Happy May Day!
We don't have a lovely warm start for May here, but at least the snow is all gone and there are definite signs of better weather to come.

Now that the Ice is nearly gone from the pond, we have already begun the cleanup and repair process.  Things that people normally aren't aware of, like that the buoy markers Jamie leaves in place so he doesn't have to search for where markers are supposed to be on Smith's Point and Sunken Island, need to be retrieved.  The ice took them off the mark this year, so as soon as there was open water, Jamie went out in his boat and relocated them so they wouldn't disappear under water and become a hazard.  I didn't get a picture, but Diane Rossi said he and his dog Otto were out there late yesterday afternoon, and she said one of them seemed to be enjoying it a whole lot more than the other one.  It was cold and windy, and no place for man or beast for too long - except only the man knew that.  He was able to mark where the Ice-Out pallet went down; the rope broke when we tried to retrieve the pallet, so that will make life easier later on.
 
Don't forget the celebration going on in St. Johnsbury this Sunday.  Cinco de Meow should be a fun day.

I was busy yesterday getting the Joe's Pond Association newsletter ready for the printer.  We publish as soon as we have a winner (this year it was winners!) of the Ice-Out Contest, and there were the usual calls and e-mails from people who had heard the clock had stopped on the 29th but didn't know the exact time and  wondered if they were winners.  With 773 people choosing the 29th as their guess, it's no wonder we had lots of interest.  

It was a fun contest this year - we are already gearing up for 2015 Ice-Out, getting the clock and thermometer in and cleaned up ready for next year, and turning off the cameras.  They will be back on duty sometime next fall, and the page will be back on the website.  The Ice-Out Committee "never rests."