Recent reports from the testing done at the beach are now posted on home page of the web site.  It took a little time for the process to get started, but Fred has been communicating with Eric Bach, health office for Danville, and Kelli Merrell, who volunteers to test the water weekly.  The water has tested okay, and we hope that trend will continue.  The word we have is that if there's no problem, we may not receive a report right away.  If there should be a problem, we will be notified immediately.  So - no news is GOOD news!

Not such good news at the upper end of the pond, however.  The geese are back and have young in tow.  Large groups (flocks or gaggles?) have been seen on various lawns on the West Shore where there is easy access from the water, i.e., no brush, rocks, or steep incline between the water and lush, well manicured lawns they find so appetizing.  The Goose Committee may consider a roundup; we'll keep you posted.  In the meantime, feel free to harass the pests with noise, dogs to chase them, firecrackers, etc., or, as Jack LaGue pointed out: 
 They don’t bother us since we have a steep bank to the lawn from the water but they do get on my Mom’s lawn.  We have had pretty good luck with two strands of bailing twine stretched between driveway stakes; one strand ~8” from the ground and the other ~16” from the ground.

 Reflective tape you can get at the hardware store will also work, we're told.  Apparently, they are nervous about anything that wiggles and shines or makes noise, and will find some other place to feed and poop.  They also don't like bushes - a predator could be hiding there.  That would seem like an ideal solution - shoreline plantings are recommended in the new Shoreline Protection Bill #526  that will go into effect July 1.  Some examples are in this Vermont Agency of Natural Resources bulletin.  I also found some common sense solutions on an Indiana Department of Natural Resources site.  It may be that by letting a few feet next to the water go "wild" with shrubs or decorative grass, property owners will not only be complying with the new directives, but will also be doing themselves a great favor by discouraging access by geese.  If enough people do shoreline plantings, the geese will almost certainly be discouraged from hanging out here in future years because they won't have enough area for the tremendous amount of food they require.

The pictures above were sent by Chico Carcoba at Woodbury Pond in 2012, when we were so pestered with geese here at Joe's Pond.  Chico said this method works at his camp.  He used a combination of twine and reflective materials, as you can see. 

The geese do make an awful mess - and we suspected they contributed at least somewhat to the poor water bacteria readings we were getting two years ago.  Last year we seemed to have a reprieve from them, but apparently this year we aren't as lucky.  Enjoy the nice stretch of weather that is promised for the next few days, but don't forget to harass the geese.