We are in winter mode, but not a lot of snow is expected, at least not right away. Yesterday was overcast much of the day, and the thermometer didn't get out of the teens. We were in Burlington - for me to see retina specialist, Dr. Kim for my macular degeneration - and we were surprised that there's not much snow around at all up there. It was just as cold there as it was here, though. 
     Today is not much warmer, but we did have bright sunshine at the start of the day. The temperature has risen a bit - it's 20 degrees now and we're expecting snow momentarily. However, it was really nice to have sunshine, even with lot temps. Our cat, Woody, seems to equate sunshine with going outside, and wants to test every door to the outside to see if one of them leads to warmer weather. He was such a bother I finally had to put him down cellar for a while in order to get any peace. He uses a low, guttural howl sometimes - often outside our bedroom door when he wants to come in - and that was what he was doing today. He has a little Siamese blood in him, and it shows up in that howl, I think. Very irritating, but it does get our attention. Not only that, but every time I opened any door at all, he raced to go through it. He came sliding around the dining room table and crashed into a chair leg when he though I was going to open the back door, and I lost count of the number of times he came racing into the kitchen as I was trying to get morning work done - every time he thought he heard a door opening. I let him out numerous times, but each time it was too cold, of course, so he was back within minutes, knocking to come in. After twenty minutes or so in the cellar, he calmed down and spent some time gazing longingly out the window from his bench in the living room. I think the squirrels were active today and that may be part of what got him going. Or maybe it was a turkey. Hard to tell. Usually he sniffs the cold air and backs away, but today he seemed to have a mission outside, but it was too cold for him to accomplish it.
     I heard from Dave Parker that he got his snow machine out of the pond right away - last Monday, actually. He said he had a dive team retrieve it. Our resident diver, Jim Bernotas, had offered to help if needed when he got back here in the spring, but I suspect the sooner something like that is retrieved, the better - for the machine and for the lake environment. We're all just happy Dave wasn't hurt.
      Fred is making good progress. He went with me to Burlington for my eye appointment yesterday, and drove me home. Because I have both eyes dilated and have a shot in one, alternating each time I go, it's usually an hour or so before I would feel confident to drive. Fred made it just fine, but was very tired when we got home. We had taken a short run to Marty's on Monday to see how it would go, driving for the first time since the operation, and it went fine, so he wanted to give going with me a try. Of course, this would be the time the doctor was running behind schedule and I had a two hour wait to see him. Because there is so much flu going around, Fred waited in the car. The waiting room was very crowded, so I'm sure it was a wise decision for him to not go in with me. He said he had a nice nap while waiting for me.
     We hadn't been over the new section of Route 2 by Goodrich's Sugar House for a while, so it was a surprise to see how much the road has been elevated. That stretch is through a cedar swamp with a brook meandering through, and I expect it was a good decision to raise the road in case the brook floods. Once the bridge is finished by Folsom's barn, that stretch of highway will be greatly improved. There have been many accidents there over the years, and during the flood, "Irene," the bridge was seriously compromised, and a  temporary bridge was installed. The new one will be a huge improvement.
     Thank you all for your continued interest in Fred's progress. We are keeping a low profile because he needs lots of rest and we also don't want to bump into any nasty flu bugs. But he's exercising regularly, eating better and making progress each day, so in a couple of months he should be close to feeling normal.
 
     

The weather here at Joe's Pond has caused another casualty. Fella Buttura slipped on the ice Friday and shattered his ankle. No, he wasn't out on the pond - apparently he was on his way into the house. It only takes a minute and one miss-step. 
     Nancy Buttura sent me these photos, taken by Jenny Rafuse about two weeks ago, she said. These two planes flew over the pond and landed on the first pond, the pilots went to Three Ponds for coffee and then left. I bet the folks at Three Ponds never expected customers to be flying in. Snow machines, boats and bicycles, yes, but who'd guess people would fly here?! It just proves you never know what's going to happen around here.
     One thing we can be pretty sure of is that the rain has pretty much ruined skiing until we get more snow. I'm sure there's man-made snow, but underneath it's pretty solid ice in lots of spots. Our driveway was glare ice this morning after it rained last night. Jamie came with his tractor with chains on and broke it up some and scooped away some of the chunks so our driveway is navigable. I was out this afternoon breaking up the thick coating of ice on our deck. I didn't measure it, but in some places it was at least an inch thick. And it was heavy! But I was able to scoot it off the deck easily once it broke into big slabs. Probably didn't do my cedar shrubs any favors - it's leaning against them - but I didn't want to chance falling in order to fix that. There is a hard crust on the snow and I don't know whether it would hold me or not, but either way, it would have been hard to get to them and I'm sure they'll survive ok.
I was thinking as I saw the gleaming crust under the sun today, how much fun I had when I was a kid sliding on the crust. We used to hope for tough crusts like this, and would haul out all sorts of stuff to slide on - cardboard boxes were a favorite, although sometimes we'd use a toboggan. Sleds were sometimes ok, but lots of times the runners would cut through the crust and we'd take a spill. Sometimes we didn't use anything, but that was tough on the seats of our snowsuits. It was great fun, though.





     

Having been gone for over two weeks, I'm still catching up on reading the Caledonian Record. This morning I had a message from Tom Dente (JPA president) with a link to a story in yesterday's paper. Tom keeps close track of these things! The story is about our friend and former JPA social director, Dave Parker, having the misfortune to sink his snowmobile in the pond. Click HERE for the complete story.
     I know Dave knows Joe's Pond extremely well, having spent many summers here. He is now making this his permanent, year-around home, so this is his first winter living on the pond. I'm pretty sure he would be aware of the dangers of going through the ice at the narrows, but since these past several winters have had unusual weather patterns, alternating deep cold and higher than normal temperatures, it may well be that the rules that applied just a few years ago are no longer reliable. We try to warn snowmobilers not to go near narrows or where brooks or the channel enter into the pond, as the ice may not be safe there. It's hard to know where the thin spots are or how far reaching they are. After a rain, the warmer, faster-flowing water rushes into the pond and cuts a swath into the ice, and therein lies the danger. There can be thin spots almost anywhere on the pond, depending on what's going on under the ice - a spring, currents that change over time - all making the ice unreliable. 
     We are very glad Dave is ok. It could have been a serious accident. It's too bad the machine went in, but apparently Dave acted quickly and jumped free in time to save himself from a really cold dip.What Dave probably hasn't escaped is some good-natured ribbing from neighbors and fellow JPA members, come summer.

While I was in Boston with Fred, Mary Whitcomb sent some very nice photos. She is very clever with her camera, and has a lot of wildlife near her home. Mary said she was amazed one morning to watch a beautiful Red Fox chasing one of her big grey squirrels all over her lower lawn, but never catching it.  She managed to get a great shot of the fox and sent the picture to Bryan Pfeiffer . He used it on his website where he discussed point and shoot cameras. 
     Mary is busy and watchful. She also got some great shots of unusual birds - a Cooper's  Hawk high in a birch tree in the top photo, well camouflaged. With some zoom, she got a closeup, below.  Click on the images to make them larger. 
     Below the hawk pictures are to more unusual specimens. She said she thought it might be a Snowy Bunting, but Bryan Pfeiffer identified it as a leucistic American Goldfinch. Here's Mary's story:

On January 8, I spotted a Cooper’s Hawk in the tallest tree behind my house (see it in top of tree in first pic) and in the 2nd pic, I zoomed in so much that it’s a “grainy” one, but wanted to see it better.  Then on the morning of the 18th, it was back.  It hung out for almost 2 hours in that tall tree & didn’t bother the birds eating on my deck and feeders.  You can imagine how surprised I was to actually see it land at 2:30 p.m. in the crab apple tree about 15’ from my living room window later that day!!!   . . . All this week, instead of my usual 6 to 8 Goldfinches, I’ve had about 50 of them & they eat a lot of sunflower seeds.  Yesterday, I had 2 more exciting surprises!!  . . . I wasn’t sure what the “white” bird was, so I wrote to ask Bryan Pfeiffer.  It had the same beak, and wings & tail as the American Goldfinch, but white with a small bit of yellow???? 

     Fred and I are very glad to be home and have settled back into a routine. Woody, or cat, can't quite bring himself to be very far away from one or the other of us. He keeps a watchful eye on every move we make, and still talks to us a lot. No more low, mournful howls last night, so I think he's accepting that we're still here, even if he cannot see and be with us. He was such a bother when the visiting nurse came today to see Fred, I had to put him down cellar. He's sometimes just too friendly - and inquisitive. 
     Several sad things happened while we were gone. Our good friend, Bill Jones, lost his lovely wife, Janet, on January 10th. We got to know Bill very well when he built our deck last summer, and enjoyed meeting Janet very much. We were shocked and saddened when she became ill, and our thoughts have been with Bill and their family often during the past weeks.
     Jane Larrabee had to be hospitalized with the flu recently. When we came home Thursday, I spoke to Garey in the store and he said she is home and doing well, but is avoiding people as much as possible because she's still vulnerable. Garey said he is trying to recover from pneumonia. Lots of stuff going around, and for that reason, we are being particularly careful, too, as Fred is vulnerable and I certainly cannot afford to be sick.
     Lorna Brown, daughter of Marjorie and the late Thelbert Brown of St. Johnsbury, passed away after a short illness. I knew Lorna's parents well when I worked in the St. Johnsbury school system years ago. Marjorie still owns land near Channel Drive, I believe. I was shocked to learn about Lorna.
     Close neighbors had to make the very painful decision to put down their dog, a sibling to Jamie and Marie's Otto, and we know how difficult that can be. Our animals are like family, and sometimes they become closer than family over the years. But we have to consider the welfare of the animal and do what is best for them, especially when they are in pain and there's nothing more  that can be done. 
     We are expecting rain tonight, and then we'll no doubt slip into cold weather again and icing. That seems to be the theme for this winter so far. Today has been nice, a mild 40 degrees, with lots of wind. My thermometer is registering 36, so when it rains, it may freeze on the cold surfaces.

Well, here I am again - so sorry for the huge gap in entries. Some of you know that Fred was scheduled for an operation at Tufts Medical Center in Boston on January 11. We had to leave on the 9th to get to pre-op appointments, etc., so we loaded up my laptop with what we thought was everything I'd need while in Boston, and off we went. However, something didn't work as planned and I could not access my account on blogger.com on the laptop. I apologize for not at least letting you know we were leaving Joe's Pond and why so you would not be left wondering what happened. We thank all of you who sent emails asking if we were ok and letting me know you weren't finding any new posts. We so much appreciate your concern and that so many follow the blog and miss it! Who knew?
     In addition, for some reason, many of your email messages did not reach me on the laptop, so I wasn't able to explain my absence until today. I think I have covered most of those, but if you didn't get a personal reply to your inquiry, know that it was not intentional - just that there are so many (and lots of junk mail to sort through, as well) I have been somewhat overwhelmed by it all.
     A quick update on Fred. He is doing very well. The operation on January 11 was extensive - he was in the operating room from nine in the morning until about four that afternoon. Major surgery and in Intensive Care Unit for a couple of days, then in hospital until Saturday, January 20th. He was released to Neely House, living quarters for patients and family or care giver within the hospital complex. So he had visiting nursing care for the next three days until we left yesterday. We were fortunate to be able to check into Neely House when we arrived on the 9th and I lived there until Fred was released to come home yesterday - actually a day earlier than we'd expected, but the doctor was able to see him on Wednesday and cleared us to leave. 
     At Neely House, I was less than five minutes away from his hospital room and able to visit whenever I wanted to. I got a pretty good schedule going so that I spent two or three hours with him each morning and afternoon, and could bring him food from restaurants within the hospital complex. He tried using the hospital food service, but food wasn't tasting good so I brought "goodies" to supplement - mac and cheese, oatmeal, beef stew, chocolate cupcakes, Dunkin' Doughnuts - whatever. His appetite is still not up to what it used to be (taste buds were singed by the previous chemo treatments), but we're getting there. I think it will get better quickly now that we're home.
     Long story short, he's doing fine, exercising what he can and trying hard to eat to keep his weight up and hopefully eventually gaining some. We expect to have a visiting nurse come tomorrow to evaluate him and then we'll see what he needs; but we're doing just fine as near as I can tell, so may not require much assistance.
     It was a long but very pleasant experience for both of us in Boston. Fred was never in much distress, and while I was under lots of stress, especially at the beginning, I had the advantage of being able to be close by and lots of very kind people willing to help if I needed it. I spent many hours on my laptop, working on the West Danville history book and keeping family in the loop. Each day I could see progress in Fred's condition, and at no time was he hurting, but he was and is, exhausted. 
     I also read two novels, one "Here's to Us," by Elin Hilderbrand, and the other by author Reed Farrel Colman, "The Devil Wins." This is the second book Colman has written to continue the Jesse Stone stories (Tom Selleck is Jesse Stone in the TV adaptations). I thoroughly enjoyed both books - but confess I chose them at random from the library at Neely House. I had taken some yarn and needles, but knit up the whole ball during the first few days, and had to find something else to take with me when I visited Fred. He did lots of sleeping during my "watch" - so it was a perfect chance to read. I normally don't pick up a book to read because when I get started, I never want to put it down until I've finished reading it, therefore a lot of other things get left undone.
     We are home now, and I'll be posting regularly. There's lots of catching up to do, and I'll attempt that this weekend. I have a wonderful photo from Mary Whitcomb to share, and there some West Danville/Joe's Pond news to catch you up. Again, thank you all for your concerns and for your patience and loyalty to the blog. I will try to make up the long absence as soon as possible. Later.

P.S. - several of you have asked how Woody, our cat, did while we were gone. Jamie and Marie cared for him, so he had company for a little while each day, but apparently he DID miss us! Sometimes when we've been gone only a couple of days, he ignores us completely, giving us lots of attitude. Yesterday when we got home, he followed us everywhere, meowing all the time. He's never been a talkative cat, but he sure was yesterday, and even in the night. He sat outside our bedroom door and bawled long, low, mournful howls several times during the night. We felt sorry for him, but didn't respond, so each time it lasted only a few minutes and then he gave up. He was happy to see us this morning, and is still in fearful mode, following us sometimes if he loses track of where either of us is. I think he really missed us this time!
 

The deep cold has left our area, but we're presently getting more snow. At 20 degrees above zero, it felt like spring today! Tonight the roads will be a little slick with the new snow - about two or three inches, I'd guess. It has been pretty steady most of the day, although some areas got only snow flurries, according to the weather report this noon. We spoke with middle son, Bob, in St. Johnsbury around noon and he said it was snowing hard there. It had all but stopped here, but then picked up again. At least there's been very little wind, so whatever has fallen is staying in place.
     We watched the Golden Globes last night for a while. I was impressed with the Me, Too/Time's Up solidarity--the women in black made a remarkable statement. In addition to that, I thought almost all the women seemed to be dressed more conservatively than usual. It may have been just the lack of splashy color I was noticing, but over all I thought there were some very beautiful, striking outfits on the stage. I did not tune in early enough to catch people on the red carpet. Although many of the men seemed to be on board by wearing black, I didn't hear any male winners mention gender inequality or anything about sexual assault. I suspect many of them are holding their breath. It will be interesting to see what ET has to say this evening about last night's award ceremony. This is a huge cultural turn-around that's been simmering for years, and no doubt will be difficult for many men and women to personally navigate and change. I'm sure there are women in the business world and otherwise, who will need to revise their thinking, as well.
     If you're driving tonight or tomorrow morning, do be careful. I know there are lots of skiers and boarders who will be heading to the slopes to take advantage of the new snow and warmer temps, and we wish them well. The cold weather has put a crimp in plans for lots of outdoor sports, but that is finally over, at least for a few days. Travel safely, and enjoy.
    
     

One more awfully cold day behind us, but tomorrow it should begin to warm up a little. Today was again below zero all day, or at least every time I looked. I admit I didn't bother to check very often. Seeing those negative numbers gets old quickly.
     I had a note from Mary Whitcomb (remember Clem, the misplaced Baltimore oriole?) and some photos of birds at her feeder today. Keep in mind that in addition to it being cold, it was snowing and blowing, so there was lots of snow in the air and it no doubt made flying conditions a little dicey, even for birds. Here's what Mary wrote:

Hello Jane,  I am hoping that when this deep freeze ends Sunday, it is the last one for this winter.  Take a look at these poor birds.  I shoveled off my deck and put out lots of sunflower seeds by 7 this morning and within a minute these snow covered birds showed up and ate hungrily.  It took a few hours for them to shed the freezing crystals on their feathers.  I had to shovel again later as a very light snow fell plus the wind was blowing snow something fierce, plus I threw out more seeds to keep them well supplied.  Take care & keep warm!  Mary

Wow, I have never seen frost-covered birds before! At least these guys are all native to our cold climate. Still, this weather must be hard on them, especially since it's been so very cold for so long. It's a good thing they have Mary's feeder and that she looks after them all so well. I noticed a peanut in this last photo, so I guess the squirrels and chippies get special treats, too! Good work, Mary!
 

Well, another day in the deep freeze and then perhaps we'll get some relief. This has been a blustery, miserably cold day with a little more snow and a lot more wind. The thermometer hasn't been above zero once all day, although at one point it was just zero. It is now minus seven and headed downward.
     I was out at 9 a.m. to measure new snow depth and I always shovel off the deck as long as I'm out there. It was bracing, to put the best spin on the experience. The wind was swirling snow off the roof and there were mini drifts along the outer area of the deck. The snow was piled against the door about 18 inches up. It was hard to get a measurement that was anywhere near accurate because of the drifting, but I settled for eight inches. I suspect we actually got more and much of it was swept away by the time I got out there. The snow was a good deal heavier than it has been, due to the wind packing it, I expect. We probably gained another couple of inches during today. It has snowed lightly all day - or perhaps it was just coming off trees and roofs - hard to tell, but it was gloomy enough so there had to be new snow falling as well.
     We had planned to have a meeting at the Danville Historical Society this morning, but we all agreed it was silly to go out on the highways if we really didn't need to. I have been working on the West Danville book, honing more chapters for our editor to look at.
     In between, I've made a couple of dashes outside, but didn't stay long. Fred took the snowblower out to try to trim up the sides of our driveways a little, and to test his new windshield. It's a vinyl three-sided, covered "cab" made mostly of clear vinyl that does keep the snow off and protects from the wind pretty well, but Fred says he can't see worth a darn. Visibility is cut down way too much and it's difficult to tell where you're going with the thing. That is not a good thing, especially around the deep ditches we have. Fortunately, he really doesn't need to use it because Jamie is keeping us plowed out just fine. I think he really just wanted to test drive it with the new shield on. He was well chilled by the time he got back inside. No weather for man or beast out there these days.
     I hope everyone has plenty of fuel, both for heating their home and in their vehicle. Not a good time to run short for either one. I think everyone is tired of the cold and about ready for a January thaw. So then we'll probably break some records for high temperatures! I say, Bring it on!

We came out of the deep freeze today, at least for a little while. We had beautiful--and very welcome--sunshine, and the temperature rose to 18 above or so in most places. We went to Littleton to have the car checked before heading out for Boston next week, and it seemed to be warmer there than in St. Johnsbury. The wind was still pretty cold, but it wasn't blowing hard, and with the sun shining, it was really very pleasant.
     On our way home, we took some pictures so we'll have some "before and after" shots, since we're expecting quite a bit more snow tomorrow. Friday looks like it could be a pretty wild day with snow and wind--blizzard conditions. We'll see how it all plays out. This first picture is Railroad Street, at the intersection with Concord Avenue at around 1 o'clock this afternoon, and the next one was at Price Chopper parking lot. Plenty of snow around. Streets tended to be a little slippery when we were heading out this morning, but by afternoon, it was warm enough for the salt to work.

     Here at Joe's Pond, things seem to be pretty quiet. Three Ponds was closed today, and because they are doing a good job keeping the lot plowed, it doen't look like West Danville has as much snow as St. J., but that isn't so. Actually, some from West Danville probably landed in St. Johnsbury, with the winds we've been having.
    This is Route 2W heading for Point Comfort. This stretch was fairly icy in the morning, but much better when this was taken. Fred got another shot of the Point as we were leaving West Danville.
    Not much at all is going on on our side of the pond. We see an occasional track where some animal has crossed our driveway or the lower lawn, but I have had the blinds down a good share of the time during this extreme cold, so if there was anything out there in the daytime, I wouldn't see it. I think most of the activity happens at night, anyway. At least the days are getting longer now, so it won't be too long before we're seeing more activity from wildlife. I know, I'm rushing the season, talking about coming out of winter, but it helps to know that no matter how awful the weather is, spring will come. It's not just about the weather--it's a good way to look at things in general. No matter what happens or how bad things seem, given a little time, it WILL get better--spring comes. It just does.
     Stay warm and safe. Think SPRING.