Saturday, April 30, 2016

I've been getting the 2017 Ice-Out tickets ready to distribute to our JPA members at the spring meeting, and worked on them this morning, counting them and stuffing envelopes.  As soon as I had finished labeling the envelopes so the box was nearly empty, Woody got up to investigate.  He stepped into the box and sat for quite a long time watching me work, but that apparently exhausted him, so somehow he got all his loose ends, including that tail,tucked in and went to sleep in the box.  He's a pretty big cat to fit in a standard envelope box, but somehow he made it happen!


We apparently have a pair of resident ducks at our house.  These two were in our driveway yesterday and this morning our daughter-in-law, Marie, spotted them on our lower lawn.  There isn't any open water around our house, so I'm surprised they are hanging out here; they seem to be looking for a place to build their nest.  It's a mystery to me why they'd pick here - we don't have any bird feeders out for them to raid or anything like that.  I hope they move on and find a more suitable spot.

Marie also found a large mound of bear skat in the middle of the road below our house.  She said the crows were having a picnic and when she came back a little later, it was well scattered.  We haven't seen any bears yet this spring, but apparently they're moving about. Now I wonder if it was the crows or the bear that left nothing but feathers from that unfortunate partridge that hit our window.  I found the feathers today when I was above our house on the woods path.  I was surprised there was nothing but feathers - I expected there might be more remnants, but probably animals other than crows found it, too.  All living things have to eat to live, and it's good that nature for the most part keeps things neat and tidy.  

I learned from Ray Rouleau yesterday that there has been some damage to waterfronts during the winter.  His took quite a beating, and he was re-doing the steps and will need some repairs to the wall the whole length of his lawn.  He said others on the west shore have had damage, too.  There was a large timber floating in the water in our boat house - I expect Jamie and Bob removed it today when they were working at camp, but if you are missing one, it may be at the Dimick camp.  Diane Rossi said they have some damage, too.  The ice must have moved more than we thought and caused the damage.  It's a little unusual to have wind force the ice onto that shore in the spring, but it does happen.  We haven't had enough snow or rain to create high water to do any damage, so it had to be the ice. 

I've just had a message from Helen Morrison, who volunteers at the Kingdom Animal Shelter in St. Johnsbury:
A huge thank you to all who attended Steve Cobb's Benefit Dinner at the Danville Inn for Kingdom Animal Shelter on April 24.   We took in $2100 for the kitties at the Shelter.

We are glad the dinner was such a success.  

Friday, April 29, 2016

Sunny but still cold here.  We went to Danville this afternoon and even that short distance away the grass is greener than in West Danville or on our hillside.  We're getting there, though.  Next week's rain will do wonders for the grass as well as helping to keep the pollen down.  The poplar trees are tossing their catkins around, and some of the willows are well along in the leafing process.  It's nice to see the harshness of the wooded areas around us softening as the tree buds begin to swell.  A nice stretch of warm, rainy days would make a huge difference.

Fred took this picture of the newly renovated Joe's Pond Country  Store - who knew it could look this good?  The handicapped ramp is nearly finished.


I've mentioned before that I rarely open "forewards" found in my e-mail, but one today caught my eye and I went on Google.com to find out if it was all true.  Apparently it was.  Here is a site I found - not the "forward:"  Facts about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
I also watched some interesting videos about the changing of the guard at the tomb.  I'm impressed.  Nobody, at any age, is about to mess with these dedicated soldiers.  Now that I know how hard they have to train for the job and what they give up for the honor of being chosen as a guard, I can appreciate their demand for respect at the site.  

There are several Joe's Ponders here already - the Rouleaus arrived this week and I bumped into Bo Keach at the post office - she and Bill arrived a couple weeks ago; Barb and Ernie Thurston have been back for a couple of weeks.  Shelly Walker will be moving into her new house on West Shore Road in another week or so, and the pond will begin to buzz with activity soon - as soon as the weather warms, I presume.  I've noticed a couple of pontoon boats in the water, but haven't seen much activity on the water - too darned chilly.  But soon.

This afternoon as we were getting supper in the kitchen, this young fellow (or hen) crossed the driveway and sauntered into the woods.  We watched for another, but this one seemed to be solo.  The turkeys we've seen this year seem to be very healthy.  I think they benefited from having very little snow on the ground, just as the deer probably did.  We should be seeing some fauns with their moms pretty soon. 

Thursday, April 28, 2016

We aren't making much progress towards spring right now.  Most of the snow we got over the weekend is gone - just a few patches under trees in the woods - but the temperature is unusually chilly for this time of the year.  We have barely made it to the mid-40s during the day today, and now there are clouds sneaking in overhead and the sun is mostly gone.  It's a little discouraging, but with May only a few days away, I'm sure things will change for the better.

Here's an interesting story our cousin in Rhode Island sent recently.  I think this is a lovely idea - there are all kinds of "pick your own" farms for fruit and vegetables and "cut your own" Christmas trees, but I don't think I've seen anything like "pick your own flowers" advertised in Vermont.  

I've been watching my daffodils.  Some were almost ready to bloom when we got this last stretch of cold weather, and they don't seem to have recovered.  However - these that were a few days later, seem to be ok and coming along well in spite of the cold.  The crocuses don't seem too perky today, though.  The temperature got into the low 20s last night, and that was tough, even on them.   We still have a little snow here and there around the house and some patches in the woods, and not much green grass, at least around our place.  This is a patch of snow on our lower lawn near the lilac trees - I think the wind may have piled it up a little there so it was deeper than on other parts of the lawn.  Also, at our front steps there is still snow, and some in the garden in front of the deck where my rhododendron is.  About two weeks ago, during a nice warm spell, I took the burlap off it and a few other bushes that needed protection from cold winter winds.  That was a mistake, of course.  We have had cold winds repeatedly ever since.  I don't think it has harmed them, but I'll know if the rhododendron doesn't flower.  The holly out in the back doesn't get the wind as much, so I think that will be ok.  I transplanted it last year after over-pruning it, which nearly did it in.  It recovered pretty well last summer, but probably doesn't need much more stress right about now. 

We were in Montpelier to pick up the 2017 Ice-Out tickets yesterday and enjoyed all the spring flowers and green grass showing there.  Actually, we began noticing a big difference as  soon as we got to Marshfield.  I think it was in East Montpelier where we saw someone mowing his lawn.  Spring work around here is going to take a little longer, I think.  It's always nice to get out the paint brush and touch up the deck railings and trims and get the windows washed ready for summer, but all that kind of work  needs warmer weather.  

I just received a very nice little advertisement card that we bought on ebay for the Cabot Historical Society.  It was advertising for M. W. McDaniels who had a store in Lower Cabot.  I don't know when McDaniels had the store there, but it was probably in the late 1800s or early 1900s.  I'll see if I can find anything more about that store.  Click on the images to make them large enough to read.  It will be a nice addition to our collection of Lower Cabot artifacts.























Tuesday, April 26, 2016

We got the snow last night and during today that we should have had back in January or February.  I haven't been out to measure, but I'm guessing we collected at least 3 inches of snow, although by late afternoon it was already showing signs of melting.  I measured 1 inch this morning, but it snowed quite steadily almost all day.  At this point I think it's called "poor man's fertilizer."  We did need the moisture - the ban on burning has been lifted because of the snow, but even so, there's a nice stretch of dry weather ahead of us that will put us back in the too-dry category in short order, I expect.  The grass is not greening up very rapidly, although the moisture from the snow should help get things going.  We could use a nice, warm, soaking rain.  Not tonight - the temperature is at 25 degrees.

Early this morning I heard crows very nearby making a ruckus.  They had discovered the dead partridge that flew into one of our windows last evening.  We had left the bird there hoping it might recover, as they sometimes do, but that didn't happen, and scavengers that they are, the crows were ready to take care of it.  Since we couldn't do anything for the partridge, and knowing the crows no doubt have young to feed, Fred took the carcass a little way into the woods - out of sight of the house so we wouldn't have to hear and see the crows enjoying their feast. Sometimes nature isn't very pretty.

I need to correct an error I made in the Joe's Pond Association newsletter that just came out.  In the column remembering members and friends of JPA we have lost in the past year, I said Nicky Silloway was survived by two daughters.  Actually, Nicky and Fred had three daughters, Debbie, Kathy and Kim.  My memory failed me as I wrote that, and I sincerely apologize to Kim and her family for my error.  

If you missed the deadline for reserving a place at the table for the "American Schoolash Dinner" coming up on Saturday, Liz Sargent let me know tonight there are still some seats left, so contact her if you'd like to join folks at the North Danville Community Building for that dinner.  Click on the poster below for details.
If you have been following the very unfortunate foreclosure of the properties at Jay Peak, Newport and Burke Mountain, you know what a let-down this is for the people who were excited - especially about Burke Mountain seemingly being turned into a gem in the Kingdom, finally.  There have been many well-intentioned tries to make Burke ski area come alive in a really big way, all of them failures for one reason or another.  This time may not have been quite as well-intentioned everyone was led to believe, but things did look promising for a while. 

There were a number of people who were skeptical of such grandiose plans right from the beginning, and rightly so, as it turns out.  Like the saying goes, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."  Although Jay seemed to be a huge success story, the gaping hole left in the main business district of Newport where a building was torn down and there was no sign of anything new being put up, or the rubble even totally cleared, was a clear indication something was amiss.  I suppose the city will have to deal with that terrible scar in the middle of its otherwise pretty town on its own now.  

It's too bad these things happen, and had there been proper oversight and investigation, it probably could have been avoided.  The state government works in strange ways, but slowly, and sometimes officials are convinced to "look the other way" and therefore live up to a con artist's perception that they are "bumpkins" or just plain stupid.  It's hard to believe these guys were so smart nobody with authority put two and two together, but the mess at hand kind of proves the point.  Not a proud moment for Vermont government.  And very sad for so many good people hoping for something great to happen for the struggling Northeast Kingdom. 

Monday, April 25, 2016

Nice day today, but cold.  The wind was tempered by icebergs, I think.  The sun was pleasant, though.  Last night the low was in the 20's somewhere, and tonight is going to be pretty cold, too.  Snow showers in the forecast - not unexpected; that's the way our weather has been for months - erratic. 

I've been happily watching the birds around our house this past week, and tonight a partridge flew into one of the windows.  When the light is just right, that happens sometimes, and it's always such a sad thing.  I love partridges - they are in my category of "nice" birds.  I was chased by one once - she had a brood of chicks and when I got out of my car to take a picture of them crossing the road, she lowered her wings, ruffled her feathers and charged me.  I retreated and never did get the picture.  Afterwards I was sorry I'd caused her such concern.  It's never a good idea to invade the space of wild things, even medium sized birds.  We were sad that this poor bird had the poor judgement to fly into a window reflection.

We had our book meeting today at the Danville Historical Society.  We're moving ahead slowly - the research takes lots of time.  We are hoping to find information about West Danville in the early 1800's.  It seems there is not much information about that time period.  I have digital copies of the North Star from 1807 on, but there is no information specifically about West Danville - only Danville - and we have no way separating one section of the town from the others.  Danville seemed to be where the growth and commerce was taking place in those years, and I find that a bit surprising.  With the advantage of water power and the Joe's Pond as a resource, I wonder why it wasn't Palmer Mill Village, now called West Danville, that became the shire town and hub of commerce.  Instead, it was "the Green," with no nearby water to power mills - the resource that was the draw for so many early Vermont towns.  

Cabot was first settled on the Plain, on the Bayley Hazen military road, and that was the hub of commerce and town business for 20 years or more, and there was no water for mills nearby there, either.  However some of the town's leaders thought the business of running the town should be at the geographic center of town, about two miles south of the Plain, and moved there at an intersection of a north-south road and an east-west road; but within a few years all business moved into the valley to take advantage of easy access to the Winooski River's power.  The Plain was settled first because of the military road, and again roads may have been part of the reason for moving to the Center, but ultimately, the water power was the powerful magnet for business and a concentration of settlers.

Joe's Brook is only about a mile from the Bayley Hazen military road, so wouldn't it seem logical for the settlement around Jesse Leavenworth's mills on the brook, the community known as Palmer Mills Village, now West Danville, to be chosen as the county seat, or shire town?  Of course, Cabot thought they would become the shire town of Caledonia County, but that didn't work out and they ended up being in Washington County.  Instead, Danville was chosen.   

My best guess at this point is that Danville Green was situated on a more direct route from Peacham and points south - and there was more level farm land than the area surrounding Joe's Pond, but we may find more information as we move ahead.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

These nice spring days have started the wildlife looking for places to nest - or food for energy to nest.  We've noticed a parade of birds going through or stopping over at our yard lately.  We've had crows on a regular basis, and I've tried feeding them, but find they have varied and individual tastes, apparently.  Some tested and then avoided over-ripe orange sections I put out, while another one seemed to relish them.  The same with melon seeds, although those seemed to be almost universally appreciated.  That's what the crow above is eating.

Fred is apprehensive about putting food out because it may draw in bears, but the crows are very neat eaters and clean up the small amounts I put out quickly.  They have scouts nearby that let their buddies know when there's something interesting on the ground.

Last night as we were preparing supper in the kitchen, we saw a pair of ducks casually walking up our lawn from the driveway.  the female went into the woods for a little while, but then we could see the drake was calling her (windows were closed, so we couldn't hear) and soon she flew low over his head in the direction of the pond and he immediately followed.  I guess we know which one dominated that duo.

I have a perfect view of our back lawn from my office, over the top of my computer screen, so any slight movement out there catches my attention.  I keep the camera within arm's reach so I don't have to make any sudden movements, and can usually get a picture.  This morning a pair of turkeys went strolling by. The turkeys were very casual, pecking seeds or bugs in the grass as they went, and I expect continued into the woods toward's Jamie and Marie's, but  I was busy so didn't go to the kitchen window to see exactly where they went.  We've had them nest near our lawn in years past - they have HUGE broods, like 16 or 18 eggs! 




We're noticing that the grass is getting green on the lawns below our house - not so much up back, as that doesn't get quite as much sunshine.  It won't be long before Fred will be out there mowing the lawn, we can have windows open wide and summer will officially be here.  In the meantime, we have a wonderful season ahead, with flowers poking through the earth and trees in bloom everywhere.  I can see the blush of buds on some of the hard wood trees on the hillside in back of our house, and before long the leaves will blot out the steep bank so at least some of the wildlife I see from my window will be hidden.  Along with the cherry blossoms and tender green leaves come black flies and mosquitoes, but it's all part of the plan and still wonderful. 





Friday, April 22, 2016

We are quite recovered from our busy day yesterday.  Tangeni's dad wrote a comment after reading yesterday's blog - scroll down to read it.  On the phone tonight he said he bet Tangeni's facial expression when her mom told her they were going for a walk last night was the same as his a lot of times when he gets home from work and Monika tells him they are all going for a walk.  They don't do casual jaunts for a few blocks - they clock from 2-5 miles on their walks.  

That would be severe punishment for me, even on a good day!  I used to regularly do about two miles each day, but every year I cut back a little, I'm afraid.  Now I tell myself (and anyone else who seems the least bit critical) that climbing the hill to Jamie and Marie's house every day or scrambling over logs and jumping over brooks in the woods is a pretty darned good workout, too, for someone my age.  

Today was downright balmy, and we had a nice late afternoon shower.  Tonight is cooler - about 54 degrees, but tomorrow night will be much colder, according to the forecast.  We might even have some snow showers in the higher elevations.  That's ok - it's still April.

In 1807 there was a severe snowstorm on about April 1 that dumped a huge amount of snow on West Danville and surrounding area.  Snow measured five feet deep on the level, and no travel was possible.  A few weeks later the same newspaper (the North Star) reported flooding all along the Connecticut River, with bridges washed away or severely damaged.  That is one of the earliest weather reports for this area we've found, but from then on, there were fairly regular comments about unusual weather - rain in July, hail, wind, etc., even snow in June of 1814, and an earthquake that December.  So we shouldn't be surprised to have some snowflakes in the air this late in April.



Today is "Earth Day."   I thought about that this morning as I watched a very large hawk swoop in for a landing at the edge of our back lawn.  There is a large pile of brush and debris from a ditch we had dug last year to divert water from our back lawn and buildings.  I thought the hawk was probably going to leave right away with whatever it's prey was, but that didn't happen.  I could see movement through the grass and then a crow arrived and advanced toward the hawk.  There was some flapping wings and both birds flew a couple feet in the air a few times, but each time settled back to the same spot.  Moments later a second crow arrived on the ground and a third perched nearby in a tree and I thought they were ganging up on the hawk and would drive it away, but that didn't happen.  There were a few more hops into the air and flashing wings, and although I couldn't hear them, it didn't seem to be confrontational - more like some mutual interest and mild competition. Finally the big hawk simply took off and sailed low over the treetops in the general direction of the pond.  The crows didn't reappear - I expect they went on about whatever their business was.  I intended to go up to the spot to see what caused all the action, but I was busy with other things and didn't do that.  They might have been raiding a bird's nest and sharing their quarry.  Nature is often brutal, but it's the normal way of things and absolutely necessary for the variety of species to continue to thrive.  This is a not very good shot of the hawk leaving.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Busy day today - we went to St. J. to do errands and get haircuts and picked up granddaughter Tangeni - actually, we picked her up first and then set about doing our errands, ending our visit to town at the car wash.  Cars always need a few good washings during mud season!

We were amazed at how many things there are to talk about when you're four years old.   Tangeni has lots of energy and a huge imagination.  After lunch we went for a long walk in the woods. A piece of birch bark became a map to lead Dora the Explorer and her buddies, Boots (Grandpa Fred) and Benny (Grandma Jane - "Do you mind being a pig, Grandma?") through the woods.  I have a special thing about pigs, having had one as a best friend when I was a kid, so of course I didn't mind!  


I'm pretty sure Grandpa had no idea he was playing the part of a monkey and wouldn't have cared anyway - "Dora" explained that Boots and Benny are her "favorite friends," and who could resist that!

Dora led us down the old logging road, referring frequently to the piece of birch bark and telling us "according to the map" we should "watch out for a log across the path," and
"the map tells us how to cross the brook," along with a stream of other observations like when we needed to find a rock or a log to rest on.  We picked flowers along the way - there was a small bush of daphne and some small yellow colt's feet - and found some small fungus growths on an old dead log.  The flowers became prizes for "being good."  At one of our stops, Boots took a selfie with Dora. 

On the way home, I think we were all tired, and Tangeni decided we wouldn't play the Dora game anymore, saying "We're now in our own bodies."  I know my own body was ready to find some level ground to walk on or better yet, a place to park my butt and rest.  

We were able to rest at Uncle Jamie and Aunt Marie's.  Otto came dashing to meet us as we came out of the woods, barking a huge welcome.  Tangeni is used to our cat, Woody, quietly enduring all her attentions, whereas big old Otto is a little intimidating, especially when he runs up and slobbers a big kiss on an unsuspecting small cheek and issues his thunderous bark in the excitement of playing "catch" with a tennis ball.  He's gentle in his own way, but a lot bigger and more energetic than Woody, so Tangeni is a bit leary of him - but she cannot resist giving him hugs.

Her mom had just come from work at the hospital when she picked Tangeni up, and said they were going to "pick up Daddy and go for a long walk."  I caught the expression on our granddaughter's face at that moment - it was bordering on horror.  She recovered quickly and told her mom, "I'm pretty tired."  We haven't heard from her mom, but we're betting Tangeni was sound asleep before they got to Route 2 and they never got to go on their walk - unless they took her in a stroller.  Boots and Benny were pretty tired, too - we each had a little nap during the evening news after dinner . . . Being grandparents to a four-year-old is exhausting!














Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Now the ice is gone and we are having really nice spring days, there really isn't much to write about!   I'm getting outside to do some yard work each afternoon, and that's a joy.  Things are very dry in the woods and in my flower beds, but that will probably change tomorrow night.  We've had a little rain, but the ground seems to absorb it immediately - no snow melt at all this year, so the water table is probably pretty low.

In spite of the bright sunshine, there's been a chilly wind out of the north all day.  Yesterday the wind was really howling; today not so much.  That helps to dry things out, too.  There are some spots on the back roads that are still wet where the frost is coming out, but we haven't had a severe mud season at all along West Shore Road.  I think even the road to Cabot has been pretty good.  Brickett's Crossing Road was bad earlier, but Cabot has been along here with the grader several times, even before the frost was out much at all, and that's unusual.  Normally, the roads aren't worked until the frost is nearly all out, therefore we must endure a lengthy mud season.  I know in some places and towns the roads have been very bad, but those of us on West Shore Road can't believe our good fortune!

People will be coming back to the pond for the summer now - there are a few back already, enjoying the nice weather.  The pond is beautiful on these sunny days - we've waited a long time for blue water to appear again.  Along with the nice days comes budding trees that will finally put an end to sugaring.  This has been a record year for maple producers - the season has been unusually long and the quality of the syrup especially good.  Sweet!!

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Wow!  Couldn't ask for a nicer spring day.  We dashed to West Danville this morning to meet the guys from Leahy Press in Montpelier who dropped off our Joe's Pond Association newsletters on their way to Maine  - they sponsor a car at the Oxford Plains Speedway, and today was the season's opening race. It worked out perfectly for us - it was a quick hand-off as they wanted to get back on the road as soon as possible.

Fred and I took a hike in our woods this afternoon to see how much winter damage there is.  It looked pretty good - a couple of trees came down, but they seemed to have been dead ones.  We had the lot harvested about three years ago, so there aren't many really big evergreens left - some old hard wood trees and a bunch of young maples (and probably poplars) have sprung up - but the ground is still rough from the machinery that was in there and it's very hard to get around.  It's getting better, but the only area that is not strewn with debris and deep ruts is a very steep side hill that only mountain goats could navigate easily.  For me, it was painfully slow and precarious.  Fred not so much - he still has strong legs and good balance; however, in situations like that, it pays to be careful - one miss-step could mean a broken ankle.  I know first hand about that, having shattered my ankle a number of years ago when I slipped on wet grass going down a steep bank to go fishing one early morning at Lake Champlain Fishing Derby.  Now I use a walking stick in the woods - and proceed very slowly.  I like it that way because I enjoy stopping and looking back at where I've been, seeing views of the pond emerge, glimpsing an occasional animal or spotting a tiny blossom.  It was just the right temperature to be out there today, and we both thoroughly enjoyed our trek.

Here's a chance to get some help opening up camp or with spring work around your place - Will Nally, a college student from Cabot, is looking for work this summer.   Here's the message Will posted on Front Porch Forum recently - and we found his business card (above) in our door yesterday:
 
Summer is right around the corner and grass is turning green!
I am looking for work this summer to help pay for college. I have been mowing lawns for 4 years now and I’m looking for a few more customers. My brothers and I do a variety of different jobs other than mowing: brush clearing/cutting, rototilling, brush hogging, fire wood, small trucking jobs, and much more! We are all hard working Eagle Scouts! Please keep us in mind during the spring and summer months for any odd jobs.
Will Nally
(802)-563-3503 or (802)-473-2399


The Nally family lives over on Danville Hill, a mere hop, skip and jump from Joe's Pond.   Click on the image to make it larger.  

Your Joe's Pond newsletter will be in the mail tomorrow - and don't forget to use the dues remittance envelope secured within its pages.  The newsletter will be posted on the website within a day or so.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

We had a lovely spring day yesterday, and the pond has opened up so there's lots of sparkling blue water.  I grabbed a picture from the webcam this morning, one last shot before Diane turns the cameras off.  It's hard to see because the camera is facing into the sun, but you get the idea.  You can see the clock has the time it stopped on Tuesday, 5:04, and the ice is gone better than half way down the pond, by the looks.  That is about on schedule - the block sinks and stops the clock and then it's from 2-4 days before the pond is clear of ice.  Now we need to retrieve the block and put everything away for another year.  2017 tickets are on order and will be ready for our May 21 meeting and available at Hastings store in West Danville.  

I was shocked and saddened yesterday to learn that my long-time friend, Velma Urban Smith, had passed away.  There will be a memorial service at Durant Cemetery in Cabot this afternoon at 1 o'clock.

Velma and I attended Cabot High School and were cheerleaders together for a couple of years.  I don't think there had been cheerleaders for the basketball teams before.  Velma played on the team, too.  I wasn't much of a basketball player - clumsy, I think - so I stuck to cheering, and that way I got to go to all the games.
Later on, long after our high school years, Velma and I worked together in the St. Johnsbury School District on a pioneer program called "Childhood Early Education Development" or CEED program.  It was the forerunner of pre-kindergarten.  We remained friends and kept in touch over the years until we were both retired.  We worked together on charting Cabot's cemeteries - Velma was sexton for several years - and our last project together was in 2007, a booklet for her Lyndon State College classmates, Class of '52. And then, even though she lived only a few miles away on Urban Road, we rarely got together, and I'm sad to realize how long it's been since I'd touched base with my friend and now she's gone.  We intend to keep in touch, but other things get in the way, time slips by and then it's too late.




Wednesday, April 13, 2016

It's a beautiful day here, but there's still a cold wind, especially in West Danville - as always!  

We were able to locate our winner this morning and verify her ticket.  Her name is Pamela  Swift, and she lives in Barre with her parents.  She is a student at UVM, so you can imagine how thrilled she was to learn she'd won over $5,000.  We don't have an exact amount of the split - we're waiting for the last of our expenses to come in.  

We took pictures on our way home from West Danville this afternoon - we went to do an interview with Alex, a student at Lyndon State College, about the Ice-Out.  It will be broadcast during the news at 5:30 on Channel 7.
You can see the ice is very dark - with nice weather for the next few days, I think we can expect to see a lot more open water.   There seems to be some open near Smith's Point in the top picture, and then if you look closely, there seems to be some open far down on the east shore near the cove by the narrows.  It's happening!  Click on the images to enlarge them.

Here is an announcement of a fund raiser for Northeast Kingdom Animal Shelter:
 Mark your calendar and plan to eat at the Danville Inn on Sunday, April 24.  Steve's turkey pie is really good, and you can make a nice donation to help the animal shelter.



 
A bit warmer this morning, and the sun is trying hard to break through the clouds.  We had freezing temperatures again last night, and even though the block went through the ice and stopped the clock, the pond still has a frozen surface except in coves and along the shoreline.  We always hope the block goes down cleanly rather than moving up and down the pond on ice floes, and that has happened again this year.  It has been our experience the pond opens up within a few days after the block sinks.  This year, of course, has not been like any other we've experienced, so there's no telling how long it will take for blue water to show up if there are many more of these warm and then deep cold swings.  

We will be attempting to contact the winner today, and as soon as we are able to do that and confirm the ticket number, date and time, the name will be announced.

I had a message from Andy Rudin last evening.  He sent a link to an unnerving article about loons and climate change.  With various species of bugs and other unwelcome creatures creeping northward, it seems the world we are so familiar with is changing, along with the weather, ever so slowly, but apparently inevitably. We will need to adapt, I guess, finding ways to live with the changes.

I have many calls to make this morning, so need to get busy.  We will update the website with all necessary information as soon as all is confirmed.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

The clock has finally stopped!!  The block went down and stopped the clock at 5:04 this afternoon, April 12, 2016.  We won't announce the winner until we have verified the ticket and reached the person - there's always a chance for a bogus ticket, I suppose, or that there is some mistake, so all of that takes time.  I can tell you that the split this year will be less than last year, but still will be over $5,000 - not too shabby, in spite of our weather messing up this year so there weren't as many snowmobilers to buy tickets.  We've done ok, and we on the committee are glad we've had another good year.  Now we move on to getting ready for summer!  Above are the pictures from the web cams - and these are the last I will post, of course.  I'll let you know as soon as we have confirmed a winner.




Better late than never, I always say - this morning has been a slow starter.  Slept late, ate late, long phone call interruption, just getting down to business and it's almost lunch time!!

Fred checked the block early this morning and when I finally got going, assured me it was still hanging on, the clock still ticking.  We looked at it then - and compared to now it seems to have tilted even further in just a few hours, so something must be happening, but slowly.  I have to say, that thing defies gravity.  That block is heavy and I can't believe there's still enough solid ice to hold it.  We had showers most of the night, but it was cold and we got rain and snow squalls, but with no snow accumulation.  The temperature now is only 38 at almost mid-day, and there isn't a lot of wind.  What wind there is comes out of the north, and with not much open water in the big pond, there isn't much movement of the ice yet.  The ice is likely softening slowly and therefore the block remains suspended.  We'll be watching it during today - I'm inclined to think the end is near!



Monday, April 11, 2016

We have something a little different to report tonight - but not very different.  As you can see, the ice on the pond is covered with water tonight, and that's a little different.  But the block is still up and the clock is still ticking, so that is no different than it has been for weeks.  It has been raining lightly but fairly steadily all day, and that has set the pond afloat again.  It may not freeze much tonight, so there could be changes in the block by tomorrow.

I was surprised when I went to my meeting at the Danville Historical Society this morning that the middle pond is completely free of ice.  The first pond still has some ice in the cove by Point Comfort's docks - and the big pond is showing a little open water at the northernmost corner by the rail trail in the vicinity of Channel Drive and Island Drive.  However, the rest of the big pond looks pretty solid - but there must be a lot of warmer water flowing off the hills into the pond and that should weaken the ice a lot.  It's hard to tell if there is much depth of ice left, but certainly off of the west shore it is still thick enough to support the weight of the block.  I believe that will now change quickly since we don't have any really cold weather ahead.



A reader in Canada, Linda, sent a message that they received snow last night, too.  Thanks to Linda for her message.  You will find it at the end of this morning's post below.  I wasn't surprised there was snow across the border - I somehow expect Canada to be colder than we are because they are further north, but I know that isn't always the case.  I also know when we get a wind out of the north it's usually really cold and I automatically say "because it's right out of Canada!" 

 I guess spring is a little late everywhere - although if we look at other years, this year's Ice Out is right in the "normal" range of dates the clock stopped.  I'll check to see if the block is still there tomorrow morning and report to you again then.



Here we go again - ground is white with snow, 29 degrees and snowing.  We don't seem to be moving ahead with spring much at all.  Really discouraging, especially for those of us that have been watching for open water.  We are promised a warming trend within the next few days back to the 50s and maybe a little higher temps.  That would be nice, and maybe we'll get some melting and a little action at the block and clock.  Hard to tell.  As you can see, the only change from last night is the snow is back.



Sunday, April 10, 2016


Still leaning, still hanging on - like our winter weather!

I'll check back with everyone tomorrow morning.

Frozen . . .

Again, nothing happened last night except the ice tightened up a bit around that block out there.  The temperature dipped well into the teens overnight and we had a little more snow - which stuck because it was so cold, so this morning our world is mostly white again.  The sun is bright and we expect the snow on the ground will be gone by mid morning, but there may not be much change in the ice on the pond - at least that we can see.  I'll be checking the web cams from time to time today, and will post more pictures tonight.




Saturday, April 09, 2016

As dull, cold, dreary days go, this one has been right up there at the top.  The ground was white with snow this morning - I measured about an inch of new snow - not that any we had previously was still around, and now what we got yesterday and overnight is mostly gone, too.  It's just the air is very cold and there are snowflakes falling almost continually - but the ground seems to have warmed up so most of it melts during daylight hours.  

I can't tell you what's happening down on the pond.  It looks to me as if the block and flag have tipped a little more, but mostly it just sits there, tilted like it could topple over any moment, but there is no real sign that the ice is melting around it.  It's most likely we have made more ice than has melted today, and certainly during the night-time hours we've made ice.  Discouraging is one word for this weather - and there are others, I'm sure, none of them complimentary.  The sun is trying again to break through the clouds at the moment, but now it's almost time for it to slip behind the hills, so too little, too late.  Tomorrow isn't going to be much better, according to the forecast.  I'll check the flag again in the morning.  We should get some change soon . . .?


No change - it's winter here!


Friday, April 08, 2016

 It seems I am posting the same pictures over and over.  Except for the amount of snow on the ground (there's over an inch now) we could be looking at pictures from a week ago.

We had very hard rain and lots of wind late in the evening last night, and then the wind died down and the temperature slipped into the 30's and here we are in winter mode again.  It's snowing quite steadily right now, but the temperature is supposed to rise so it may change to rain for a while before the system clears out of here.  It's dreary and we're all really ready for the block to go down and stop the clock so we can get on to other things - with some warm weather, open water and the promise of summer.  Right now, the prospect is pretty dim.  

As for predictions of when all of that is going to happen - those of us who have worked on this contest for a long time have pretty much given up trying to guess.  Every year is different, and this one beats them all.  Chico Carcoba, who logged tickets for us for many years, told me yesterday that Woodbury Lake went out on April 3.  He used to have a formula for predicting when Joe's Pond would be out, but I can't remember exactly what that was.  Chico and Sharon arrived home from Florida this week into all this cold, miserable weather.  

We all know the weather will get better - or at least change. Change is what's been happening with uncanny regularity, except it seems to have stalled in March mode.  We're confident the snow will be gone eventually, but nobody is making any promises about what sort of weather we'll have once we get into summer mode.  I'm betting hot and dry, but that's just a wild guess.  I'm glad we don't have any kind of contest on that.  Stay tuned.

Thursday, April 07, 2016


Art Opening at the Jaquith Library
Kenyan Safari

Friday, April 15
6:00 p.m. Art Opening: Photos and Sculptures of Douglas Aja
Douglas Aja has been photographing African wildlife since the late 1970s and creating bronze sculptures since the late 1990s. The photographs on display at the Jaquith were taken between 1998 and 2015. Many of Doug's elephant photos and sculptures are of known individuals from Kenya’s Amboseli National Park, having been featured in many books and films, most notably the Echo of the Elephant.  

Douglas Aja’s art show runs from March 28 to May 21.

7:00 p.m. African readings followed by questions and answers with artist
Refreshments will be served.


Here's a fun outing to do if the weather cooperates:
 
Vernal Pools
April is a busy time for amphibians. Natural Marshfield will go on a field trip with local ecologist Annie Reed to a vernal pool where we hope to see wood frog, peeper, and spotted salamander eggs and the proud parents too! (If we’re lucky and very quiet.)
April 21, Wed. at  6:30 p.m.
Meet at the Old Schoolhouse Common in Marshfield.  Bring boots and headlamps.

For  info:  426-3581

jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com

Snow & Ice Report

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