We recently learned that Dorothy Arlene Baker, Kate Bertolini's  mother, passed away on July 7. We didn't know Dorothy, but many Joe's Pond folks know Kate and Martin ((Cove Road) and will want to express their sympathy. Kate's mailing address is: P. O. Box 86, West Danville VT 05873.
      There is a celebration of the life of the late Walter Goodrich today at Molly Brook Farm in Cabot, at 11 o'clock. We are not able to be there - we're headed in the opposite direction for granddaughter Tangeni's birthday. Others who may want to send Sally and the family condolences, can send them to them at Molly Brook Farm, 39 Cow Hill Road, West Danville, VT 05873.
     Our weather is so nice today, we need to enjoy it as much as we can because beginning tomorrow we are going to get rain just about every day for about a week. It probably won't be steady rain, but enough to dampen some outdoor activities, I expect. As far as we know now, the sailboat race will take place as scheduled tomorrow at 1 p.m. Susan Bouchard (802-563-2716) will let sailors know of any changes. If you need a boat (or have one you won't be using), let her know so she can get as many as possible out on the water. Have fun!
     We noticed last weekend that two garbage containers at Drown's camp on West Shore Road had been dumped - raided by bears,  no doubt. Whoever was renting there (or maybe whoever cleans the cottage for them between rentals) got it all neatly cleaned up, ready for pickup (I think they come on Wednesday) and the following morning, it was all over the road again - both containers had been hit again. You gotta feel sorry for folks on summer vacation having to deal with this. Technically, they were doing it right, but those plastic containers are no match for a bear. They can pop the covers off or crush them easily to get at whatever is inside. The alternative would be to put the containers in the garage - but who's to say the bear(s) wouldn't damage the garage to get at it just the same? 
     It's especially difficult in a rental situation when the renters clean out before leaving but the garbage isn't picked up immediately. Here at our house, we keep  all food scraps frozen in our chest freezer until we're ready to go to recycling. We wash all cans and plastic containers thoroughly so there's no smell before we put them in the container in the garage. So far, except for having one investigate our front deck, we have only seen one bear here, and that one was getting grubs and ants from an old tree stump above our lawn in the puckerbrush. The bears are welcome to do that - the more stumps and old fallen logs they tear apart, the better we like it. That hastens the time it takes for that wood to rot and return to the forest floor and makes walking in our woods easier!