Eye Glasses Lost

Sara Duff lost a pair of prescription eye glasses in a black case at The Summer Party Saturday night.
Please call if you found them - 802-274-0102.
Thank you.

End of Summer at JPA

This came from president of the Joe's Pond Association today:

Hi Jane,

With the last event yesterday, after a very good year of events, the Pavilion is now closed. Yesterday’s event, a musical social event, A Summer Cocktail Party, was enjoyed by many during the beautiful afternoon and early evening weather. Fantastic hors d’oeuvre, great live music and a crowd singing and dancing through the last event culminated a great year.

 Today however, was the closing of the Pavilion until next spring. The members closing this year were : Richard and Carmen Gagne, Jack and Susan LaGue, Larry Rossi, Mike Yesalonia and Camilla and I. Curtains were removed and retired to their winter home and other items put away for nine months and the American Flag, the last item, was removed, folded properly, and put away for the winter. Thanks to all the help everything was accomplished in about one hour.

Tom

It's always a little sad to close things up at the end of a great summer, but it's time - fall will be here soon, and even though we may have lots of really nice weather for a while, everyone has to get back to their  schedules and meetings - life in the city, at school, back to work, or for some it's just feeling the need to follow the sun and warm weather.  The rest of us will stay here, holding the fort.  

We've had a good year at JPA - lots of fun parties, meetings and shared events at the pond.  I will be sending Ice-Out tickets to those members who did not pick them up either at Hastings Store or one of our meetings.  I know lots of you like to have them to give as stocking stuffers at Christmas, or just as little fun gifts.  Let us know if you want more - or if you aren't a member and would like a few, let me know or go on line where you can print tickets or buy batches of five and pay on line.

Enjoy the rest of the summer - and a spectacular fall seems to be building.  We are noticing bright spots of color already here and there in the maples, so this could be one of those years when the colors just won't quit.  With unusual weather moving into the southern and mid-Atlantic states, Joe's Pond is the best place to be, I think.  Better hang out here for a while before you all head south. 

This came from Homer and Margaret Fitts this morning:  

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL ASSN. GET TOGETHER.  WE WERE SO BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO BE THERE.   THE GAGNE AND KEACH PLANNING AND THE PARTY WERE GREAT.

    IT SURE WAS NICE TO SEE SO MANY OLD FRIENDS AS WELL AS MEETING SOME NEW PEOPLE.     THE ASSN. ACTIVITIES SEEM TO BE BETTER EACH YEAR.

                                LOVE AND BLESSINGS TO ALL,

                                        HOMER AND MARGARET

 

 

We had a phone call yesterday from our family arriving home from Africa - they were finally in their car headed for Waterford, very glad to be getting home.  Monika said they were all very tired - it was an unusually stressful trip since the airline dropped their return flights after they arrived so they had to re-book, and that meant a 24 hr. delay.  So instead of arriving in Burlington, Vermont Friday morning, they finally arrived on Saturday afternoon.  Everyone is ok, though, and I imagine sleeping in this morning.  Bill promised he'd get pictures to us soon of their trip and the wedding.

Summer definitely isn't over - today got pretty hot and sticky.  

We heard from the family in Africa tonight.  They were supposed to start their flight home today, but the airline had somehow managed to cancel their reservations, so they spent the whole day in the airport at Windhoek trying to get things straightened out.  The airline (South African Airways) put them up in a hotel near the airport and they have a flight out tomorrow morning for Johannesburg.  They are hoping everything goes well from there on, but no guarantees.  With luck, they will be home Saturday.  Needless to say, none of them are happy campers about the mixup - they were all very ready to come home.

Don't forget there's a yard sale at the West Danville church on Saturday morning and a cocktail party at the Joe' Pond Association pavilion in the evening.


The church sale reminds me of years ago when my kids were small and we were living in St. Johnsbury.  The South Church had rummage sales every now and then, and I used to donate clothing and toys our boys had outgrown.  My mother-in-law, Dot Dimick, used to work on the sales and would always buy things at the sale for her grandsons.  That was much appreciated, but more often than I can count, she would bring us some of the things we had just donated.  I don't think I told her at the time - I'd just donate it again at the next sale.  It got to be a family joke, and I'm pretty sure by the time the kids were older and she was no longer working on rummage sales, they kidded her about how many times our donations came back to us.  Dot lived with us for a number of years when the boys were teenagers.   She had raised two boys herself, so understood boys pretty well and appreciated their jokes, fortunately.  She was a good sport and had a big heart, which was a must to survive living with her daughter-in-law and three young boys.  We were all going in different directions and I'm sure it was hard for her to keep up with everything.

Are you missing a Seahawk 2 inflatable boat?  It may be at Ted Chase's on N. Shore Road.  Ted let us know today that a partially inflated one washed up on his waterfront with 1 paddle aboard.  It's on his lawn.  You can give him a call at 684-3883.

We were in Burlington today - an appointment for me with eye specialist, Dr. Kim.  I know it sounds awful when I talk about getting a shot in my eye - I used to joke about something I really dreaded being "better than a needle in my eye," and now I can say that with some authority after over a year of having shots every eight weeks for macular degeneration.  But it really isn't that bad and my eye is stabilized and with perfect vision in my "good" eye, and only slightly distorted vision so far in the AMD eye, I really don't have a big problem - probably because we caught it early.  I'll admit I have a little more difficulty than I used to threading the needle on my sewing machine, but I still get it done, although sometimes with a little cussin.'

While I was doing my thing, Fred took a walk on the UVM campus.  He hadn't really visited there for years and he said some of the buildings he knew very well as a student looked unfamiliar because so much has changed all over the campus.  He was particularly impressed with the new dorm that's being built.  He brought back some  photos - this new building is for first year students.

Yesterday I spent a very pleasant afternoon with Barbara Carpenter and Amanda Legare, co-authors with me in 1999 on the Cabot oral history book.  We hadn't had a meeting for literally years, and it was fun to go over some of what was in the book and also what we left out for various reasons.  (Some folks were a little more candid than they probably should have been and told us things we felt it best not to include.)  It was great to chat and catch up a bit as we don't see one another all that often.  Amanda has her greenhouse business to run and Barbara is busy writing family history, so we're all occupied with our individual projects.  It was nice to take an afternoon off to chat with good friends.  We should probably do that more often, but life gets busy and before you know it another year has passed.  Like this summer - nearly over and it seems as if it just got started like a week ago.

The family in Namibia will be home by the end of this week.  They've had a great vacation, and except for being tired from the long flight, I'm sure they'll feel energized after their long break.  I'm anxious to see pictures of the wedding and everything they got to do while they were away.  I'm not a fan of traveling, especially overseas now that there are so many bad things happening, so I'll be really happy when everyone is back home safe and sound.




 

Well!  Very strange things have been happening on this blog - Jack LaGue just alerted me that the same entry appeared several times, actually on different dates.  I deleted two of those entries and then scanned down through the list of past posts and found several others that were duplicated.  I'm not sure, but I suspect it happened when I have published a post and then discover there's something misspelled or some other error and go back and edit, then publish again.  I didn't read the posts to see if there were minor differences - but that might be what happened.  I'll have to be sure to use the "preview" button instead of the "publish" button so that won't keep happening.  Thanks, Jack for letting me know about that.

I want to clarify something about Indian Joe some of you may not know.  There is sometimes confusion because there is a Joe's Pond in the Morrisville area.  It's off Route 100, near Morristown Bog.  It is a small pond, and from what I can tell, there may have been another very small pond that was called Molly's Pond.  Indian Joe and Molly lived in the Morristown and Hyde Park area off and on in the early years.  They lived on Butternut Island in the Lamoille River for a time, as well.  They apparently had friends everywhere in this region and visited for long periods, helping with chores and teaching those early settlers Indian ways of planting crops, hunting, preserving animal hides and about Indian food and cooking.  A dugout canoe was found in a swampy area at Joe's Pond in Morristown, and that was donated to the Morrisville Historical Society.  Other artifacts believed to have belonged to Joe and Molly are found in Derby and Newbury - and perhaps other towns they frequently visited.  

As far as I know no artifacts belonging to the pair have been found at our Joe's Pond, but in excavating along the shore or on the big island we might one day come across something. 

Last week I spoke to a group of D.A.R. members about Indian Joe and Molly.  I was surprised they wanted to hear the story we've all heard so many times, but as they were meting at the beach here at Joe's Pond, it was logical.  I brushed up using the Rev. William Neal's books on the couple - still available at Hastings Store, if you are interested - and then began searching on-line sites, mostly historical societies from Newbury to Derby.  Nearly every one had references to Joe.  I guess anyone who studies history will agree it's not an exact science.  Even a person who was present at the time of a certain event may relate it quite differently from someone standing right beside him (or her).  That said, the story remains a good one, that Joe was shot and left for dead, nursed back to health by kindly settlers during the winter and returned to his tribe at St. Francis in the spring having promised to warn the settlers when there was a planned attack on them.  It could have happened that way - or not.  The story goes that Joe was wounded on Cabot Plain, but because this area was not settled until after the Bayley Hazen Road was blazed in 1776, and Indian Joe was by then a guide for Gen. Bayley, it doesn't quite fit.  However, who's to say there wasn't some very early settler in this region before Nathanial Webster brought his family to Cabot in 1783?  Joe was born about 1739 in Nova Scotia and spent his youth with the St. Francis tribe after the British killed his parents at Louisburg in 1745.

And then there are the stories about how Joe and Molly got together - he was either a really nice guy that provided for widow Molly and her two small sons, or he was the cad who stole her from her husband and they were banished from the tribe, taking her two sons, Toomalex and Muxa-Wuxal with them.

So yes, there is another Joe's Pond with a dugout canoe in Morristown that could have been Joe's; and there may be another  canoe of Joe's in Newbury, along with his gun.  One thing is for sure - there is a gravestone in the cemetery in Newbury for Joe - so he's likely to have been buried there.  Even that we can't be absolutely certain about, but I'm happy to accept it is probably true.

We got over an inch of rain again last night.  I think the water table should be getting pretty close to normal again - we've had about six inches of rain in the past week.

Nice weekend!  For some, this seems to have been the weekend to take boats out of the water - I've seen an unusual number of boats on trailers heading north on W. Shore Rd. and empty boat trailers heading south on W. Shore Rd. today.  It's usually been Labor Day weekend when we see this kind of activity, but probably a lot more boats will be hauled out then, too, and put away for the winter.  Some schools are getting started next week, so that means families are heading home.

Now is the season of the big fairs.  Barton Fair just closed today,  Caledonia County Fair is coming right up - this week, then there's Lancaster Fair starting on Sept. 1. All good stuff.  

Here's another event that will have good stuff in it - a yard sale put on for the benefit of the West Danville church.  I like the way they are doing this one - no tag sale.  That's from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, and then there's the very social end-of-the-season cocktail party at the Joe's Pond pavilion starting at 4:00 P.M. until 7:30 P.M.
Click on the posters to make them large enough to read.

There will be lots of church suppers from now on, too.  One we always try not to miss is the North Danville Baptist Church chicken pie supper - that will be coming up in September - not sure of the date, but will post it as soon as I know.  We usually get take-out, and it is a really good feed.  We also especially like the turkey supper in Cabot during Fall Foliage week.  Not a good time to be watching your waistline!  Eat now, diet later. 


Here are some dates you should put on your calendar:   Fall Foliage Festival week starts on September 26 through Oct. 2.  This is the week when area towns host all sorts of activities and there will be some great food and entertainment starting in Walden on Monday then Cabot, Plainfield, Peacham, Barnet, Groton and finally Marshfield on Sunday, October 2nd.   Also on October 2nd is "Autumn on the Green" in Danville.

After our cat, Woody, came home lame with what turned out to be a puncture wound that became infected a couple weeks ago, we've kept him in after dark.  He gets to go into the garage where he can hear the night sounds and look out the windows, but he's safely inside.  He isn't a fan of this arrangement, but we felt it was the only sensible thing to do after what we suspect was a really close call.

We've heard of cats in the neighborhood disappearing, and today on Front Porch Forum there is a report of a bobcat in the Jug Brook Road area on the western side of Cabot.  Several cats have gone missing there, and one person actually saw the bobcat with the family's missing cat in it's mouth.  I can only imagine the horror of seeing that.

We have felt for a long time that Woody's luck might run out one of these dark nights.  He enjoys hunting so much and used be out until the wee hours, and we hated to take that pleasure away from him,  but like we say about various situations these days, times have changed - things just aren't the way they used to be.  We hardly ever heard about bobcats and even more rare was seeing one.  And there was a time when nobody had seen a coyote around here. Occasionally a bear, but not like now when bears are routinely sighted, sometimes even while they are enjoying a swim in the pond, and bobcats are sighted routinely.  So times have changed, Woody my friend, and I'm sorry, but you'll just have to get used to being cooped up in the garage come night time.  Actually, he's adapted pretty well.  We let him in around 10:30 and he usually has a snack and goes to bed.  He's mellowed with age, I guess.  Aging has a way of taking some of the zing out of most of us, for sure.

Tomorrow is our last Joe's Pond Association meeting for 2016.  We hope we have a good turnout - it's at 10 a.m. at the pavilion.  The weather looks good, and I expect it will be a fairly short meeting as Tom knows everyone will want to get back to enjoying the last of their summer vacation time here at the pond.  This will be the first meeting for Jack LaGue as treasurer of the Association.  Also, Don and Diane Sherwood have just returned from a trip to the Olympics in Rio, so it will be interesting to hear how their trip went.  I don't know of any "hot" issues to be discussed but our meetings are always fun and very social.  I have to try to remember to hold that darned microphone correctly - I was informed by more than one person at the July meeting that I was doing it all wrong.  I promise I'll try to do better . . .

End of Season Cocktail party!

JPA Summer Cocktail Party

Saturday, August 27th

4 to 7:30 PM at the Pavillion

featuring

 "The Toasters" band!

 Tickets $5.00

BYOB

This is always a lot of fun and is the final gathering at the pavilion for this season. We request that people bring an appetizer to share. Tickets are only $5.00 (to help pay the band) and can be purchased by contacting:

Carmen Gagne (802-498-4225)

Bo Keach (802-684-3673)

Sue LaGue (802-476-4505).  

Tickets will also be available at the JPA meeting on August 20, at the pavilion, 10 a.m.

Close the summer season at Joe's Pond with a great party!

We have another beautiful sunset photo, this one taken tonight by Ted Decker.  Thanks, Ted - nice shot!

We had a call this morning from Bill in Namibia.  He said the wedding is mostly over except "the girls are at the farm finishing cleaning up" after the celebration.  He said the wedding started off at a church in Okalongo (click this link to see a typical wedding, but it's not Tangeni and Shalimba's), then everything and everybody was loaded up and taken to the farm of the bride's family a few kilometers from the Angolan border and miles into the dusty countryside.  There a reception was set up for the bride's family and guests.  Apparently the groom's father and mother do not attend, but then everything is packed up again and taken to the groom's family farm where there is a reception that includes all the groom's family and guests - the bride's mother was not invited.  After all the receptions and partying at the family farms, the bride and groom have to remain at the groom's parents for a day and there are other traditions that must be kept before they are free to go on their way as a couple.

Monika's grandmother who is 104 years old, was there and had a great time.  She kept up with everything and all the celebrating.  Bill said she has most of her own teeth, doesn't even need glasses, and "has a good strong handshake."  She was in a wheelchair, but that was just because it was easier for everyone as they were moving around a lot.

Bill said the partying gets pretty rowdy and he was a little concerned when rifles were being shot into the air - but fortunately the groom's family had hired security guards and they shut down the shooting right away.

Bill said the flowers were a big hit and held together through all the moving about in the heat and dust.  He said they might have been a little dusty by the time they got to the groom's family reception, but they were still pretty.  People kept touching them, wondering why they weren't wilting.  He said he saw various children wearing the bridesmaids' wrist corsages, and some other people not in the wedding with some of the flowers as things wound down, so they were definitely a hit.

Little Tangeni is having a blast with so many kids her age to play with and learning new things, going barefoot in the dust just like the other children.  She was reluctant at first, but after a couple days was just as dusty and dirty as any of the other kids.  They are all glad to get back to their hotel each night to take showers.  It's very dry there, but this is their winter and temperatures are only in the 90s with 50s at night, and not much humidity.  Bill said the farms are able to raise much of their own food - grains and animals, and are pretty much self-sufficient.  Monika's family's farm has cows and chickens - and one of the traditions is that the bride has to select the cow that will be slaughtered to feed their wedding guests.  I'm not sure if she or the groom makes the selection for the groom's family celebration.

Being so close to Angola is a little scary, but Bill said there has been no trouble except some youngsters looking for beer got a little rowdy when they weren't given any.  They weren't part of the wedding party, but sort of materialized out of the surrounding bush.

We won't have pictures until after they get home, but I'll post some as soon as I get them.  

Another hot and muggy day.  We've had a fair amount of rain, too, and that's good - except in some spots it came down so fast and furiously most ran off without doing the earth and crops much good.  I measured just over two inches on Saturday morning after the downpour Friday afternoon; and this morning there was another half inch in my measuring tube.  It was not a great weekend for Danville Fair, and that's too bad - but I heard lots of folks turned out in spite of the weather and I'm sure they had fun, even if they had to dodge showers.

The Joe's Pond folks gathered last night for a Pig Roast, and that was a great meal.  We hadn't had one for a few years, but Michelle Parker and Billy Keach volunteered to bring it back and they made it a really nice event.  The pavilion was decorated with sunflowers - huge, lovely blooms on each table, and the food was delicious.  Even though it rained, it was very comfortable in the pavilion, and I'm sure everyone had a good time.  The evening concluded when Michelle asked Tom and Camilla Dente to come forward and then presented them with a lovely plaque to thank both for all the hard work they do for the Joe's Pond Association.  It was well deserved - Tom and Camilla are a great team - President and First Lady of JPA - and they work hard to keep things running smoothly.  Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera with us, so I don't have pictures for you - but it certainly was a memorable occasion. 


We are nearing the end of our 2016 season at Joe's Pond -  our last business meeting of the year is next Saturday, Aug. 20, at 10 a.m. at the pavilion.  The last JPA social event of the season will be the Cocktail Party on Aug. 27th.  More about that later, or you can give Carmen Gagne a call at 802-498-4225.

Tom Dente sent this nice shot of the evening sky - he's thinking "rainbow" - not quite the whole thing, but surely the moisture in the sky had something to do with this interesting formation. Click on the picture to enlarge it.   Very nice, and thank you, Tom.

Lots of folks were asking us last night if we have heard from the family in Namibia, and the answer is "not since early last week."  We think the wedding must be over by now, even though Namibian weddings can last several days.  I think the bride has to get back to her studies in China right away and the groom, a pilot, needs to get back to his job with the airline.  Our gang will be resting up and enjoying family there for another week and then heading back home around the 23rd.  They will spend a little time in Windhoek where both Monika and Jo-Ann will visit friends, and then will start the long trip home.  I think both Jo-Ann and Tangeni start school as soon as they get back.

We were hoping our cat, Woody might continue to be wary of being out after dark given his close call last week, but tonight he was in full pestering mode, very insistent to be let out; but we didn't relent, and he has spent the evening in the garage where we know he's safe.  Not happy, but safe.  Jamie and Marie told us they spotted a very large coyote in the field above their house a couple days ago, so now we're thinking perhaps that was what happened to the neighbors' cats and possibly what Woody escaped from.  Not taking any chances.  Woody may not like us for keeping him confined, but he will just have to accept hunting for mice in the garage, not the fields after dark.

Today was sweltering, in my book.  Our house is normally nice and cool every morning because we have all the windows open at night - but this morning it was muggy inside as well as outside.  We went into town to meet a cousin of Fred's and his wife from Florida.  They had been visiting in Maine, so we met at Riley's and had a great lunch.  We hung out with them until mid-afternoon, and it was very comfortable in the restaurant.  Lots of people came and went while we were there, but it was never awfully crowded, so we weren't holding anyone up.  It was very hot outside, though.

We got home just before the downpour.  My measuring tube ran over, but the over-run is caught in the larger tube so I'm guessing close to two inches fell today.  I'll measure exactly tomorrow.  I expect we'll have more rain during the night, if the forecast is correct.

We are thinking Woody may have changed his habits due to his recent close encounter with some scary predator.  He has been content to either stay in with us or come in soon after dark these past several nights.  He came in a few minutes ago and is now safely in the garage with his kitty door locked.  Normally he would be knocking on the door and pestering to get outside, but so far all is quiet.  He can lie on the stoop and see out the window into the driveway and that seems to satisfy him.  We don't expect this to last - I'm pretty sure his natural tendency towards nocturnal hunting will eventually surface again.

No word from the family in Namibia, but we know they are in the midst of the wedding right now, and from what Monika has told us, weddings there entail several days of celebration, so it may be a while before things calm down and we hear from them.  I'm anxious to see pictures.  I know Tangeni (Monika's sister and Little Tangeni's namesake) will be a beautiful bride.  She looks a lot like Monika.  And we're eager to see our granddaughters all dressed up and taking part in the wedding.  After the big wedding ceremony and reception, with white dress and all the coordinated colors for attendants,  etc., there will be a "traditional" ceremony when the whole wedding party will don colorful gowns and shirts and there will be feasting and more celebration.  For another day or two.    Everyone in town is welcome, from small children to elderly neighbors.  In fact, Monika's 100 year old grandmother will be there, whooping it up like everyone else. 
Monika said she doesn't like riding in a car, but for her granddaughter's wedding, she's going to do it.  We didn't actually count her when Monika and I were figuring out who to make flowers for, but a little voice told me to make an extra corsage, just in case.  Monika and sister Tangeni (soon to be "Doctor" Tangeni - she's going to medical school in China!) are delighted that Grandma will not be left out.  I hope Bill gets a picture of her, too. 

 This is Danville Fair weekend - tough luck having it rain.  I hope they get a break during the day tomorrow so the parade isn't rained on and people will still be able to enjoy the fun.  If you plan to go, better take your umbrella just in case.  

I hope everyone has enjoyed our hot weather for the last couple of days.  I actually haven't been outside much at all - just too much of a good thing for me, I'm afraid.  I had coffee on the deck with Woody this morning, but even in the shade of the umbrella, we had to give it up and go inside after only a few minutes.  There didn't seem to be any breeze at all.

I had work to do on my computer, so it turned out to be a productive day even if I didn't do anything outside.  Fred went about his usual stuff, both inside and out - and doesn't seem to mind the heat at all like I do.  

Thinking back to when I was a kid, I remember being really sick after getting severe sunburns, sunstroke, they called it.  We were outside most of the time either in the hayfield or the pastures, and nobody had heard of sunscreen back then.  A straw hat was about all the protection we had, but we didn't want to bother with them.
In the pasture was when I remember being most uncomfortable in the heat - when I was deep in the woods with no breeze, just very stubborn cows that didn't want to move.  I guess they were just as hot as we kids were.  Fortunately there were several brooks where we could get a cold drink.  Most were spring-fed, and we knew which ones were ok to drink from.  Sometimes we had to rush ahead of the cows in order to get there before they'd riled it up.  The water was very cold, and I remember how good it felt to splash that icy water over my bare skin.  There was usually some wild mint growing along the edges of the brook, and we always took some leaves to chew.  

As we climbed up the hill from the Roy pastures, we had to go through one last swamp at the edge of the woods, and from there on the pasture was always parched and dry with bits of ledge showing through the meager topsoil.  At the top of the hill, we'd always have a breeze.  It didn't matter what direction the wind was blowing from - that hilltop had 360 degree exposure.  From there it was a short downhill trek to the barn.  

I remember taking a St. Johnsbury snowshoe club up the old lane to the top of that hill.  It was a relatively mild winter day when we left our house on West Shore Road (Fred and I were living at camp then, probably 1981 or so).  We took them up Chatot Road and followed what folks called the Bayley-Hazen Road but was really the road the early settlers made because the old military road was too difficult to keep, having steep climbs and crossing deep ravines and swampy areas.  The road the settlers made follows a plateau and rises gently to the top of the hill.  There are remnants of stone walls and foundations of ancient buildings on either side along the way, and it runs parallel but several rods west of the actual route of the old military road. 

The snowshoe people were interested in the history and asked lots of questions.  The snow was deep and as I recall, Fred broke trail most of the way for the rest of us.  As we came into the open at the top of the hill, it was as if the whole sky had suddenly opened up.  There we were, the farm where I grew up and Cabot Plain a little below us, with the Worcester Range and Mt. Mansfield just beyond - but Camel's Hump hidden by some trees; to the north, Jay Peak and some mountains in Canada; turning clockwise we saw Joe's Pond far below and West Danville with the White Mountains in the far distance.  Behind us were the  blue-green hills of Peacham and Marshfield.  Spectacular views wherever we looked - but the hilltop was bare in spots from the wind, and there were  clouds snow coming off trees and the tops of knolls, as the wind whipped at our clothing and stung our faces.  I remember one woman lamenting that it was too cold to enjoy the view, and that was the cue for everyone to shuffle down the slope to the protection of the woods.  

Since then, the farm and land has been sold and there is now a large house on that pinnacle where we stood to briefly admire the world around us.  I've often wondered how the people in the new house like being battered by wind from any direction.  Admittedly, they have a view that won't quit, but then, neither does the wind - especially in the winter. 

There now, I feel cooler just remembering this story!

Summer Concert Series

Old schoolhouse Common Gazebo in Marshfield

August 11 on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Dave Keller Band

Dave Keller is one of the finest soul and blues men of his generation.  His most recent CD, Soul Changes, earned a 2014 Blues Music Award Nomination (BMA) for Best Soul/Blues Album. His previous CD, Where I'm Coming From, won the 2012 Best Self-Produced CD Award at the International Blues Challenge (IBC). Keller has earned the respect of the torchbearers of the blues: recording and co-writing with legendary guitarist Ronnie Earl; touring regularly with Mississippi blues master Johnny Rawls; and spending many years as the protege of the late soul/blues singer Mighty Sam McClain, who said, "He's for REAL!!  Y'all check him out!!"

Just For Fun Film Series

at the Jaquith Public Library

August 17 on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The Rat Race (2001) A movie whose only ambition is to be funny, even though you will learn why the Barbie museum might not be a great family tourist destination, how cows become and stay airborne, how organs for transplant are shipped, and why you really should buy a squirrel.

 

NATURAL MARSHFIELD IS BACK

LOOKING AT MOTHS

THURSDAY AUGUST 18 at 8 PM

There are 1858 known species of moths in Vermont, and more than 11,000 in North America. Learn more about them with Marshfield resident and butterfly and moth expert Michael Sabourin, who will discuss the lives of moths. After dark, we will go outside to see what moths we can find.

802-426-3581 jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com

Or visit our website: www.marshfield.lib.vt.us

--

Susan Green

Director

Jaquith Public Library

122 School St. RM 2

Marshfield, VT 05658

802-426-3581

Woody's paw is definitely getting better.  The swelling isn't all  gone, but it's much improved and he's moving around a lot better.  In fact, he's been begging to go outside tonight.  Wouldn't you think he'd have some sense after this that it's dangerous out there after dark??  We may not let him out at night ever again.  We're trying to think of some way to compromise because we know how much he likes being out there, but so far we haven't come up with a good solution. 

Today we learned that two different neighbors have lost cats just this past week.  They suspect an owl.  Owls are definitely predators of mice, rabbits, squirrels, etc., so why not cats - or small dogs?  Just out of curiosity, I looked it up and sure enough - this is when young owls are learning to fend for themselves, and of course owls hunt at night.  There was even a picture of an owl holding a cat in his talons.  Not a pretty sight, and now we are thinking our Woody may have been a target - but his nearly 15 pounds weight probably kept him from a worse fate than an injured paw. 

 
 

Andy Rudin has just asked me if I have any photos taken of Sunken Island during the time a few decades ago the dam was being rebuilt and the water level was way down.   I am sorry to say, I don't have any pictures, but I do recall seeing a good bit of earth above water one fall years ago, and that may have been what was going on.  My parents and I were canoeing - I think it was late September or early October - beautiful fall weather and we were the only ones on the water.  We had a makeshift dock in the cattails above where Richer's house is, but we had a hard time launching, I remember, and carried the canoe down the shore to a spot out of the weeds where we could reach the deeper water in the channel. If anyone has a photo showing Sunken Island, I would like a copy and will share it here on the blog.

We have an injured pet this weekend.  Woody got into some kind of trouble night before last and has a sore paw.  He was outside when we went to bed - he's really bad about coming in at a reasonable hour, so we adjust the kitty door so he can get into the garage but can't get back out.  That has worked well, and he has always been ok, but this time when Fred went to check on him sometime after midnight, he could tell Woody was in the garage because some of his food was gone and Fred knew he couldn't get back outside; but when he called, Woody didn't come as he usually does.  Fred found him huddled in the storage space over the garage, muddy and limping with a badly swollen paw.  He carried him in and got him  cleaned up, and in the morning we tried to figure out what might have happened, but we really have no clue.  There was no blood, no evidence of a puncture, and so far we haven't been able to see any outward evidence of injury.  The paw is still swollen, but not as bad today as it was, although he still isn't putting any weight on it at all.  Other than being very quiet, he seems okay otherwise - eating and drinking as normal, and doesn't seem to be running a temperature, so we will see how things look and if it isn't much better by Monday, we'll get him to the vet.  It could be he has a bad sprain - I don't think anything is broken as he is able to flex all the joints - it's just sore.  I haven't been able to see his claws on that foot because of the swelling, and he doesn't want me to touch it, but I think if he'd torn a claw there would have been blood. We are pretty sure he had a tussle with something, and may be one lucky kitty that he made it home ok.  And we're feeling lucky he made it home, too - but then there's that guilty feeling that we should keep him in at night, even though to him that would seem extremely cruel. Oh, well.  Cold weather is coming and he'll be happy inside again. But I have to say, having him ailing is almost worse than when the kids used to get banged up - at least they could tell me what happened and where it hurt.

The Air Boat

You will remember that we have been visited a few times this summer by someone with an air boat.  I think they came on the pond three times - perhaps four.  Very loud and we had numerous calls and e-mails about the noise and intrusiveness of the thing.  The last time they were here, Don Sherwood met them at the State Fishing Access and talked with them, letting them know we were not happy to have them here with such a loud boat.  Don told them he was reporting them to the State Police. 

Tonight I had a message from Don, and here it is:

And now for the rest of the story as Paul Harvey would say........

I got a call back from the State Police Marine Division regarding my call. They did make a visit to the home of the driver of the boat. Unfortunately, he was not in so the officer explained the situation to his family and stated that Joe's Pond is not the proper venue for the air boat due to the excessive noise. The family said that he would not return to the pond with his boat.  Time will tell but I personally doubt if we see and him again because we got the State Police involved.

The officer said that it is legal to operate an air boat on Vermont waters but that it more than likely exceeds the 82 decibel level at 50 feet noise limit.

I hope that this is the end of the story!!!!!!

Don

AND TO DON WE SAY:

 

Ice-Out Tickets are available at Hastings Store in West Danville and the Cabot Creamery Visitors' Center in Cabot Village or by contacting Diane Rossi or me.  Today we also made them available to buy on line - 5 tickets for $5.  You can still print tickets and send them in with your $1 for each.  All instructions are on the Ice-Out page.

We don't expect lots of on-line activity this early, but the option is there if people wish to use it.

We've had another great summer day here, and another will follow tomorrow.  Then, on Saturday we will likely get a little rain - which we do need to keep everything lush and green.  Surely we can't complain about the weather this summer, but summer is rapidly coming to a close.  Fred told me this morning there is a maple on our neighbors' lawn that is already turning!  It's a very old tree that always is the first to show color, but this is a bit early even for that stressed old tree.  I've been hearing crickets lately, too, and that's always a sure sign of late summer.  My phlox is nearly ready to bloom, the bluejays are screaming about putting away food for the winter, and there's an undeniable tinge in the night air.  Plus, I had to adjust the timer that turns my kitchen light on and off.  I came out of my office to an almost dark room this weekend and realized I had to change the settings again.  It seems as if I just got it adjusted so the light wouldn't come on too soon! 

Search for Soup Spoon

If anyone took a soup spoon by mistake from the appetizer table on Saturday night, would you please call Sonja Decker at 563-2732 on West Shore Road?  Much appreciated!

Family Arrived in Namibia

 We talked with Monika this afternoon at about 4:30 our time.  It was 9:30 in Windhoek, and the rest of the family were still sleeping.  Monika said they all just crashed when they got there in the early afternoon.  The flight was fine, although somehow they missed their connection to Windhoek, but she said the airline got them on a British Airways flight, so they were okay.  Only thing is, one suitcase and Tangeni's car seat are lost.  Immediately I thought it was probably the bag with all the wedding flowers in it, but instead it was Jo-Ann's bag.  I can't imagine anything much more catastrophic than a 17-year-old girl separated from all her clothes and faced with wearing the same outfit more than one day.  Hopefully, the bag and car seat will catch up to them before they leave for Oshakati on Friday.

Monika was pleased the bag with the flowers made it ok.  She was worried about that - we all know how airlines lose luggage - so she put the bride's bouquet and the groom's boutonniere in her carry-on bag just to be sure.  She told me, "The wedding would be fine without centerpieces for the tables, but a bride HAS to have her bouquet!"  

I have been corresponding today by e-mail with David Book, former Cabot teacher and long-time friend and fellow author.  I was hoping he could write a short article for the Cabot Chronicle to continue the story about how Cabot's West Hill School was saved and restored.  Barbara Carpenter has written the first part of the story, about saving the building back in 1975, and her article will be in the next issue of the Chronicle.  David was teaching in Cabot in the 1990s and his Heritage Class did a great deal more work on the old school, helping to restore the inside to look as it had before it closed in about 1918.  

David explained he is extremely busy writing the history of Worcester, Vermont, where he lives, but sent me a copy of an article he wrote in 1999 about working with his students on the school and gave me permission to use what I needed from that.  That will certainly work - so we will have two consecutive articles about the old school.

I was very interested in the work David is doing.  It parallels our  writing the history of West Danville.  He and two others have had some of the same stumbling blocks as our group, and it was helpful to compare notes with him.  He has a deadline for finishing their book - in 2017 - so I can certainly understand that he needs to focus and not be distracted.  When I worked for author Bill Lederer, he would remain isolated from everything and everybody - no phones, no visitors, no interruptions what-so-ever, when he was working on a manuscript.  I like to work that way, too, but I also have to leave it sometimes when things aren't going well and do something else.  That usually works and when I return to my keyboard things go better.  

Here is a notice from Jaquith Public Library:

NATURAL MARSHFIELD IS BACK

LOOKING AT MOTHS

There are 1858 known species of moths in Vermont, and more than 11,000 in 

North America. Learn more about them with Marshfield resident and butterfly 

and moth expert Michael Sabourin, who will discuss the lives of moths. After 

dark, we will go outside to see what moths we can find.

THURSDAY AUGUST 18 at 8 PM

JAQUITH PUBLIC LIBRARY 122 School St. Marshfield, Vt.

426-3581 for more information

Susan Green

Director

Jaquith Public Library

122 School St. RM 2

Marshfield, VT 05658

802-426-3581

The Vermont Tooth Fairy

Here's another "guest blog" from Amanda.  I think you'll like it!

Yesterday I felt inspired to do some weeding in my flower beds.  I started on the one closest to the house, and successfully removed most of the offending weeds and huge ferns - and hauled out the pressure-treated boards that have been a retaining wall between the bed and the walkway for at least a decade.

It took some major digging to get all the sod from between the rocks where it had grown up between them and the board, but it looked much better when I'd finished, and I smoothed the old mulch along the walkway and swept the field stones clean.  This morning I went out early to view my handiwork.

I found two really big, deep holes in the newly weeded bed and two really big piles of earth on the walkway.  This was not done by our Woody - he covers up after he's dug a hole!  This had to have been done by a skunk - probably looking for grubs that had been dislodged when I hauled out the old boards.   

All is cleaned up now, and I'm just happy Woody didn't tangle with our visitor last night.  Woody has been such a pest these nice evenings if we get him in too early, we've decided to let him hang out for a while - and when he comes into the garage, the kitty door locks so he can't get out again.  He has food, water and a place to sleep safely in the garage.  This seems to work well for him - and for us - at least he isn't howling at our bedroom door, keeping us awake.  Trouble is - the skunk could no doubt get into the garage, too, if he wanted to.  They tend to be very curious, and that might be a really big problem - I'm pretty sure Woody would not want to share his space with Pepe Le Pew.

We are waiting to hear from the family in Africa.  We checked on their flights during the night and again early this morning.  They landed in Johannesburg around 2:30 a.m. our time, and should be in Windhoek now, getting their bearings after the long flight and before driving the last leg of the trip to Oshakati.  They left JFK at least 30 minutes later than scheduled, yet they arrived a little ahead of schedule at Johannesburg.  Unlike some other times they've flown there, this trip was non-stop.  Before they have stopped briefly at Dakar, but not this time.  It was still a 14 hour flight.

It's hard to believe we're into August already!  I do appreciate these lovely days with cool nights, though - and the rain yesterday was welcome, too.  Makes me wish I'd planted a vegetable garden this year, but on the other hand, my flower beds are out of control with weeds, so why would I want more to not take care of?

We enjoyed having our 5-year old granddaughter with us again on Friday.  We spent a fair amount of time outside, and in the afternoon, took a "tea break" on the deck to read her special book, "The Story of Woodpile Brown, The Cat With A Beautiful Tail," about how Woody came to live with us.  She read it with her parents when we gave it to her at Christmas, but this time through, I did most of the reading and she asked questions.  She seemed puzzled that the book was a "true" story, and asked several times, "Did that really happen?"  I guess this is her first experience with non-fiction.

Tangeni was excited about her trip to Namibia where her namesake, Aunt Tangeni, is getting married later this month.  Most of all, she was excited about getting together with her cousin, Fiona, also 5.  I'm not excited about having her and her family flying just now, especially to such a distant country, but they've been looking forward to this for about a year, so it will be a great reunion for everyone.  They took the wedding flowers with them in an oversize suitcase that Bill said looks as if it should weigh at least a hundred pounds, but is actually more like 10.  I bet the baggage handlers will be curious about that.  I just hope they don't tear it open and damage anything.  Bill and Monika promised to take lots of pictures, so I hope to share some here.

In the meantime, I'm tracking their flight - they will land in Johannesburg around 2:30 a.m. our time, but it will be mid-morning in Africa.  They have a short time to make the flight for the next leg of their journey to Windhoek where they'll stay a day or so to get caught up with the jet lag before driving over 300 miles to Oshakati, their destination on the northernmost border of Namibia.  Bill said the further north they go the hotter it gets, and they will be driving through sparsely populated country at the edge of the desert.   According to weather reports, temperatures will be in the high 80s during the day and the 50s at night, but there's not a drop of rain in the forecast.  Makes me appreciate all the green around us - even the weeds I'm going to attack later this afternoon.