We've had a little rain the last couple of days, but not enough to raise the pond level much.  People have been asking when the water level will get back up to "normal," and the best answer is "after we get a good rain."  I think we need about a week of more or less steady rain to get the pond filled up again.  There's a fine line the power company is trying to keep: they need to keep the water level within a certain range in the pond, but at the same time, they are mandated to keep a certain flow going down the brook so the downstream ecology won't be damaged.  It's a balancing act they really cannot totally control unless we get rain.''

There are some people on the pond who haven't taken their boats out of the water yet, and that could be a problem.  I've been told some are literally "sitting on the bottom," in boat houses or at docks.  November can be a wet and dreary month, but most want to have their boats out before snow flies, and waiting until November probably isn't a good idea if they can find a way to get their boats out sooner.  However, we've seen more than one being hauled out of the water on a snowy day - which could happen in October.  I think it was Sunday night there were snowflakes reported on Mt. Mansfield. 

We were at Ray and Evelyn Richer's on Monday picking up some things for the silent auction and watched an eagle soaring over the channel.  Evelyn was telling us about watching him snag a really large fish - she said it was a real trophy size, but they couldn't tell what kind it was, just that the big bird had a hard time getting it airborne.  Fred got this picture of him - we were a long way away, but you can see him in the middle of this picture.  Evelyn said he's been around most of the summer.  We have seen a big bird soaring over the pond but it was too far away to tell that it was an eagle, so we were glad to get a closer look and know what we'd been watching.

I watched this partridge feeding on our lawn yesterday.  She spent some time under the apple tree and then wandered towards the crab tree.  We've seen a lot of partridges this year, usually along the back roads.  They are big and look well fed.  

According to the folks at the store yesterday Garey is doing well, and that is good news.  A couple of people dropped off cards for him while I was there.  We're all thinking of him and Jane and their family - we're glad  everything seems to be going well.

I bumped into Don and Diane Sherwood at the store and they were telling me Don's cousin has bought Ruth Bryan's cottage on Edgewood Ave.  I'll have more information later on.  It takes time for the papers to get to the town clerk's office and entered in the books, but I'll check within another week or so.  I'll need to spend some time at the town offices doing some research for the history of West Danville.  Right now my assignment is to find out as much

as I can about roads in the area - old thrown up ones and details like when routes 2 and 15 were paved, when the bridge was built and the old covered bridge taken down.  We know the bridge that's there now (and being repaired) was rebuilt and the road straightened a bit in the 1950's.  I should grab Bert Frye - I keep seeing him at the store - I bet he'd have lots of information for me.  These two pictures are that first bridge - not the one that's there now.  In the lower picture you can see the back of the shed right next to the road and on the railroad track where they used to keep the railroad hand-car.  That area is all parking lot and rail trail now.  

Speaking of the rail trail - the sta-mat is finished along the pond now, and that makes a very nice path for biking and hiking.  However, a few tourists (or maybe locals?) have turned onto it with their cars and I can understand that.  I noticed as I drove down Brown Rd. to Old Homestead recently how easy it would be to turn onto the trail.  However, there are enough signs at all of the crossings so nobody should make that mistake.  It will take some time to educate the public, I suppose.

I notice every time I'm driving now there are cars stopped at the road sides to talk on their cell phones.  I've paid attention but so far I haven't noticed anyone violating the law.  Now there's a new study saying hand-held devices are no more distracting than hands-free devices.  We all knew there would be a study published eventually that would disagree with the thinking behind that law, but I'm really surprised it came so quickly.  It's like all those other things - like wine, butter, coffee, etc., that are studied and pronounced "bad" for us, and pretty soon another study is done (probably all at tax payers' expense) reversing it.  A friend told me recently she just eats or drinks what she wants because "life is too short to try to punish yourself and follow all the nonsense published."  I totally agree.  Moderation is the key.