With Halloween almost upon us, I began to wonder today where the custom came from, and especially, when it became popular here in United States.

I went on line and found lots of information.  It seems the custom of going door to door asking for food or other handouts dates back at least to the 1600's in England, Ireland, and Scotland where the poor would disguise themselves and approach the rich for food.  I found one site that stated it was the Scotch and Irish who initially brought the custom here.  Maybe they needed to ask for food - many who came here were poor and life was difficult.  Another site stated it probably came from early Celtic festival of Samhain when people lit bonfires and donned costumes to ward off ghosts of the dead, and those superstitions came with the very first settlers.

One site said Halloween wasn't popular here until after World War II when sugar was no longer rationed.  I know that isn't right - there were Halloween pranks around here long before WWII.  There was also a theory that those superstitious early colonists believed stories in ghosts and spirits of all sorts, perhaps perpetuated at least in part by Washington Irving's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow," published around 1820.  Apparently Washington drew from a local story of a Hessian soldier found decapitated in a swamp whose spirit supposedly rode through the night looking for its head.   In his story, Ichabod Crane, the gangling school master, disappears on his way home after a party.  His horse was found, his saddle and hat, and a shattered pumpkin.  But no Ichabod.  Perfect Halloween tale.

I'm still not sure how it all got started, but I do know that Halloween can be great fun.  I hope you have fun with various ghosts and goblins and frightening noises in the night - and be safe.

We've lost most of our snow, and that's a good thing.  I really wasn't quite ready for the snow to stay.

We had a note from Cousin Ora in Rhode Island today, and she sent a picture of her in her Halloween costume.  Ora says she usually has between 80 and 100 trick or treaters, so she likes to be prepared.  That hat is a hoot.  She says it's reversible and very nice and warm.  I guess reversed it would be an all-black witch's hat of sorts.  Ora is a member of a photography group where she lives and has taken some beautiful photos I've shared with you in the past, so she's no stranger to being on either end of a camera.  

I was trying to remember the last time I dressed up for Halloween - it was when we lived in St. Johnsbury, I suppose, when my kids were young.  I remember dressing them up for Halloween, though.  And then when they were older, Bob played creepy music on the organ, and Jamie and Bill took turns being scary for all the little kids who came to the door.  I know some of the neighbors thought the Dimick clan was pretty weird, but the kids in the neighborhood thought it was cool.

Well, this is going to be a messy day.  When I measured the snow at 9 a.m., we had 2 inches, and it was that heavy, wet snow that causes lots of trouble on roads and is really sloppy to walk in.  There may be rain in communities a few miles in any direction of Joe's Pond, but here it has been snowing all morning.  At first we had part rain/part snow, but now it's big soppy snowflakes falling very steadily and starting to build up on the ground.  The temperature has been in low 30s, and the road crews are busy, so the roads are probably clear and wet.  

Lots of us don't have our winter tires on yet - including us.  We thought early November would be soon enough when we made the appointment at Danville Garage.  I'm pretty sure this will all turn to rain soon, and that will be interesting if we have much snow built up.  In the meantime, there will no doubt be power outages in areas where the snow has piled up on branches still holding their leaves.

I, along with some others, received this message from Homer Fitts who lived here at Joe's Pond for many years and now lives in Barre.
 He wrote in the subject line: 
 "Winter is Coming!"

8:59 a.m. 10-28-16 

HI -

    THE ROOFS ARE WHITE THIS MORNING.     GRASS IS GREEN EXCEPT IN SHADED AREAS WHERE IT IS TURNING WHITE.    IT IS ATTEMPTING TO SNOW LIGHTLY HERE IN BARRE.

    DAUGHTER AND HER HUSBAND, CLIFF AND ELLEN WERE LEAVING TO DRIVE TO FLORIDA EARLY THIS MORNING.  WILL FLY BACK TO BURLINGTON ON THANKSGIVING DAY.

    MARGARET AND I WILL BE RIGHT HERE FOR THE WINTER.    TONIGHT WE GO TO A SHOW, " THE BLUES BROTHERS " AT THE OPERA HOUSE.

    HOPE ALL IS WELL WITH YOU.

                LOVE AD BLESSINGS,

                        HOMER AND MARGARET

Right now the snow has mostly stopped.  There may be a fine rain going on - it's hard to see - but I don't think we've seen the last of the precipitation for today.  This is what you get when too many people do rain dances at Joe's Pond . . . !
 

It's been a quiet day, very much like November.  This morning the ground was white with just a skimming of snow again.  There are a few patches of snow still on the ground this afternoon, and around four o'clock I noticed snowflakes beginning to drift down again.   I took this picture around 3:30, looking down West Shore Road from our driveway.  Still pretty - the tamaracks have lots of color, but most of our trees are pretty brown. I don't think we will get much more snow as the forecast is for mostly rain - except in the higher elevations, which of course could be us.  We'll see.  It has been just about at the freezing mark most of the day, and the wind had switched to the southwest, so areas that still had some leaves left probably lost a good share of them today.

As I was climbing the hill that's Jamie and Marie's driveway this noon, I went through a shower of popular leaves from one big old tree.  Later I went back and took a picture of the leaves in the road.  They are bright yellow and wet from the overnight snow.   Along our driveway, our young maples have dropped most of their leaves.  We are beginning to see a little water through the trees when we look towards the pond.


I learned yesterday that our long-time friend, Don Mullallay, who has been the morning man at WSTJ for many, many years, is seriously ill and was taken to Dartmouth Hitchcock in Lebanon, NH by helicopter this week.   We wish the best outcome for Don - he's been the voice of St. Johnsbury for at least 60 years.  He was at the radio station when I first went to St. Johnsbury around 1950, and except for a short stint at a station in New York state, as I recall, he's been on the air at the St. Johnsbury station until this week.  I think he is about 90 years old, but that's only a guess.  I'm sure if you wish to send a message of encouragement to him you could send it to:  WSTJ-AM Radio, P. O. Box 249, St. Johnsbury VT 05819.  The folks at the station will see that he gets it.

It's nearly dark, but I can see the grass on our lawn is turning white.  It's beginning to look a lot like this picture Tom Dente sent today of their lawn in Connecticut.  Tom wrote:  
 Not to be out done, we also are getting snow in CT. Not much, just a dusting. We still have leaves on the trees and a lot of snow could cause big problems as they did October 29, 2011 when a foot of wet snow fell and caused power outages for over 750,000 people. So, we will be very happy with this “fly-by-nighter” of a storm.

Old timers are saying that because our summer was so dry, we will be making up for it this winter, so should expect a lot of snow!   It seems to me we're about due - we've had it pretty good the last couple of winters.

Most of our snow is gone now at high noon, but the ground was white when we woke up this morning.  It was snowing here as we came home from Burlington yesterday.  There was rain until we got about to the Mollys Falls Dam, and then it became snow, but wasn't sticking much.  That was around dinner time.  The forecast was for "snow at higher elevations," and that's Joe's Pond, usually.

We thought you might like to know that Abel Toll (big island) has had some serious health issues but is now doing very well.  Friends may send their best wishes to Abel at:  P. O. Box 192, Danville VT 05828.  Abel and Kitty are long-time members of Joe's Pond Association and both are very active and supportive.  We all know about Kitty's dedication to serving as our state representative, and the couple's generous support of the whole community.  Our very best wishes to Abel, Kitty and their family for his continued progress.

Upcoming Events at the Jaquith Public Library

All events will be held at the Jaquith Public Library

For info and movie titles: 426-3581   Email: jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com

Website:  www.jaquithpubliclibrary.org

Classic Film Series

First Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

Rick Winston will introduce each film, and afterwards will lead a discussion. For more info contact Tom Blachly at 229-5290 or at blachly@together.net

November 2nd: (2005) Broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow looks to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy. Director: George Clooney. Stars: David Strathairn, George Clooney, and Patricia Clarkson.

Winter Clothing Drive

Saturday, November 5 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Free good quality clothing is available at the Old Schoolhouse Common gym. If you have good quality clothes to donate, please drop them off at the library during the week before the event. Co-sponsored by the Onion River Food Shelf and the Jaquith Public Library.

Intro to Ham Radio Workshop: Wednesday, October 26 at 7 p.m.

This workshop will be hands-on with real radio equipment that works. Come at 3:30 p.m. and see how David and David set-up the equipment. A bow and arrow will be used to get the wire up high in a tree!!

Join David Hale (ham radio operator for 26 years in Central VT) and David Ferland (28 years in Central VT) with their fascinating ham radio equipment and learn about the art of the ham radio. For people of all ages.

Susan Green

Director

Jaquith Public Library

122 School St. RM 2

Marshfield, VT 05658

802-426-3581

Our snow is still with us - sort of.  There are bare patches and with temps in the low 40s it's certainly melting slowly, which is just what we need.  The sun comes out briefly, but mostly it's overcast.  

We had a nice flock of 16 turkeys move through our yard this morning.  They didn't detect us as we tried to get pictures, which is something of a miracle because we still have most of the screens in the windows, and taking pictures through the screens is a challenge.  I finally got a couple of the screens off, but by then they were filing down the tree line between us and Jamie and Marie, and made their way into the woods, heading west.  I found an interesting blog on the National Wildlife Federation site about   wild turkeys.  Click on the images to make them larger.

Also this morning I had an e-mail from George Parizo about the loon chick.  Here's what George wrote:  (George tried a couple of times to send an e-mail last night while watching the football game - and finally decided to wait until morning.)

Hi again -

I will see if I can get this out in one e mail ha ha.  ( no Football on TV this am.)

As I said I saw the baby Loon with an adult yesterday on the big pond and they were very friendly. Ray Richer said in his Loon talks that often times the Mother loon will leave the chick and fly to another body of water close by and return to check on the chick several times before she leaves for good. This is the second time I have seen the chick with an adult since the adults have left Joes pond. Not saying the adult was the mother but it could have been.  George Parizo

Thanks to George we know the young fellow has either his mom or a buddy to hang out with.  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TIME!

Let's Do the Time Warp Again!

Film: Rocky Horror Picture Show

Friday, October 28 at 7 p.m.

Come in a costume if you dare!!

Refreshments will be served
.

Susan Green

Director

Jaquith Public Library

122 School St. RM 2

Marshfield, VT 05658

802-426-3581

As most of us expected, we awoke to a whole different world this morning.  It was snowing lightly and there have been strong, gusty winds most of the morning, but things seem to be quieting down a little now.  The temperature is up to 35 degrees, so the snow will be compacting and eventually melting.  However, with many trees still having leaves, there have been power outages in some areas due to limbs being weighed down over power lines.  It is beautiful, though, and even shoveling off the heavy, wet snow from our deck, it was kind of nice.  I measured four inches of snow, and measured 1.16 inches of precipitation in the measuring tube.  Combined with the nearly two inches of precip we got the day before, we should begin to make up some of the deficit.  The snow will melt slowly and that will let it soak in to do some good rather than just running off into the streams.

I took these pictures a few minutes ago - two of the same views I took yesterday during the rain.  There is little color in our back yard this morning (top picture), and looking towards the pond (bottom) looks mighty dreary and wintery.

I was talking to Bo Keach yesterday, and she wasn't aware that I report precipitation every day to the CommunityCollaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS).  They are based at the university of Colorado and the information volunteers like me provide goes to the Nation Weather Service and other weather-related organizations to assist in various forecasts and calculations.  I volunteered in the spring of 2009, and every day since, have sent off my report.  This is a picture of my equipment for the daily report.  I have two of the glass tubes - one is on the post and the other is the alternate so I have to make only one trip - bring in one to measure, leave the empty one. The four-inch tume has a smaller tube you can see next to the orange ruler that fits inside and there is a funnel that feeds into it.  The inside tube holds the equivalent of one inch of rain.  When that is full, it runs over into the larger tube so I can measure it.  I remove the funnel and inner tube in the winter and report only what snow falls into the larger tube.

When I am away for a few days, I send a multi-day report when I return.  In the winter, I head out every morning to measure new snow depth and bring in a core sample of the snow which I then melt and report the amount of water it contains.   I also report the total depth of snow on the ground each day, and about once a week take a core sample of that.  I'm not quite as faithful about that core sample, but I can measure the depth every morning from our window by the post I have set up in the back yard.  

The first couple of years I did this, we had huge snow amounts - I mean, like four feet in the back yard.  My problem was getting over the snowbanks with my snowshoes to go to a level spot where I could measure.  It was not easy, and as the plowed snowbanks grew, the harder it was for me to climb up and over, hauling all the equipment I needed to cut a core that deep.  I only did it a few times during those winters, but I learned that a 4 inch piece of pvc works pretty well, except it's sometimes hard to keep the snow in it when you pull it back up. It's not rocket science, but it's fun.

So I will now get the post in place in the back yard - I'm sure this snow will melt and I'll be able to do that easily later, and we'll see how this winter goes.

We are getting some much needed rain.  I measured 1.92 inches this morning that had fallen since 9 a.m. yesterday.  We were in St. Johnsbury yesterday morning and there was a short sunny break at one point about the time we were leaving for home, but it didn't last and mostly the whole day was overcast with a misty rain.  Last night, as predicted, we got heavier showers.  Today we're back to misty rain, and it's cooler.  I'm seeing 46.6 degrees with a gusty NNE wind that makes it feel a lot colder, especially with the mist in the air.

Most of the foliage is down except for a few bright yellows of poplars and lower level trees that are sheltered from the wind.   This top photo is from our big living room window looking down at W. Shore Road towards the pond.  You can see there is fog over the pond.  The middle picture is looking down our lower lawn, also towards the pond.  It's beginning to look pretty bare, but on the back side of the house (third picture), we still have some color on the hillside.  The taller trees have lost their foliage.

We are grateful for the rainy weather.  Brooks and rivers in our area have been running very low.  I think the pond has been a bit lower than it would usually be allowed to be, but when there's not much water coming in, it's hard to keep the level up.  This stretch of rainy weather will help, and even if it turns to snow as is predicted, it will all help.

Yesterday when I stopped in at the store in West Danville, Garey gave me a postcard to scan for our West Danville History book.  It was sent on October 21, 1909, to Miss Alice Page in Danville, from her sister, signed only as "S. P. P."  I think Alice was the daughter of Henry and Cordelia "Delia" Page.  Henry worked in the shingle mill.  Alice's older sister, was Sadie, born about 1889.  Alice was born in July of 1891, and was a teacher.  I didn't find Sadie in the 1910 census, so I suspect she was married by then and "Evelyn" with the "awful cold" was probably her daughter.   The catnip she hoped her sister would send would have been made into a poultice to help Evelyn's congestion.  It was an old time remedy used for a lot of things, and apparently worked pretty well.  This shows the front of the postcard.  That is one sick looking puppy!  I wonder if Alice decided she wanted some of those postcards her sister was offering to order for her birthday.  

The postcard was given to Garey by Albert May, or "Sonny" as most of us know him.  He is the son of Albert May, auctioneer, who staged auctions on Saturday evenings years ago at his auction house overlooking Molly's Pond.  This photo shows Albert Sr. in the white shirt and Albert Jr. sitting at the lower right.  The man moving something in back of Albert Sr. is probably "Dude" Thompson.  This picture was not at the Molly's Pond auction, but may have been at Lower Cabot.

Albert's auctions used to be well attended by Joe's Pond folks - the entertainment was great and the bargains many.  Albert Senior was a character, but he was also a shrewd business man who "dickered" on a lot of things - household goods, furniture, arts and crafts, vegetables, livestock or land, and apparently made a decent living at it.  Albert Sr. has been gone for quite a few years, now, and it's been a long time since the auctions.  We are glad Sonny thought to pass the old postcard on to Garey.  It's a nice bit of West Danville history.

The Hidden Half of Nature: Microbial Ecology

Tuesday, October 25 from 7 to 9 p.m.

at the Goddard College Haybarn Theater

MacArthur Fellow and geologist David R. Montgomery and biologist Anne Bikle, authors of The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health will present exciting new information about the microbial ecologies in the soil and in our bodies. Farmers, gardeners, foresters and all those who have a body will find this fascinating. By donation.  Cosponsored by the Cutler Memorial and Jaquith Libraries, Natural Marshfield, and the Conservation Commissions of Marshfield and Plainfield and hosted by Goddard College. 

Contact:

Susan Green

Director

Jaquith Public Library

122 School St. RM 2

Marshfield, VT 05658

802-426-3581

www.jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com

 

 ________________________________

We attended the special town meeting in Cabot tonight to decide if large budget items should be voted by Australian ballot at next March meeting.  This issue has come up before and been rejected.  Tonight the voters turned out in force and both town and school budget items will be by Australian ballot in March.  The main argument against the change was that it would in effect end town meeting as we know it and budget matters would not get thoroughly discussed as has been the case when voted on the floor of the meeting.  One of the main reasons cited for changing the way we vote these items was that it's more democratic because people will be able to vote by absentee ballot, and only Australian ballot items can be voted in absentia; therefore, Cabot residents who are working, indisposed or traveling when March meeting is held will  be able to vote on these important money items.  There will still be meetings to discuss the issues held before the items get on the agenda - and citizens can stay informed by going to those meetings or by reading the minutes of the meetings reported on the town web site and can weigh in with their opinions and be informed before they vote.  

 

Tonight voters met and discussed to pros and cons in a civil, polite, forum and the matters at hand were decided in just about one hour.  No lost tempers, no mean remarks, no ugliness.  Just neighbors voicing opinions in an informed and reasonable tone.  It was good to see.  I was proud of our fellow citizens.  I'm sure many went home disappointed with the results, but I hope they also appreciated it was a fair example of democracy in action - how it should be, but often isn't these days.   

 

We're getting a little rain tonight - very welcome.  Then it's going to get really chilly over the weekend and there are predictions of possible snow showers.  It's time, but most of us aren't quite ready for the beautiful reds and yellows of fall to turn white.

I saw Sue LaGue at the meeting tonight and she mentioned the loon parents have left, but the young loon is still hanging out here.  Sue said his call is different now that he's alone - she's thinking he's missing his parents.  I don't know - maybe he's calling for some other young fellows to join him for the flight to the coast.  We'll never know.  I just hope he takes off before it gets really cold and the pond begins to freeze over. 

A Birthday Wish!

 We want to send a very special birthday wish to Alba Rossi in Barre.  Alba turned 100 a few days ago and had a big birthday party this past weekend!   Alba and her late husband, Ted, were long-time JPA members and Alba continues her connection to Joe's Pond through her son and his wife, Bill and Diane Rossi (West Shore Road).  Here are some photos Diane shared with us.  Alba is certainly looking really beautiful - who'd believe she's 100?!

I'm sure Alba would love to get a card or message from any of her friends at Joe's Pond.  Her address is:  
Mrs. Alba Rossi, Lincoln House, Room 11, 120 Hill Street, Barre, VT 05641.  

It doesn't seem that long ago Alba and Ted were active in Joe's Pond summer gatherings. 
I recall when Fred and I were living year around at our camp at the corner of Barre Avenue and West Shore Road, we were having our septic system upgraded and to do that, the big,  mature cedar hedge along the West Shore Road side of our lot had to be removed.  Alba came along one day as work was progressing, and said she would like to have it to transplant at their camp, just up the road, but she said she had to go home and talk to Ted first.  We were happy that someone on the pond wanted it; however, Ted apparently said a firm "No," and we got a call shortly afterwards from a very disappointed Alba.  The hedge was saved, though - someone on Sandy Beach Road came and got it.  I'm not sure now who it was, but our big old hedge lived on - for a while, at least.  That was at least 30 years ago.  

Happy Birthday, Alba - whatever you're doing to stay young, it's working!

'Tis the season - for voting, that is.  This is an important issue for the Town of Cabot voters to decide, so if you are eligible to vote in this town, please consider going to this brief meeting to express your preference:

 Attention Cabot Voters: OCTOBER 20th

The legal voters of the Town of Cabot are hereby warned and notified to meet in the Cabot School Gymnasium in the Town of Cabot on October 20th, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. to transact the following Town business from the floor, and immediately thereafter, to transact the following School business from the floor:

Convene Town Meeting
Article 1. Shall the voters of the Town of Cabot adopt its Town, Highway and Special Service Appropriations articles by Australian ballot pursuant to 17 V.S.A. § 2680 (c)?
Article 2. To adjourn Town Meeting
Convene Cabot School District Meeting
Article 1. Shall the voters of the Cabot School District adopt its budget article or articles by Australian ballot?
Article 2. To adjourn Cabot School District Meeting

It will probably take less than an hour total to get this done, and it is an important issue, especially for people who live here but are away for Town Meeting in March, as so many of our Joe's Pond folks are, so are unable to vote on these important budget items.  You have to go to this meeting in person to cast your vote, so remind your neighbors and take a few minutes to vote.

As I was writing this I had a call from Joey Calcagni, North Shore Road.  Joey said there is a rubber raft type float in the cove just off the JPA boating access, off shore from about the Sanguinetti camp.  He said it blew in Friday night and seems to be anchored there.  It may have come from the Channel Drive area, so if you may have had one on your lawn or dock that is missing, that's where it is.  Give Joey a call, 802-684-3835, and he will retrieve it for you if you don't have a boat in the water.  And thanks to Joey for letting us know about that.

We are beginning to see more leaves on the ground than on the trees now - especially on the hillsides where the wind hits.  Our day is a some sun, some clouds sort of mix, but there is a warmth in the south wind that makes us hopeful we'll get a little rain.  A "little" rain is what is in the forecast, but every little bit will help. 

I heard some old-timer say recently that a dry summer forecasts a winter with lots of snow.  We can only hope.  But not too much, please.  Last winter we really didn't have much at all, and in some ways that was kind of nice; but we do need the moisture in the ground to replenish our water supplies - we just don't need storm after storm after storm dumping snow by feet instead of inches each swipe.  Fred took these pictures on his way to Cabot Apple Pie Festival yesterday.   And here is a nice piece done by the Times Argus about Saturday's Apple Pie Festival.

The picture below was taken on West Shore Road on Friday - that is Shelly Walker's new garage across the road from her home.  She will be so glad she has a garage come winter!  She's all set for her first winter at Joe's Pond.  I know she's looking forward to living here - she will have lots of entertainment watching the ice fishermen and snowmobiles in a few more weeks, I expect.  And she'll be so glad her car is tucked into a nice garage instead of sitting out in the weather.  I remember the days of having to clean snow and ice off the windshield before heading off to work most mornings.  We do appreciate having a garage now.

I'm spending a very quiet day today - not what I'd planned by any means, but when I bent down to tie my shoes this morning, my back caught and no manner of stretches unhinged it.  It happens every now and then - usually when I have a full schedule of activity planned, like I do this week.  I'm comfortable at my computer, so that is where I'll concentrate my energy today instead of outside doing last-minute yard work before winter.  Most of it is done and except for wrapping some of our small trees and bushes to protect them from wind and crushing snow, everything else can remain undone until spring.

I am sorry to learn of the passing of Eleanor (Walbridge) Blondin, mother of Cheryl Semprebon (Old Homestead Rd.).   Our deepest sympathy goes to Cheryl and her family.  Condolences may be sent to Cheryl at 1616 McGlynn Rd, Graniteville VT 05654.

Eleanor was born and raised in Cabot, the daughter of Fred and Thelma Walbridge, who lived at Maple Glen, a lovely farm on the Cabot Plains Road.  That farm is now owned by the Burtt family.  It is no longer a dairy farm as it was when Eleanor was a girl; it now has a thriving apple business and the cattle that roam the hillside are beef cattle.   The Burtts continue making maple syrup - Maple Glen was renowned for their maple orchard and "sugaring-off parties" when friends would gather in the spring to sample the sweet, thick maple syrup drizzled on packed, clean snow.  There were crisp sour cucumber pickles to "cut the sweet," and lots of good humor at these parties.   This is a picture of one of the parties at the Walbridge sugar house in Eleanor's grandfather, Payson's day.  This color photo is of the sugar woods in Eleanor's father's time.  You can see the stumps of trees that were cut to allow space, light and air to enhance  production in the spring and allow for movement with a team or tractor to gather the sap.  This was in the 1950s, before the use of plastic tubing.

We have good news from Sam and Judy Lewis in South Carolina:

 Arrived home in Pawleys Island, SC to find no damage to the house.  Lots of tree debris.  We lose the contents of the refrigerator from the prolonged power outage.  We saw a few trees down on top of houses but all in all, very little damage in our area. All this is amazing as it appears that the storm's eye passed over or near us and the winds were very high.  A Myrtle Beach weather station reported winds over 90 mph.  To the north in North Carolina is a different story because while the storm was weakening and turning to sea, it dumped a lot of rain.  A breach of a dam and stream flooding caused many to be evacuated from areas where they sought shelter from what was predicted to be a coastal storm event.

I'm glad they didn't have serious damage.  I haven't heard about any damage from any of our Joe's Ponders who have winter homes in the southern states.  I guess everyone is ok, or if they were hard hit, they have been busy taking care of themselves and their homes and haven't had a chance to check in.  I hope everyone is safe.

I was just outside to take a couple of photos of the foliage and just as I rounded the corner of the house, the wind picked up and leaves were floating down all around me.  I had noticed that the tops of hills seem to have lost their "glow," so the wind has taken a toll.  I would say we are past peak in most places now.  I'm still enjoying the colors on the hillside in back of our house, but it isn't as bright as it was this weekend.  I'm sad to see the colors fading, but now we can look forward to the tamaracks and oaks turning, and that's always pretty, too.

Don't forget the Apple Pie Festival in Cabot this Saturday, and also the pot luck supper in St. Johnsbury for the benefit of the Kingdom Animal Shelter.  Click on the images for details.

 

Clinton/Trump Duet!

I love starting the day off with a chuckle.  This morning it came by way of an e-mail from son Bob (Wells Fargo in St. Johnsbury and  local "Hit Men" band).  Bob wanted me to listen to Hilary and The Donald's vocal performance at the debate, in case we missed it.  Be sure you have your speakers turned on.  Take a look:  LINK

Expect Frost on the Joe's Pond Pumpkins Tonight!

Better haul in any tender posies tonight - it's going to be freezing cold - literally.  It was close last night with a low of 34 degrees here.  I'm watching the thermometer drop now the sun has dipped below the hill.  It's been cold and windy all day, even when the sun was out, but now it's 41 and falling.  The wind will likely die down as the sun goes down, and that spells FROST.

We can't complain about the weather OR about the foliage this fall.  A friend of mine who lives here and should be somewhat immune to the striking colors said she had to "pull over on Route 215 just to gawk," yesterday.   I know what she means.  I stand in front of the window in our living room and gawk at the display outside.  It's like someone has photo-shopped the universe.  Being surrounded by such beauty takes a little of the ugliness out of reality.  What we have thrown at us in the news every day isn't made better, but we at least have some balance.  

Our meeting of the West Danville History Committee was rescheduled from today to next week, so I've had a day "off." Speaking of a day off, this being Columbus Day, there was no mail, town offices were closed, etc.  The news this noon had an item that surprised me - Governor Shumlin made a proclamation to change "Columbus Day" in Vermont to "Indigenous People's Day."  That made me want to find out more, so I first looked up Columbus Day, and that was another surprise.  I had no idea so many places have changed the name.  Seems logical to me, though.  Why not honor the people who lost so much when the foreigners came?  

Hope you had a great Indigenous People's Day!

I came over Cabot Plain from Cabot Village a few minutes ago.  There is a lot of activity on Cabot Plains Road - cars stopped by the cemetery and people roaming in the field near the covered bridge.  Most of the cars had out-of-state plates, but some were Vermonters.  

Down at Burtt's Apple Orchard, there were dozens of cars and lots of people milling about.   They have more than apples for sale - I saw lots of pumpkins, squash and corn.  I didn't take many pictures because there was no sun and too much traffic.  I did get this one as I approached the flat by Cabot Plains School.  The clouds were what caught my attention.  For those of you who may be new to the blog, the farm in the picture is where I was born and brought up.  Of course the whole area has changed considerably over the years, but in some ways not at all.  There are bushes growing along both sides of the "flat" now so it's beginning to look like it did when I was walking back and forth to school.  I think sometime in the 1940's the town built up the road so it wouldn't be so muddy, and the trees and bushes on both sides were completely gone for decades.  Now they are growing back.  I haven't looked closely to see if there are hazel nut, choke cherry and apple trees like we used to have - along with various scrub brush, of course.  There were also remnants of a stone wall on the south side of the road, as I remember.  

The Maynard farm is completely gone; the house I lived in just below the farm has been completely rehabbed and looks only slightly like it did back in my day.  The school is a summer home, and although the fields have been mowed, there is no sign of farming going on.  Not like the old days.  

It's still a

pretty spot, and I can see why my great grandfather put down roots there, building a house on one side of the road and a barn on the other.  My grandfather replaced the original barn with a bigger one in 1921. That barn withstood the 1938 hurricane except that the hi-drive blew over, and then it caught fire in the summer of 1969 and burned to the ground.  My uncle, Bill Bolton, was farming there then, and he built the present barns and twin silos.  The farm passed from him briefly to his son, Bill, and then was sold to Joe Sousa.  Joe died a few years ago, and that was the end of farming on a regular basis.  Now the property is rented from time to time, but not farmed in the usual way.  Still, it's a great spot, Cabot Plain.

Here is a note from Sam Lewis with more details about their situation waiting out the storm in South Carolina:
 We are safe in Greenville, South Carolina which is almost 200 miles inland.  The storm is just north of Charleston so has not passed our home in Pawleys Island. So far there has been 8-10 inches of rain and high winds. More rain is expected.  It is not likely we will be allowed to return to see our home ( roughly 2 miles from  beach) until Monday. Don't know what to expect, but flooding, tree damage and power outages are likely.

I can only imagine the anxiety for Sam and Judy.  Wherever you choose to live, there are trade-offs, I think.  We will be anxious to know how Pawleys Island and their home fared in the storm, and I'll post any information from them and any others who get in touch as they weather the hurricane.

We finally had a short shower earlier this afternoon.  It wet things down, but really only brought out the beautiful foliage colors more without actually doing much good to the ground.  We have had a serious dry spell in some parts of the state, and although it doesn't seem too bad here at Joe's Pond, the overall water table needs to be replenished.  We didn't have as much snow last year as we normally do, and not much rain all summer, so if we don't get some real rainy weather, we could have some water shortages going on.  It's ironic that a few hundred miles south of us there's altogether too much water falling from the sky.  We can't place an order from a big weather menu, so all we can do is hope for the best.

I had a note from Sam & Judy Lewis, formerly of Sandy Beach Road.  Judy said they are waiting out the storm 200 miles inland from their home on Pawley's Island, South Carolina.  On a happier note, Judy sent these photos of their eldest son Dan's wedding on September 30 to Jenn Berns, in Colorado.   It seems like only a short time ago we were seeing Dan jogging along West Shore Road.  We wish the young couple the best - it looks like a lovely wedding - handsome couple. 

On the right is Sam and Judy with the bride and groom - a pretty handsome couple, themselves! Then  Sam and Dan together, and finally, a shot of one of the centerpieces for the tables at the reception.  Very nice.
 
Click on the images to make them larger.
 As you know, Sam and Judy recently sold their home on Sandy Beach Road to James and Gretchen Farnsworth, and now live on Pawley's Island, S. C.  The Farnsworths are in the process of selling their home in Moretown, Vermont, and will become year 'rounders at Joe's Pond in the spring of 2017.

Thanks to Judy for sharing the wedding photos, and we're thinking of them and all the other people along the southeastern coast who have been impacted by Hurricane Matthew.  We hope to have word from other Joe's Ponders who are there now or that own property there.  

We went with friends Tuesday to Polly's Pancake Parlor for lunch.  Fans of Polly's know the building we'd known and loved for years on Sugar Hill was taken down about a year ago and a new, larger building built to replace it.  It is nearly identical to the original, but much more spacious and substantial.  We liked that there was the same ambiance - the same old photos and artifacts decorating the walls, and it felt very familiar, like being with an old friend.  The building is much more weather tight, and there is better parking and access.  We had a great lunch and never felt rushed or crowded like we sometimes did at the old place.  The food was very good - this was the first time I'd ever had anything except pancake there, but my home-made vegetable soup and turkey sandwich were super good.  Fred had pancakes, and said they were even better than he remembered.  

There seemed to be a steady stream of people coming in, and the service was very fast - plus all the staff we spoke with (and between the four of us, we talked to lots of them!) were exceptionally upbeat.  A lady taking care of the flowers outside said everyone working there was "like family."  They surely all seemed to be happy.  Not that the staff in years past was any different, but along with the newness of the place and considering how busy they are, I was impressed.  If you go, call ahead to let them know when you will arrive.  We did, and had no wait at all.  I don't think the wait would have been too long had we not called ahead since we were there on a Tuesday. It's probably a whole different scene on weekends.

It was fun and even though the day was cloudy, there was some very nice foliage along the way.  Not like today here in our area, but certainly nice.  Our foliage is entering the realm of  spectacular this week.  I took this just a few minutes ago as the sun was going down.  This is looking towards Davidson Drive above Route 15.  You can see just a tiny bit of blue water that's Joe's Pond between the trees.  Once the leaves are off, we will be able to see more of the pond again, but for now it's out of sight for us.

We're thinking of friends who live on the east coast of Florida tonight.  The forecast is for hurricane Matthew to hit there tonight or tomorrow a.m., and it will travel up the coast of Georgia and South Carolina before moving out to sea, hopefully.  This could be a really damaging and dangerous storm, according to predictions.

Remedies for Anxiety and Sleep: Friday, October 7 at 7 p.m.

 Join Baylen Slote of Black Turtle TCM for a dynamic evening of conversation and practice. Drawing on the tradition of Tao, Baylen will share a variety of holistic healing tools that can help balance the body of anxiety and facilitate deep and restful sleep. Discussion will include acupressure points and herbal home remedies. Practice of simple Qi gong exercises will be followed by Q &A over tea. All are welcome! QUESTIONS & MORE At the Jaquith Public Library, 122 School Street in Marshfield. For INFO: contact baylen e-mail: black@turtleTCM.com phone: 310-1400.

--

Susan Green

Director

Jaquith Public Library

122 School St. RM 2

Marshfield, VT 05658

802-426-3581

This gorgeous picture was sent this morning from our new neighbors, James and Gretchen Farnsworth, who recently bought the Sam and Judy Lewis home on Sandy Beach Road.  Many thanks to the Farnsworths for sharing - they are just beginning to experience the joys of living on Joe's Pond, and I've very happy to welcome them here. 

 Old Sim Whittier would appreciate how beautiful his island still is, I'm sure.

I had a comment looking for information about the Dubray family in Danville.  I know there were Dubrays in Cabot - but not sure about any in Danville.  If you know, let me know (janebrown@fairpoint.net) and I'll post the information.  Also, if the person who made the inquiry will contact me directly so I have an e-mail address to respond, I may be able to help with information on the Cabot Dubrays.

Sorry about the double posting - sometimes my computer goes off on a tangent.  A while back it was freezing up on me - it does that sometimes when I have too many programs running at the same time and then ask it to do something crucial and it gets overwhelmed, I guess.  I have no patience - Fred keeps telling me, "Wait - give it time," but sometimes it's slower than molasses in January, and that's when my fingers go out of control trying any key that might work.  I know, the computer isn't the problem, I am.  

Speaking of computers - we had an unusual call around lunch time today.  The caller was supposedly from Hewlett-Packard.  Fortunately, Fred answered the phone and the caller told Fred he was calling to correct something on Fred's computer - he needed to delete something or other.  When Fred questioned him, the guy gave his name and quoted a number that he said was the computer number, making it all sound very legitimate.  Fred told him he couldn't work with him then but asked for a job number so he could contact him later through the service center, and the call ended.  When Fred got in touch with the service center, there was no such person and they confirmed our suspicion that it was a bogus call - someone trying to hack into the computer or get information from us that they could use later.  

Then tonight on the news there was a warning that people are being targeted by these scammers offering to fix a problem we don't have.  Here's a link explaining what they do and how they do it.  On the newscast tonight, they said it is very difficult to find and stop this sort of thing - the perpetrators are skillful at making these calls sound absolutely legitimate, and there's no way to trace them because they use cell phones.  I looked up the 800 number and sure enough, it was a mobile phone located someplace in Kansas.

Older folks like us are more likely to be targeted - we're not supposed to be as savvy as the younger crowd.  It's amazing how much information is available on the web about nearly everyone these days, and that's great sometimes, but it makes all of us vulnerable to these scams, so we need to be smart about being part of the internet. Also, it's easy to pick up a virus or "worm" and we'd never know until our compute failed and by that time we could have spread it to everyone on our e-mail list - here's a link that explains. 

That's why I don't open or forward messages that have a long string of "forwards" attached and we make sure our firewalls and anti-virus programs are up to date.  I say "we" - it's actually Fred who keeps our computers safe.  I mostly just do the cussing when things slow down.

I just received some photos from Jodie Rouleau on Sandy Beach Road.  Take a look at this slide show of our Joe's Pond Resident Eagle.

The colors are beginning to really pop now - that eagle seemed to be cruising over the pond and enjoying the view.  Small animals watch out!  This guy is big.  Jodie said she spotted the eagle when she was outside with Ella, her dog.  It settled in one of the big trees on Pearl Island.  I can't tell if there's a nest there or not, but as Jodie said, it looked very comfortable up there.  Thanks to Jodie for sharing these shots.  Really nice.

 We have a lot going on in the Kingdom these days.  Tomorrow is Danville's "Autumn on the Green," and check your local papers for other fun events this weekend.



I'm reminding you of the supper a week from tonight because there is limited seating for that one - see the poster above, "Treasure Island Chicken Dinner."

Then of course there's the Cabot Apple Pie Festival the following Saturday (Oct. 15th) and you won't want to miss that.  You'll have time to go from there to the Dime-A-Dip Pot Luck supper in St. Johnsbury, to benefit Kingdom Animal Shelter.  That supper starts at 5 p.m., and you'll be treated to Bill Tobin's music.  Very nice. 

 The weather isn't quite as nice as it has been, but I think you can still enjoy most things, even the outdoor events.  There is a little mist in the air, but no downpour.  The colors in the maples are still nice - perhaps even enhanced by the damp weather.  As you can see, there is lots of color, even on a dreary day.  I just took these a few minutes ago.  Click to make them larger.