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.)