Good Morning!

I received a link this morning from Pam Hebert I want to share with everyone - I think you'll enjoy it, I certainly did:  Wonderful World.

Watching it reminded me that I wanted to tell you that when Fred was at our mailbox on Saturday, he saw a bear crossing the road between Randall's driveway and Morgan's.  He said it didn't appear to be a really large bear, but certainly wasn't a cub.  It was headed for the pond, having come off the hillside from either our land or Encarnacion's.  This is a good reminder that bears are looking for food this time of year, so don't leave garbage, bird feeders, or food of any kind, including uncleaned grills (!) out where they might get a whiff of it or you'll have an unwelcome visitor.  They probably wouldn't attack a human unless it's a mother with cubs and you appear to be a threat, but they are very strong and can do a lot of damage getting at whatever food they can smell.  Here's a funny video about a couple of young bears in New Jersey this weekend:
Bears in N.J.

We've had a fair amount of rain since I last tallied it. We've had just over an inch this weekend bringing the total to a little over 7 inches for the month so far.  We're expecting more showers off and on this week, so the water tables in our area should be fairly well replenished and although that's not good for some farm crops like corn, other crops like hay, will flourish - except it may be hard to get it dry after it's cut - if the ground isn't too soggy for machinery to be on it.  Could be a tough year for farmers.  I heard the maple season was better than expected this year, though, so that will help farmers who do sugaring.

I finally threw some seeds into the garden the other day - Fred laughed at me and wondered what the expiration date was on them.  I had to admit those seeds have probably been around for ten years or more.  I found them in a box with some unopened packets of  annual flower seeds, also pretty old; there were some string beans, mescalin, spinach and parsley packets that still had a few seeds in them, and even though I hadn't planned on a garden this year, I figured the seeds weren't going to improve if left another year or two, and I really didn't want to throw them away - so I planted them.  I had a little space already tilled where I'd removed dandelions and some weeds around the asparagus, rhubarb, chives and sage.  If something grows, that will be wonderful, but if not, I'm ok with that, too. 

Here's the latest on the closure of Route 15:
 
Walden Bridge Replacement –VT 15
Walden BRF030-3 (5)

Project Location:  Bridge 83 is located over Joe’s Brook approximately 5 miles southeasterly of the Hardwick/Walden town line.  The project includes an allowable 28-day bridge closure period which is scheduled to start Monday, July 6^th, 2015.    Project completion is scheduled for October 2015.

New Closure Dates Announced -

Bridge Closure Period – New closure dates have been announced by the contractor today.  The 28-day closure is scheduled to begin on Monday, July 6^th, 2015. 

During the bridge closure period, a traffic detour will be in effect and marked with directional signs.  Motorists wanting to travel to Hardwick on VT 15 from US 2 West will continue on US 2 West to VT 215 Marshfield and follow VT 215 to VT 15 in Walden.  Motorists traveling from VT 15 in Walden to US 2 East will take VT 215 to Marshfield to US 2 East. 

After the closure period ends, work will continue on the bridge with daily lane closures.  Traffic control personnel will be present to assist in maintaining traffic flow.  The project completion is October 16, 2015. 

Work updates and press releases will be issued and distributed to various media sources.  Information will also be available on www.roadworkupdates.com.

Contact, Francine Perkins, Project Outreach Coordinator with any questions or concerns at 802-479-6994. 

According to the above, the detours will be in effect until about August 3rd.