fair and also at the Stars and Stripes Festival at Lyndonville each summer.

Bob and three other musicians have formed a new band, "The Hit Men," and true to their name, they'll be performing top hit tunes from a few decades ago to the present.  He's excited about performing with them and says they'll be ready to book gigs soon.

In addition to that, Bob will be reuniting with the old "TANK" band to play a benefit gig in St. Johnsbury in May.  These guys haven't played together since their big reunion in 2007 at the Packing House in Lyndonville.  Of course, they aren't the same young guys they were in the 1980's and at the top of their game - I'm not sure but some of them are grandfathers by now - but they are all enthusiastic and have continued doing music while working their day jobs, and being the really dedicated musicians they are, they'll sound great together.  It will be fun to see them and hear them again.  

I had a nice note from Dianne Lashoones over at Water Tower Farm in Marshfield.  Dianne runs the "Rhythm of the Rein" program there.  She wrote:

We had a wonderful experience at this event for Veterans yesterday.

Dick Chase, of Marshfield and his horse Shiloh (see photo) are our strongest advocates, he was our first veteran participant three years ago.

Dianne Lashoones

RHYTHM OF THE REIN ATTENDS SECOND ANNUAL 
NEK VETERANS SUMMIT

Rhythm of the Rein returned for the second annual Northeast Kingdom Veterans Summit hosted at Lyndon State College and by the Student Veterans Assoc on campus.  This summit doubled in size from it’s maiden year last year and was incredibly well run with fantastic speakers and a wide range of exhibitors representing services for veterans around the state. Our table was so busy we never even were able to attend any of the breakout sessions, but we heard that the Red Sox Foundation and Mass General Hospital Home Base Program recognized the benefits of Equine Assisted Activities for PTSD and TBI.

All of our business cards and veterans program flyers were gone by noon, making us hopeful that the word will get out that our program is here, and we have funding available to offer it to veterans at no cost to them. We encourage anyone who wants to help keep this program funded so we can serve any and all veterans who want to participate to please donate to this incredible program. You can donate with paypal on our website donations page or mail a check or even better – come visit us!

Rhythm of the Rein

Hosted at Water Tower Farm, 386 US Rt 2, PO Box 67, Marshfield, Vt. 05658

802 426 3781

www.rhythmoftherein.org

 

Spring arrived at Joe's Pond yesterday.  It's scheduled to last no more than 48 hours, but we're happy to have a break from snow squalls and January temperatures.  Then we'll go back to deep-freeze mode and await "late spring" - or maybe by the time warm weather hits again it will be more like "early summer."  No matter, while we're waiting for the next round of whatever Mother Nature has in store for us, we should be thinking of perhaps getting some of the snow off roofs or shoveling out from this week's snow storm.  We just received this message from Kyle Johnson (Edgewood Ave.): 
Johnson Boy'z (Connor & Kyle) are ready to shovel snow!! Does your roof, deck, walkway or drive need shoveling??? Call Kyle @ 802-535-6735 or Kevin @ 802-274-8048 Thanks!  

***

We were saddened this morning to learn that Dr. Brad Towne's father, Cedric C. Towne, passed away on March 9th.  Friends may send condolences to Brad and Janice at 98 Sugarwoods Rd., Barre, Vermont, 05641.  Our condolences to the family.

It's time to begin assembling material for the Joe's Pond Association newsletter.  We're happy to have our members and friends contribute items for the newsletter that may be of interest to the Joe's Pond community: births, engagements, weddings, family events and photos are always fun to include.  We also offer reasonably priced ad space for local businesses.  Contact me with questions or submissions:  janebrown@joespondvermont.com.  We publish soon after we have an winner of the Ice-Out Contest, and this year it would seem to be quite a few weeks away, but Vermont weather being what it is, I'm still going to ask that submissions be in by April 5th.  Just in case we get a heat wave of some sort, that will still give me time to pull the newsletter together for publication. 

I expect at least a few readers have been wondering how much show this big storm has blessed us with.  I can tell you that between yesterday at 9 a.m., when it had just begun snowing and I measured half an inch, and this morning at 9 a.m., I had to haul out the big stick (yard stick) to measure the 15 inches collected on our deck. The precipitation gauge was overflowing, (see photo) so that measurement was skewed short at 1.55 in. of precip (I melt the snow in the gauge in order to measure); however, I was able to get a pretty accurate core measurement by using my spare gauge.  The gauge is 12 inches tall, but this snow is fluffy and compacted fine so I got all 15 inches of it, and a reading of 2.10 in. of precipitation.  So far, then a good strong 16 inches from this storm, and it's still snowing.

Out in the back yard, like Fred said when he first looked outside this morning, "The snow is half way up the stake," and he was right.  It's a 6 ft. piece of 2 inch PVC pipe, with inches and feet marked to five feet.  It is imbedded in the ground, so there's about 5 1/2 feet of it above ground.  Even so, the snow was just at 34.5 in.,  the total on the ground.  That particular spot is fairly protected from wind and in the open. 

Fred is still snow blowing.  He was out right after supper last night and again first thing this morning to make a track so everyone who needed to could get out and go to work; however, the town plow didn't come by until after breakfast.  Fred is out there now cleaning up after the plow and widening the driveways, ready for the rest of the storm.  It seems to be winding down, but there's still lots of snow in the air, some falling, some being blown around.  It isn't warm, either.  The temperature was around zero first thing this morning, but now it's up to about 10 above.  With the wind, it's well below zero.  The picture above is of Fred earlier this morning at the foot  of our driveway.  The snow bank behind him is from Jamie plowing his driveway with "The Peach," his rose-colored 3-for-1 Jeep.  The 3-for-1 is because he needed at least three different vehicles to get enough parts to build one workable one.

Don't forget that the Cabot Maple Fest is this Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m..  There's a pancake breakfast with Cabot maple syrup from 9-11, a silent auction, craft and vendor tables, all sorts of maple - cotton candy, sugar-on-snow, etc., and plenty of food for snacking and lunch.  Roll out the family early and spend the day at the gym  enjoying all the goodness of the season.  I'm guessing not much syrup has been made yet this year around here, but probably some early tappers got a run or two back during that warm spell - anybody remember when that was?  Anyway, even though it's going to be cold outside, there will be lots going on at the Maple Fest.

 This is our world today  - the beginnings of "The Big Snow," with four or five inches so far and another 18-20 more to be dumped on us overnight and into tomorrow.  When I measured this morning at 9 o'clock, we'd had only half an inch.  Fred plowed a few minutes ago and will go out again before dark.  So far it's been light and fluffy, and the temperature is dropping, so we think that will keep the snow fluffy and prevent power outages.  There hasn't been much traffic on our road today - I guess everyone is being cautious and only traveling if absolutely necessary.

As for signs of spring, I received these pictures from a friend in Rhode Island.  She said they are expecting a couple inches of snow, but of course  that won't bother their early spring flowers a bit.   The top picture is skunk cabbage, then crocus,  snowdrops and at the bottom, bleeding heart.  Click on them to make them a bit larger.  Thanks to Kate for sending these. 
   
It's nice to know spring is just south of us.  It won't be long (well, a few weeks) before we will be seeing bits of green peeking through the snow.   In the meantime, we still have the Joe's Pond Ice-Out Contest to look forward to, although there are those among us who are predicting the ice won't be gone in time for the Fourth of July Fireworks this year.  That may be a bit pessimistic, but the  additional two feet of snow from this storm will provide plenty of insulation, so I think it's safe to say we won't have to worry about open water happening before the contest closes on April 1st like we thought might happen in 2010.  It actually went out on April 5th that year.  That said, after all this snow, if we happened to get a stretch of really warm, rainy weather for a week or so right after this, I hate to think about how much water would be cascading off the hillsides into Joe's Pond.  That could end the Ice-Out Contest in a hurry.  There's still plenty of time to pick up tickets or to go on line for them.  The contest will close on April 1st, at 11:59:59 p.m., midnight.  Businesses that have regular tickets will sell them until close of business on April 1st.  Any that are being mailed to us must be postmarked on or before April 1, 2014.  Good luck figuring out when the ice might go out this year!  It's never easy, but this year's weather has been really interesting, and iceologists are busy making their calculations and predictions; but only Mother Nature knows.

I had a nice note from Bev and Steve Allen letting us know about an article about Cabot's restaurant, DownStreet Eats  that is on the Seven Days web site.  It's a comparatively new restaurant located where Butters Restaurant was before that moved to the back of the hardware store.  Now Stan Linkovitch, who owned Butters is cooking at Goodfella's in Danville, and Sarah Mangan took over the spot in the hardware store, calling it Sarah's Country Diner.  Sadly, we haven't tried either DownStreet Eats or Sarah's Country Diner yet.  It's been a long winter and we don't get into town (Cabot) often.  We wish them all well, though.

A few days ago I put a note here about Jenny J., the little dog that needs a home because her present owner is relocating across the country and cannot take Jenny J.  Here is more information about this sweet girl.  Please consider giving her a good home.  She was a rescue dog and was fortunate to be loved and cared for by her present owner, and deserves to continue living in a loving home. Click on the image to make it larger.

We are expecting the last big snowstorm of the season.  Well, I can't guarantee that, but it seems likely, don't you agree?  I know we've had big snowstorms much later in March, right into April in the past, but really, this could be it for snow this year.  I can hear you now, "Who are you trying to kid?" you're saying, "How long have you lived in Vermont, for Pete's sake?" and a distinct, "You're crazy."  

May be, but we can all hope.  Truth is, this is going to be a mega storm if the weather folks are right, and after a miserably cold winter, we deserve some spring.  But before we get to that point,
those of us here in the eye of it all need to prepare.  We will be laying in a supply of food and extra water, checking to be sure there's plenty of fuel for the snow blower and cars, and making sure we have auxiliary heat just in case the power goes out and we're more or less stranded for a few days.  It could happen; and then we'll really deserve spring.

I noticed that the three inches of snow I measured this morning and reported to CoCoRaHS was more than any other spot in Vermont except Danville, also reporting three inches.  Really?  Even the other station in Cabot reported only 2 inches.  There must have been as much or more somewhere - Walden?  Hardwick? Stannard?  Either they don't have anyone reporting or I guess we're in the "snow belt."  There is a lot of moisture in this batch of snow, too.  Fred said the snow blower coughed and sputtered and he decided to let the snow melt instead of overworking the poor old machine.  And melt it did.  We've had temperatures near 40 this afternoon.  Nice spring weather that gives me hope this storm, this doozy of a storm, will be the last big one and it will be sunny days, cool nights and lots of sap flowing.

Eugene Ellingwood Obituary

The complete obituary for Eugene Ellingwood was in today's Caledonian Record.  He will be sadly missed by his many friends at Joe's Pond.  Our sincere condolences to his family.

Woody has followed the sun today, finding any spot that offered tummy-warming comfort.  He spent some time in my office this afternoon on his desk beside me (yes, he has his own desk next to mine) but the sun was beating in and it got very warm in this little room, so he only stayed a short time.  I, on the other hand, hung out enjoying the sun until it had dropped behind the big spruces.  Now it's getting cooler and I'll put the shade down again.  It's surprising how quickly the sun moves and disappears behind the hill.  

I would have thought the snow would have melted considerably today, but I just checked the stake and it's only down a little less than an inch from what it was this morning - now at about 21 inches.  Real spring is still avoiding Joe's Pond, but it's getting closer all the time.

I heard recently that weather people are predicting this could be another el nino year, with extreme weather possible. I guess it's only a guess, but more and more I guess we need to be prepared for just about anything.  Hang onto your umbrellas and wind breakers.

Today has been very pretty - beautiful bright sunshine that prompted Woody to want out; however, the wind was cold and he was ready to come in within 3-4 minutes.  But he couldn't seem to get over the notion it must be spring outside, and has pestered off and on all day to go out, and each time I'd set the timer for about 3 minutes and when I'd go to the door, he was always waiting to get back in.  We are afraid we might forget he's outside when it's cold like this, so rather than make him stay in, we set a timer to remind us - it's no weather for him to be caught outside.  He could still use his kitty door into the garage, and would then knock on the kitchen door, but we worry that the kitty door might stick or there could be some other reason he couldn't get in, and that would be terrible.  So, we use the timer.  Here he is, warming up in the sun in the living room.  We think he appreciates having the plants around - reminds him of summer, perhaps.

Andy Rudin says he has a great way to beat the winter blahs - he

has seedlings growing happily in a sunny window.  He said they don't have "snow" in Philadelphia like we do - they have "snert."  I think they've had a larger than normal share of whatever this year, but I gotta say, his seedlings look healthy and happy.


Most folks are still upbeat around here - they may grumble a bit about the cold and the ice and the snow, but lots of them are enjoying winter sports in spite of it being a harsh winter.  I was talking to Nate at Leahy Press yesterday, and he said he was ice fishing on the Connecticut River recently - said the ice was two feet thick.  He was on a "setback," away from the strong flow of water, and drove his pickup out there.  He said the ice was strong enough "to hold up a Mack truck."

Diane Rossi found out today from neighbor, Sol Lakey, the ice here is two and one-half feet thick with eight inches of slush on top.  We heard someone seemed to be stuck out there today - probably due to the slush.  Could it be there has been some melting going on???
With below zero nights, I'd think everything would be pretty solid, but maybe the last snow we had makes slush even on cold days if the sun is strong enough, like today.

We lost our electricity a couple times today - just blips off at first, and then about an hour later, it went off again and stayed off.  When Fred called in the outage, he was told there was a tree on the line some place and that caused the brief blips; but then there was a fire somewhere in Walden that apparently took out a pole, and that was why our power was off for 2-3 hours this morning.  It came back on just before noon.  I don't know where the fire was - I hadn't had the scanner on at all this morning.

We learned today that Gene Ellingwood passed away in Englewood, Florida on Tuesday.  I'll have more information when the complete obituary is published.  He was 90.  Gene was an active Joe's Ponder for many years and a long-time resident of St. Johnsbury.   Condolences may be sent to his son: Mark Ellingwood, 82 Black Fly Blvd., Newark VT 05871.

The following is a promotional blurb Yankee Magazine sent to us with permission to use it for our advertising.  The March/April issue of Yankee Magazine includes a very nice story about the Joe's Pond Ice-Out Contest written by Craftsbury author, Julia Shipley.  Many thanks to Julia and to YM. Our 27th annual Ice-Out Contest is well under way, and the article is a very nice boost for us. 

DUBLIN, NH (March 5, 2014)—As Danville, Vermont, locals already know, spring’s true arrival comes when a special raft sinks into Joe’s Pond. Thanks to a three-plus page article starting on page 18 in Yankee Magazine’s March/April issue, written by Julia Shipley, now nearly 1.9 million readers will know about this spring ritual. The annual contest sells 15,000 tickets, available for purchase at Hastings Store or online by Paypal and a major credit card.

“We are already getting feedback on the article, all of it good,” says Jane Brown who co-chairs Joe’s Pond Association with Diane Rossi. “We are very pleased with Julia's piece.  She captured the spirit of the contest perfectly; it's lighthearted fun after a long, cold, often miserable winter.  The Joe's Pond tradition of betting against Mother Nature continues as we gear up for another exciting contest, our 27th.  Julia’s article reflects the enthusiasm of the contest and it was especially nice that she touched on how everyone loves the big fireworks party on the Fourth of July.”

In addition to the article about Joe’s Pond, this issue continues its celebration of season with a special Spring Home & Garden Guide. This section includes the first-ever Home & Garden Awards, which name the best public gardens, nurseries, ornaments, and more. Other articles cover topics such as how to grow a four-season garden and the hardiest roses that can survive New England’s climate. Travel is a cure for spring fever, and visiting Nantucket’s Daffodil Festival, and ten additional flower shows, is the perfect remedy to quell winter blues. Plus, tempt your taste buds with articles about soup for a crowd, cheeseburger heaven, and sweet New England cornbread.

This came yesterday from Helen Morrison -

Hello, Friends,

Becky Johnson is moving to the Phoenix area, a move that is very exciting for her.  The down side is that she is unable to take her dog, Jenny J., with her.  And so, she is looking for a loving and caring home for her.  Jenny J. is about 10 years old.  She is a rescue terrier mix and weighs around 26 pounds.  She is loving and calm, never barks, enjoys a quiet home, gets excited for a walk, and loves to ride in the car.  She responds to verbal cues and seems to be okay with cats.  She thrives on human companionship.  If you know of anyone who might be able to give her a good home, call Becky at 684-1092.

I have attached some very sweet photos of Jenny.

Thanks for thinking on this.

Helen

 

 

Jennie J looks like a very sweet little girl with manners.  She is an older dog so she won't be chewing up your shoes or furniture, I bet.  I hope we can locate a really good home for her so she won't miss Becky too much.  Click on the photos to see a larger picture.

 

Tired of winter?  Here's one man's recipe for "How to Love the Cold," and perhaps the key to why we have a dozen or so shanties and a small village of people on Joe's Pond this time of the year.  This was sent to me by Andy Rudin (Old Homestead Rd. in summer, "Philly" in winter, Vermont in his heart year around.) 

There's Ice Fishing, and then there's the Ice-Out Contest . . . !
You decide how you're going to beat the winter blahs.  But here's the thing: buying an Ice-Out ticket costs only $1, you can do it from the comfort of your home on your computer, or you can go to one of the many businesses in our area that have tickets (they are all well supplied and the folks are happy to chat about weather and ice conditions), and if you win, you'll have enough $$$ to take a nice little vacation, with or without fishing gear.  If you don't win, you can still enjoy the Fourth of July Fireworks Party (on July 3rd) at Joe's Pond!  (Rain date July 5th!  We have to have a rain date, especially this year when our weather so far has been so unpredictable.)
 

Can you believe this is the first of March?  As promised, our Joe's Pond Ice-Out pay-on-line tickets are available starting today.  Fred worked industriously this past week, getting everything set up so your transactions are secure and we get your ticket picks instantaneously, saving lots of time and making it easy for folks who aren't close by and able to stop in at one of the outlets for regular tickets to get in the game.  Printable on-line tickets have been available for several years, but last year we were able to let you pay using PayPal or a major credit card, and lots of folks really like the efficiency of doing that. 

Now all we need is some warm weather to start the melting process.  The chart at the right shows the dates the ice went out in past years, and there does seem to be a warming trend; but this year could be different.  Someone said recently it might be July before the ice goes out, but we all know the weather can turn on us quickly, and a few days of above freezing temperatures and a little rain would be all we'd need to get  spring actually happening.  Once the weather warms up a bit, Larry Rossi will get the flag and pallet out on the ice.    We'll let you know when.  There is still lots of traffic on the ice - snow machines, cars and trucks, and we want to wait for that traffic to cease before we put the pallet out.  The State of Vermont says shanties must be off the ice before the ice becomes too soft to be safe - or by the last Sunday in March, which this year is March 30th.  Sometimes winter has held its grip well beyond the end of March, but we've also had at least two real nail-biters when it looked like the ice might go out before the contest officially ends on April 1st.  With the intense cold we've had this year, it looks like there shouldn't be any surprises; but you never know.

So go to the Pay On-Line Ice-Out Contest page  and send in your ten best guesses; or use the printable tickets if you want fewer than ten chances.  Complete instructions are on the page, but if you have questions, contact us.  We will have regular updates of ice conditions a little later - right now about all we can tell you is that we're still very much in "winter mode" with at least two feet of ice, and about the same amount of snow on the ground.  It's encouraging to know that the meteorological "spring" started today; and hopefully, by March 20, when the astronomical "spring" arrives, we'll actually be able to feel it.  Or it may take a little longer here at Joe's Pond . . .