There's a conference in Rutland in October that some of you who are interested in archaeology and Vermont Indians might like to look in on.  It's the New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA) meeting from October 23-25.  There are some interesting subjects and field trips on the agenda.

Fall gatherings are beginning to crowd the calendar:  Saturday there is the chicken pie supper at the North Danville Baptist church, and we can tell you that is a really great meal; then the full week of Fall Foliage festivities begins on Monday, September 28, with all sorts of field trips, entertainment, lunches and dinners throughout the week.  October brings lots more church suppers and events for visitors and local folks to enjoy, especially in our area.  There's  Autumn on the Green in Danville on October 4, the Apple Pie Festival on October 17, and although the foliage is barely getting started, if we get a few more cold nights, preferably with some frost like some areas got last night, the colors should begin to pop.

The low at our house was 35 degrees last night.  There was a very heavy dew, and today is beautifully sunny and already pleasantly warm.  I have had the heat on in the house these crispy mornings, but it doesn't take much to get things warmed up and by lunch time I'm opening up the house to let the fresh air flow.  Once the sun drops behind the hills, the temperature plummets.  We put the storm panels in the pedestrian doors in our garage yesterday, mainly so Woody will be more comfortable on those nights he declines to come in at our bedtime.  It doesn't happen often now - not like when he was a youngster - but every once in a while, especially now when I think he somehow knows it won't be long before snow flies and his prime hunting time will be over for the duration.

Unfortunately, we may have foiled some of his good hunting by limbing out the big evergreens next to our driveway yesterday.  I've threatened to cut them all down, but decided I'd give them a reprieve by trimming them so we can see the road and not feel so isolated.  Fred trimmed the tamaracks, too, (that's him with his trusty chainsaw) and that has made a huge difference.  Of course, that lets the wind sweep at us from the north, too, and the dust from the road, but it's a trade-off.  I like knowing what traffic is passing, especially if an emergency vehicle goes by.  When Joe Labbe's place burned I didn't see a single one of the responding Cabot or Walden squads racing by, and there must have been a bunch of them, with flashing lights and everything, but I neither saw nor heard a thing.  This morning I even saw walkers going by, and I'd thought nobody was walking much this year.  Now I know I probably just couldn't see them.  Not that any this is really my business, but it helps me feel "connected" to my neighbors and the world outside of our house to be able to see activities going on.  Besides, it helps me fill up these blog pages if I know when something is happening in the neighborhood.  Fred is out there now hauling the branches off to his brush pile in the lower woods.  We may have a nice bonfire when the first snow comes.  It was a huge job getting under those big trees to limb them out.  The branches were actually on the ground, and that's what seemed to make such good hunting for Woody.  Little critters could hide out in there, but he could also sit quietly among the branches and wait for them.  Birds were particularly vulnerable apparently, as he seemed to nab them more often in those trees than anywhere else.  We hope we've saved a few bird's lives.

Speaking of saving bird's lives, Helen Morrison sent out this message and sad story on Front Porch Forum yesterday:

Several summers ago, on a trip home on Rt. 2 heading from Danville to West Danville, I came upon a family of ducks in the road, a mom and nine ducklings, right where there is a pond on one side of the road and a smaller pond on the other. They had been plowed through by a vehicle, probably at high speed. Eight of the ducklings were dead or dying. The mother was frantically running around in the road, trying to tend to her ducklings. They were all on their backs, about half flailing around, the others still. I removed them all from Rt. 2 and put them over in the tall grass. One duckling was okay as was the mom. They went off in the tall grass. It is a scene I will never forget. The carnage was so bad that I called the Vermont State Roads person and asked about a sign. He said I could do as I wished as long as it was more than 25 feet from the center of the road. I asked the landowner if I could put up a duck crossing sign. She said yes.
So, I bought the yellow duck crossing signs and mounted them on an eight foot 2x4 and left it up until Fall and then took it down. The following year I put up the sign and all was well until October when someone stole it. So this summer, for another $80+ I bought the materials and made another duck crossing sign and put it up. Between Sept. 17-18, it was stolen. It is disheartening, not only for the loss of money on my part, but for the sheer thoughtlessness of it.
If anyone has any knowledge of where this latest sign might be, please get in touch with them and tell them to bring it back. I imagine Pat Peck would be fine with them leaving it next to her driveway. I would really appreciate getting it back. I am not sure I want to do it again next summer, only to have it stolen….again.

I felt really sorry this has happened.  These are wild ducks and are just doing their thing, trying to survive.  The land owner is Pat Peck, in Danville, and we have seen ducks on the pond by her place many times.  I hadn't realized they are wild, and also didn't realize there is a marshy area on the opposite side of the road, perhaps where she nested.  Too bad there isn't better cover for her on the pond side - she might stay there instead of crossing back and forth putting herself and her babies in peril.  It's so disappointing when people steal.  It would be nice if the signs "mysteriously" reappeared, perhaps dropped off beside the pond some night - no questions asked.  A message to whoever took the signs:  Bring them back.  You'll sleep better after you do.

Here's a postscript to the message above from a sympathizer:

Dear Helen,

You are an amazing person to take on the protection of these ducks! I think they really do deserve a community effort, considering how the road cuts through their habitat. 

Maybe a VT Wildlife agency would be more helpful than the roads dept person. I certainly don't think you should have to foot the bill to have adequate signage. 

From talking to police in Hardwick about various signs they put up, its pretty common for signs to gets stolen and/or destroyed. Maybe a home-made sign would fare better. Once everybody in the community knows the sign from driving by it all the time, it would be harder for someone to get away with stealing it. For that matter, maybe a local school would be willing to take on having elementary age kids make several signs to protect the ducks - why stop at one? Little kids and their grownups care a lot about baby ducks. It would be a fun project. 

Good luck helping the ducks. I hope some people in your neighborhood step up to the plate!  Emily