Proposed Work Schedule, Week of 9/4/18, Cabot-Danville US 2 Reconstruction [Cabot-Danville FEGC F 028-3(36) C/2] 

Project Location:  The 1.4 mile project extends along US 2 from Last Road to Danville Hill Road in Cabot. This is a multi-year project with most of the work occurring in 2017/2018. Completion is scheduled for 2019.

Work to be performed includes reconstruction, realignment and widening of a portion of US Route 2 including bridge replacement, grading, drainage, sub-base, pavement and other highway related items.

Traffic pattern change and speed reduction to 35 mph from Last Road to Folsom Farm is in effect. Traffic will be using the temporary bridge that was previously installed.

Roadwork will continue from the Goodrich property to Folsom Farm.  This roadwork consists of placing dense-graded crushed stone, fine grading of the surface in preparation for paving next Wednesday. Slopes along the roadway will be graded, top soiled, seeded and mulched.

Crews will be working approximately 7:00 AM-6:00 PM.

Motorists are advised that a new traffic pattern is in place from the Folsom Farm to the Goodrich property. 

Paving operations will begin next Wednesday from the Last Road to the Goodrich property.

Crews will continue road work at the intersection of Last Road and Route 2. Work at this location includes excavating the roadway and replacing with new roadway material. The Last Road intersection will be temporarily shifted during this portion of construction.

Grading operations will take place along the entire length of the job in preparation for paving the first week of Sept. 

Labor Day Holiday: Crews will be off of the roadway by 12:00 PM on Friday, 8/31 in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Work will resume on Tuesday, 9/4/18 at 7:00 AM. 

TRAVEL ALERT: Motorists are advised that a traffic pattern change will be in effect at the temporary bridge, and the existing bridge will be closed. A speed limit reduction to 35 mph will be in effect at the location of the temporary bridge. The remainder of the project remains at the 40 mph speed reduction. There are increased fines for speed violations within the construction zone.

TRAFFIC INFORMATION: Construction vehicles will be entering and exiting the work zone throughout construction hours, and as a result, alternating one-way traffic patterns with flaggers will be in place. Brief delays can be expected.
 

Please focus on safety when driving through the construction work zone and remember, it is against the law to use a hand held cell phone while driving in Vermont.

Contact Natalie Boyle, Project Outreach Coordinator, EIV Technical Services, with any questions or concerns in regard to this project at 802-855-3893 or nboyle@eivtech.com

--

Natalie Boyle

Director of Communications

 

EIV Technical Services

www.eivtech.com

The City Lights Building

106 East Allen St., Unit 506

Winooski, VT 05404

cell:  802.855.3893

office: 802.497.3653 ext.1037

     We have very welcome cooler weather this morning! My thermometer is registering 65 degrees - it was more like 95 yesterday. Actually, I don't know how hot it got, I just turned on the overhead fans and stayed as quiet as possible. Mostly I worked on my computer, on the West Danville history. I expect you're thinking, "How much longer is that book going to take?" And I often think that, too. The thing is, we have collected so much information, it's actually making it difficult to put together something that will be interesting reading, hopefully without being painfully dull with too many dates, facts and background information. We don't want to leave out something important - and deciding what is important is really hard. What's important to one person probably going to be to someone else; but we want there to be something for everyone in there - including lots and lots of photos. So, that's what I, and the others on the committee, are up to these days - and we are moving ahead, if slowly.
      I have some photos to share this morning. First, some background! Jamie and Marie had a really tall dead spruce tree leaning towards their house, so they decided before it got blown down and crashed onto the house and did lots of damage, they would have it taken down. Jamie does that sort of stuff all the time and would normally take it down himself, but this one was leaning precariously towards the house and he didn't want to risk getting into trouble. So they called Calvin Alexander, who is a professional and owns Alexander Tree Service in Cabot. 
     Fred and I heard the chainsawing Wednesday evening, so we walked up to Jamie and Marie's to watch. We got there after Calvin had limbed the tree all the way up, and just in time to see him take it down in sections - laying each one precisely on the hillside below the house, with not even a chip falling out of place.  It was great fun to see that process.
     And speaking of chips, Calvin told me he always has chips to get rid of. He brought a load for Jamie and Marie, and I'm going to have a little of theirs for my flower beds. A whole load would be way too much for me to use up - but I can certainly use a couple of wheelbarrow loads!
     We have been worried about some trees near our power line, too, but I've thought it was too bad to put big, healthy trees into chips, so hesitated to call Calvin. However, we don't really have enough to make it worthwhile for a logger to come in and do it, so we may need to just let it be chips.
     I think the photos speak for themselves - it was a big tree, and everything came down where it was supposed to. In the last picture, that's Calvin sitting on the grass after the chain had slipped off the bar of his saw. Anyone who has used a chainsaw knows what a hassle that can be. It meant he had to come down from the tree, fix the chain and then climb all the way back up. But that's part of the deal, I guess.
     We watched from Jamie's new deck - one story up from the driveway. He was just finishing putting the stair railing together  and you can see the temporary clamps holding it in place. The deck was a great vantage point to watch the tree being taken down.
     And now, back to the History of West Danville!

Good Morning! Another hot day in store, then the thunderstorms and cooler weather. We are noticing there are lots of birds flying around today - perhaps picking up stragglers and getting ready for heading south? Could that be an indicator of an early winter? We'll see.

Many of you will be relieved that we have had word from Tom and Camilla. Here's what Tom asked me to post this morning:

 We thank all of the Joes Pond community for their prayers and their expressions’ of help and hope while Camilla was in the hospital.  Camilla is now out of the hospital and home in Connecticut and tests are scheduled by the medical professionals to determine future medical needs. We have received many calls and several beautiful cards including the card from the Fall meeting. Thank you all. Once again it goes to show that Joes Ponders are the best!

We all wish the very best for Camilla and Tom - two nicer people would be difficult to find. It has been a tough summer for them - Tom undergoing cataract surgery early on and then Camilla having problems more recently. Consequently, they have spent most of the summer in Connecticut. Tom said the temperature was near 100 degrees yesterday at their house. 

I will post further updates as I receive them. In the meantime, keep them both in your thoughts and prayers. 

     I received this lovely shot of sunrise from Gretchen Farnsworth yesterday. She mentioned that she's seeing lots of ducks in the air lately and figures they are getting flying lessons. They have to be strong and ready to leave before the pond freezes over.
     The young loons are also getting flying time in. One of the loon youngsters flew off the first pond, circled West Danville, ran out of "gas" and made a forced landing in the middle of the busy intersection of Route 15 and Route 2 the other day. Loons are virtually helpless on land, and this guy was in grave danger. Someone saw it and alerted the folks at the store - traffic was momentarily halted and Jenny Rafuse rushed out with a blanket,  captured the frightened bird and set it free in the pond. 
     Don't you love it when stories like this have a happy ending - with a real, live heroine? Good work, Jenny!

Sunfish Measurements Needed

I just had an email from Robert Bartell, a long-time acquaintance of ours, who needs to get some measurements of a Sunfish sailboat. He is wondering is there is someone here on the pond whose Sunfish is out of the water who would be willing for him to come by and take some measurements. Please get in touch with him directly at rbart46@fairpoint.net.
 

I have never really understood why people take pictures of their food and send them to all their friends or whatever, but tonight we decided instead of trying to figure out something "good" for supper we'd try a pizza from the Cabot General Store. I could tell as soon as we opened the box it was going to be really good, and now I wish I had taken a picture to show you. 
     First of all, I like a nice thick crust. I know lots of people like thin crust pizza. Not me. I like crusts - regular pie crust, and bread crusts - that's another thing I could never understand, why would anyone want to cut off all the crust on bread to make sandwiches. Sure, they look pretty, but think of what you're missing! And I certainly don't understand why anyone would eat the part of a piece of pie that has the filling on it and leave the rest of the crust. Unless the crust was tough or burned, of course - rich, flaky pie crust is really good stuff even without some kind of filling on it.
     But back to our pizza. We get it with onions and peppers - and I have mushrooms on my half. No meat, no pineapple or exotic anything. Just the veggies, cheese and sauce. This one had A LOT of everything we asked for on it. So much that one slice would have been sufficient - but it tasted so good (with a glass of wine!) I ate two slices. I was kind of stuffed, but in a good way. (Those were big slices!) And we have leftovers. We decided one slice each would be plenty for lunch and we can enjoy it again tomorrow and Sunday.
     The price was VERY reasonable, especially for such a big pizza. The box was really big, and turns out they make the pizza to fit the box! 
     So there you have it.  We'll do that again.

Another nice day in store for us. Even though the daytime hours are warm, we can feel the cooler air moving our way every evening and early morning. We will be reporting foliage changes very soon. In the meantime, things are winding up for the Joe's Pond Association - at least the summer activities are. The JPA is very much alive and active all year long, with the website at www.joespondvermont.com, information exchanges here on the blog and of course the big winter event, Ice Out Contest.
     For now, the summer social events are over and we will have our final meeting of the year tomorrow, Saturday, August 25th at 10 a.m. at the pavilion. This meeting may be of particular interest to not only JPA members but also anyone living in Danville or West Danville. Representatives from the Danville Planning Commission, Jenni Lavoie and Jeff Paquet, will be at the meeting to explain some plans and answer questions. This will be before our actual business meeting, so if you'd like to come just for that, at least you will not have to endure the routine reports and sometimes silly situations that are appreciated only by members. We always have a good time at our meetings, and visitors are welcome to stay and even join in. We'll even appreciate your  comments. Just don't try to vote! Seriously, we welcome anyone to our meetings, and hope you will attend whether a member or just an interested party.
     I reported yesterday that our cat, Woody, had apparently had a fairly close encounter with a skunk. He came in unscented, but all haired up and was happy to remain inside for the rest of the evening. We thought it was interesting that he also stayed in all day long yesterday. We thought at first he might be still frightened, then as the day wore on and he still didn't want to go out, we began to think he was not feeling well; however, by the time it was getting pretty dark, he decided it was ok to head outside again. He didn't stay long and when he came in, he didn't tease to go out again. Smart cat - not taking any chances! As the days get shorter and the nights get cooler, he's not as interested in being outside. He very much appreciates his warm bed(s) and all the attention he gets inside. It will be a long winter for him (and us!) though.
     We've had almost three inches of rain in the past ten days. One would think that would make us drought free, but according to the weather folks, we're still lacking moisture. I don't dig in the earth much anymore, so I can't say for sure, but the grass and foliage around here seems to me to be doing just fine. Maybe there isn't the reserve we need, but perhaps we'll make up whatever is needed before winter sets in. Right now I'm thinking of all the stuff I didn't get done in my flower beds this year that I finally decided could wait until fall and the frost would take care of some of it - and now the time is almost here. I need to make time now to get that stuff done or the beds will look really bad next year. Now's a good time to work outside.

     I think we had a close call last night. Around 9:30 or so, Fred said to me, "I think I smell skunk."
     We knew Woody was outside and we both remembered when he had tangled with a skunk many years ago and what a time we had with him. (He was sprayed right in his face, came in with his eyes closed and watering and we had a hard time getting him cleaned up - plus, he smelled every damp day for weeks afterwards!)
     Fred went to the front door and I went to the kitchen door, both of us expecting a skunk-oil drenched cat again. He was on the deck and VERY anxious to get in the house when Fred opened the door. He didn't let him in right away because we wanted to be sure he didn't spread the smell all through the house. But he was ok - except he was all puffed up, tail twice as big as normal, and couldn't wait to get inside. There was no visible sign of the skunk outside, but we knew he'd been around, for sure!
     Woody was very happy to spend the rest of the evening with us in the house. This is very unusual. He normally wants to be outside as soon as it gets dark. We go along with that to a point since lately he's been hanging out close by and always comes in before our bed time - no more all-nighters! Like most of us humans, he has become more cautious and sensible with age. 
     So we think we dodged a bullet last night. However, there's more to this story. Usually Woody is very anxious to go first thing  in the morning. However, this morning he peeked out the door but refused to go out. There was no sign or smell of skunk, but apparently the memory was still with Woody and he was taking no chances. He is curled in the sun up on his bench in front of the big living room window, safe and happy and skunk free!

Proposed Work Schedule, Week of 8/27/18, Cabot-Danville US 2 Reconstruction [Cabot-Danville FEGC F 028-3(36) C/2]

Project Location:  The 1.4 mile project extends along US 2 from Last Road to Danville Hill Road in Cabot. This is a multi-year project with most of the work occurring in 2017/2018. Completion is scheduled for 2019.

Work to be performed includes reconstruction, realignment and widening of a portion of US Route 2 including bridge replacement, grading, drainage, sub-base, pavement and other highway related items.

Traffic pattern change and speed reduction to 35 mph from Last Road to Folsom Farm is in effect. Traffic will be using the temporary bridge that was previously installed.

Roadwork will continue from the Goodrich property to Folsom Farm.  Motorists are advised that a new traffic pattern is in place from the Folsom Farm to the Goodrich property. 

Bridge work will continue between Last Rd. and Houghton Road. 

Crews will continue road work at the intersection of Last Road and Route 2. This work will progress westerly.

Grading operations will take place along the entire length of the job in preparation for paving the first week of Sept. 

Labor Day Holiday: Crews will be off of the roadway by noon on Friday, 8/31 in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Work will resume on Tuesday, 9/4/18 at 7:00 AM. 

TRAVEL ALERT: Motorists are advised that a traffic pattern change will be in effect at the temporary bridge, and the existing bridge will be closed. A speed limit reduction to 35 mph will be in effect at the location of the temporary bridge. The remainder of the project remains at the 40 mph speed reduction. There are increased fines for speed violations within the construction zone.

TRAFFIC INFORMATION: Construction vehicles will be entering and exiting the work zone throughout construction hours, and as a result, alternating one-way traffic patterns with flaggers will be in place. Brief delays can be expected.
 

Please focus on safety when driving through the construction work zone and remember, it is against the law to use a hand held cell phone while driving in Vermont.

Contact Natalie Boyle, Project Outreach Coordinator, EIV Technical Services, with any questions or concerns in regard to this project at 802-855-3893 or nboyle@eivtech.com

--

Natalie Boyle

Director of Communications

EIV Technical Services

www.eivtech.com

The City Lights Building

106 East Allen St., Unit 506

Winooski, VT 05404

cell:  802.855.3893

office: 802.497.3653 ext.1037

Cottage Available for Rent in September

The cottage at 276 North Shore Rd is available for rent during the whole month of September. Wide, sandy waterfront, close to the recreation area and bike path. Anyone interested can contact kimberlykidney@gmail.com. 

__________________________

Just a reminder - the last JPA Pavilion summer mah-jongg group meeting was today. The 2018 season was from the first Wednesday after Memorial Day weekend to the Wednesday preceding the JPA fall meeting. We had a large gathering this year and it was lots of fun. We will meet next summer on every Wednesday from memorial Day through Labor Day. Everyone welcome, including beginners. I hope to see you all again next year along with some new players. Have a great winter and we'll see you in the spring.

Kate Chatot

Long-term summer rental wanted

I know this is probably a large order, but I've been contacted by a Florida couple - both retired teachers who grew up in Vermont but miss it and want to be here for three or four months next summer so they are hoping to find a cottage or small house to rent. It doesn't have to be right on the water, but it would be nice to be close enough so getting to the water for swimming and enjoying the sun would be easy. They do not have or need a boat, but it would be a plus to have a view of the lake.
     There would be only the the two of them and their indoor cat. They have no children at home and there would be only limited visitors during the summer; they are non-smokers and responsible. They sold their home in Barre a while back and are homesick for Vermont in the summer. They would be willing to make a trip to Vermont this fall to meet with you or can supply references.
     I have been corresponding with Jeff for a while - they are friends of my good friend, David Book who taught school in Cabot for many years, and I think he and his wife Diane would be ideal house sitters/renters. So if you have a place that you would like to have occupied and taken care of next summer, or if you know of a place that might work for them, get in touch with Jeff. His email is jladd65@earthlink.net, or phone him at 352-394-2802.

Cocktail Party - You're Invited!

Finals, Sunfish Races 2018

From Susan Bouchard:

 

Here are the results and some photos from the August 19th sailboat race.  The sun was shining and as always, the winds were challenging since there were periods of no wind then the wind would pick up.  We had a great celebration at Mark and Rosie Smith's place following the race where the trophies were presented.  

The Sunfish results for 2018 season are:

Single Division:

1st: Jack LaGue

2nd: Jay Chatot

3rd: Ray Rouleau

Double Division:

1st: Joey & Suzie Cassani 

2nd: Jake Maya Hynes

3rd: Brian Tomas Hynes 

Thank you to all the sailors, our sailing committee and sideline supporters who have helped make this year's sailboat races a success and great fun. A special thank you to Mark and Rosie Smith for their continued support and enthusiasm. Have a good fall/winter and hopefully we'll all be out there again in 2019!  

Susan Bouchard

I've been making applesauce. Our old apple tree has been loaded with apples - all small and imperfect because we don't spray or do anything else for the old tree - but they make really good sauce.
I don't know exactly why, but the tree has been dropping apples for about a week and the ground is covered. I could not walk under the tree without stepping on little apples today. I was able to find plenty that were good, though, and have made two batches of sauce so far. It always seems like a great idea to freeze it for winter use, but pretty often we forget to get it out to use. Somehow, it is never quite as appealing as when it's fresh and warm, just out of the food mill. We didn't have any last year. The old tree is back to producing every other year now. Fred trimmed out some branches a few years ago and after that it produced a good crop every year, but last year there wasn't a single apple on it. This year the limbs are sagging under the weight.
     I'm enjoying the cooler weather, but the house felt cold and damp tonight, so we turned up the thermostat and let it heat up a bit. I don't think there was a single night this summer that it was too hot to sleep. There is always a cool sort of draft that comes down the hill in back of our house as soon as the sun goes down and with the windows open in the bedrooms, it's always nice and cool. 
     I was surprised we got only a little over half an inch of rain last night (.61 in.). It seemed to me it rained quit a bit, but apparently not. I measured 1.43 in. on Thursday, and only a trace yesterday. I think this rain has helped, but the ground is still pretty dry.
     Tomorrow is the final Sunfish Race here for the season - 1 o'clock. There is a celebration and awards party at the Smith cottage on North Shore Road afterwards. I think the weather is going to be exceptionally good tomorrow. I don't know about the wind, but it could be just about a perfect sailing day.
     Things are winding down here at the pond. A week from today is the final Joe's Pond Association meeting of the season. The End-Of-Summer Cocktail Party is Saturday evening. Call Bill and Bo Keach at 684-3673 or Carmen Gagne at 498-4225 for details. 
     The summer has flown by and it has been a good one - lots of hot days and more to come, we hope. But now it's fair time - Danville Fair is past, Caledonia County Fair is this week, Lancaster Fair is August 30 - September 3, and kids will be going back to school, some next week (!) Seems like only yesterday we were celebrating Memorial Day . . . !
     I've been looking for a photo app to replace Microsoft Digital Image Pro10 that I used to use with great success. I've tried half a dozen, but noting measures up to that. The problem is that my computer died back in the spring and we had it repaired and updated and now that app is no longer compatible with my computer. Microsoft does not make an updated app for Digital Image Pro10, but the have all sorts of complicated programs that are advertised to be better, but simply are not. That app was super easy and I used it to clean up old photos all the time. I could erase the age marks and tears, water spots, etc. and make those old relics look almost like new. I hate when stuff like this happens - it's planned obsolescence, but I say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Proposed Work Schedule, Week of 8/20/18, Cabot-Danville US 2 Reconstruction [Cabot-Danville FEGC F 028-3(36) C/2]

Project Location:  The 1.4 mile project extends along US 2 from Last Road to Danville Hill Road in Cabot. This is a multi-year project with most of the work occurring in 2017/2018. Completion is scheduled for 2019.

Work to be performed includes reconstruction, realignment and widening of a portion of US Route 2 including bridge replacement, grading, drainage, sub-base, pavement and other highway related items.

Traffic pattern change and speed reduction to 35 mph from Last Road to Folsom Farm is in effect. Traffic will be using the temporary bridge that was previously installed.

Roadwork will continue from the Goodrich property to Folsom Farm.  Motorists are advised that a new traffic pattern is in place from the Folsom Farm to the Goodrich property. 

Bridge work will continue between Last Rd. and Houghton Road. 

Crews are tentatively scheduled to begin road work at the intersection of Last Road and Route 2. This work will progress westerly.

 TRAVEL ALERT: Motorists are advised that a traffic pattern change will be in effect at the temporary bridge, and the existing bridge will be closed. A speed limit reduction to 35 mph will be in effect at the location of the temporary bridge. The remainder of the project remains at the 40 mph speed reduction. There are increased fines for speed violations within the construction zone.

TRAFFIC INFORMATION: Construction vehicles will be entering and exiting the work zone throughout construction hours, and as a result, alternating one-way traffic patterns with flaggers will be in place. Brief delays can be expected.
 

Please focus on safety when driving through the construction work zone and remember, it is against the law to use a hand held cell phone while driving in Vermont.

Contact Natalie Boyle, Project Outreach Coordinator, EIV Technical Services, with any questions or concerns in regard to this project at 802-855-3893 or nboyle@eivtech.com

--

Natalie Boyle

Director of Communications

EIV Technical Services

www.eivtech.com

The City Lights Building

106 East Allen St., Unit 506

Winooski, VT 05404

cell:  802.855.3893

office: 802.497.3653 ext.1037

It's official - fall is right around the corner. I heard my first cricket chirping today. I've also been noticing the big ferns at the edge of our mowed lawn up back are turning brown and the goldenrod is blooming profusely. It's all signs of summer winding down. It's ok, and there isn't anything anyone can do about it, but it does seem to me that this has been a very short summer. Maybe because I've been pretty busy.

I was curious about the cricket I heard today, so I looked it up and found out there are spring and fall crickets! Who knew? The spring crickets overwinter as nymphs and as soon as warm weather comes, they  develop and begin to chirp quite early. By July, they have laid their eggs and the adults die off. Then there's the fall crickets that hatch in the spring but don't become adults until late July or early August. So apparently we have only about a month between chirping. I'm not sure how, other than when we are hearing them, the two species of crickets are identified - one cricket looks pretty much like any other, I think. But the fall crickets do try to get inside where it's warm as soon as the cooler weather sets in. Just what I need - crickets in the house. That has happened a few times, and their chirping is really annoying. It makes it pretty easy to find them, though. I always deposit them back outside, unharmed. 

Another thought occurred to me after reading about crickets - the reason I probably don't notice crickets so much in the spring is because the peepers are so loud. Then we have the loons the jays and crows - hardly a moment of silence all summer long. It gets pretty quiet in the winter, though. Then we listen to the wind . . .

Do not forget that Sunday is the final Sunfish race AND the after party when the awards are handed out. All sailors and others involved in the races are welcome at the Smith cottage after the race is finished. Looks like it's going to be nice weather, so get out there and sail if you can, or watch from the sidelines. Contact Susan Bouchard with any questions about the race - 563-2716.

The final JPA meeting of the season is coming right up, too. That is on Saturday, August 25, at 10 a.m. at the pavilion. We will have guests - Jenni Lavoie and Jeff Paquet (who serve on the planning commission, I believe) from Danville will be at the meeting and will be talking about the proposed shore land overlay district. They will also be interested in hearing any concerns about current zoning or anything else the planning commission can help with. Apparently there is a new group, I think it's called Danville Better Connections Project, that will be  working to assess what areas or businesses within Danville, including West Danville, North Danville, etc., may be struggling in some way, and will then work with the community to try to improve those problem areas. This is a meeting you probably won't want to miss. It will offer people who are not voters to at least be heard and voice an opinion which Jenni and Jeff will take back for consideration by the study group. If you cannot be at the meeting, I'll try to recap the gist of their presentation in the JPA minutes.

Right now, we're having a very loud thunder storm and I think I'll get off my computer and go watch the storm - as in cowering on the sofa. I do not like thunder storms!!

Audrey Walker obituary

As many of you know, Audrey Walker, longtime summer resident at Joe's Pond with her husband, Don and children, Michelle, Meagan and Wade, passed away last Friday, August 10th. She will be deeply missed by her family and leaves many friends at Joe's Pond who remember her fondly.

Our sincere sympathy is with Don and his family. We know there are wonderful memories for all of them, and hope they will help through the lonely days ahead.

Final Sunfish Race is Sunday!

The final Sunfish Sailboat race is scheduled this Sunday, August 19 at 1pm.  There will be an award party hosted by Mark and Rosie Smith following the race. Trophies will be presented to the winner of the Single Division and the Double Division.  If you have not registered to race, please contact Susan Bouchard at 802-563-2716 or chatotbouchard@comcast.net to register. 

It has been a sad day at Joe's Pond. The body of Mr. John Sales of Danville was found this morning in the water by the bridge. There has been no indication of what happened or how he came to be in the water. Mr. Sales lived in Cabot a few years ago. Our thoughts are with his family - this must be a terrible blow to them. There are no details about the circumstances of his death yet, but there will no doubt be more about this after authorities have had a chance to complete their investigation. Click HERE for the brief report that was given out today.

I received this very nice picture from by Cynthia DuBois (Island Drive) taken on Saturday of the sunset over Joe's Pond. That is the big island silhouetted against the sky. Really nice colors. Click on the image to make it larger.

We have just had the windows in our basement replaced. Bill Jones (Jones Renovations, Route 15, West Danville) put them in last week and we are very pleased with how they came out. The windows are vinyl, so no more having to paint sash! They are also way more efficient than the old ones, and Bill was careful to be sure they were well sealed. Our house was built in the early 1960s and insulation then was very different than it is today. Actually, construction was different. We've insulated walls and foamed the foundation, and we replaced all the windows in the living area upstairs when we moved here, but we had not replaced the basement windows. It's a good thing we finally did it this year because when Bill took out the window on the south side he found there was considerable deterioration of the wood. That side of the house gets a lot of storm - driving rain and beating sun - and it had taken a toll. It's really nice to know everything is tight and ready for winter. The top picture is in my sewing area; the bottom one is in the laundry area. The larger windows are awning type like most of the other windows in our house. I particularly like them so I can have fresh air and not worry about rain coming in! Last year Bill did our deck - which we have enjoyed many days this summer! And this year we are happy he was able to do this job for us.

I've been looking through some of the notes I've kept over the years about Joe's Pond, and of course some will make it into the book we are writing. I was trying to match up the names of cottages from way back - 1906 and 1907 era - with present-day owners, and find it is nearly impossible. But it is still interesting. Many of the cottages were named, and some had dedication ceremonies - well, parties, actually.  The names got pretty creative - "Azuliket" for instance, "Tokumto", "Snugenough," and one I particular like, "Clark Gables" owned by a Clark family, of course. "Kant Keep Away" is the Willey camp on Barre Avenue, and next to it was "Sunset Camp," now Rubalcaba's. Dr. Watt's  cottage was "Lingerlonger," that burned down, but it was where Shelly Walker is now. One I have a name for but have not been able to locate is "Shiloh." I think I've mentioned that here before but nobody came up with the answer. Oh, well, there's still time - perhaps that piece of the puzzle will fall into place eventually.

We have been kind of busy lately. I'm steaming ahead on the West Danville history book - working on the Joe's Pond chapter right now. Sometimes I think we have collected way too much information; but we want to get as much in as possible and try to verify what information we have, as well. That sometimes is pretty difficult, and it seems as if at every turn we discover something new that should be added or that will change something we have previously written. It's like a huge puzzle needing to be solved.

About a week ago, my friend, Mary Whitcomb, sent me a link to a podcast produced by Before Your Time - about some memorable weather events. Before Your Time is presented by the Vermont Historical Society and the Vermont Humanities Council, and edited and distributed by VTDigger.  I took a few minutes (about 22) this evening to listen to the whole thing, and found it very interesting. Click HERE if you'd like to hear it. 

I remember the devastation from the 1938 hurricane. It ruined many acres of timber and sugar woods in our area. It also took down the high drive to our barn. We were fortunate - others had much worse damage. I remember my Grandmother Bolton had gone to Peacham for some reason that afternoon. My uncle, Bob was driving, and they had to stop several times on the way home to remove trees from the road or reverse to take another road in order to get through. They were very glad to reach home.

Our pastures were a terrible mess for years after that storm, with fallen trees that were too high off the ground to get over and too low with underbrush and limbs to crawl under. It rearranged the paths we and the cows had to take to get from one point to another, and for a while was very disorienting. Sometimes, years later, the cows would get into a "slash" of trees leveled by that hurricane and would be unable to find their way out, so we kids had to climb over and crawl under as best we could to get to them and figure out how to get the beasts turned around and out of there.

It's pretty scary thinking of how our weather is changing and what it could mean for us in future years. With oceans rising and warming, the prediction is that we are destined to experience more severe storms; and I guess all we can do is be as prepared as possible. In the meantime, let's enjoy the remaining summer. I can already smell fall in the air - the summer has zoomed by way too quickly. Danville Fair is over and the bigger fairs are coming up, then it's back to school time and everything gets quieter here at the pond.

I now have more information for you about Audrey Walker's passing. 
     Audrey passed away this afternoon, August 10th, at Woodridge Rehabilitation and Nursing in Berlin Vermont. She was 90 years old and had Alzheimers for many years. Thanks to Don's loving care, she was able to remain at home with help from family and Home Health until 9 months ago, when  she went to live at Woodridge. Audrey was a familiar figure here at Joe's Pond in earlier years, and always had a friendly smile.
    Don and Audrey Walker were long-time Joe's Ponders until very recently, when Audrey's health deteriorated and it was no longer possible or safe for her to be here. For a while Don and Audrey were able to enjoy taking rides to the pond to check out things at camp and pick up or deliver Ice Out tickets, but gradually that became too much of a chore and  they turned the cottage over to their oldest daughter, Michelle, who now lives here year around. 
     Calling hours will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 14, at the Guare Funeral Home, 30 School Street, Montpelier, Vermont. There will be a graveside service at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, August 15 at Berlin Corner Cemetery.
     Donations in memory of Audrey may be made to the Central Vermont Medical Center, 130 Fisher Road, Berlin VT 05602; or Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, 600 Granger Rd., Barre VT, 05641.
     A full  obituary will be in the Barre Times-Argus next week. In the meantime, friends who wish to send a note to Don may send it to: 245 Town Hill Rd., Montpelier VT 05602.

     We just received the sad news that Shelly Walker's mom, Audrey Walker, passed away this afternoon at Woodridge Rehabilitation and Nursing Home in Berlin. Calling hours will be Tuesday, but I don't have any other details at the moment. As soon as I hear from Shelly again, I will post details.
     Friends may call Shelly at home later today at 802-563-2357, and Shelly's dad, Don, can be reached at his home, 802-223-2484.
     

This clipping came this morning from Kate Chatot (Chatot Rd.) from this week's Hardwick Gazette. It may be difficult to read - but you can make it larger by clicking on it, and if it still doesn't work well for you, there may still be copies at Hastings Store. What it's saying is that there may be a test project in the works in Craftsbury. The plan seems to be  to inject the stems of the plant with a chemical solution at just the right time so it will be drawn down into the roots and thus kill the plant. 

 

      This seems to me to be a very labor-intensive process, but it also seems it may be the only really effective way to rid an area of this very invasive plant.
     I have not seen it myself, but since the first mention of it here on the blog there has been some conversation and apparently it is here at Joe's Pond! I'm told we have some dedicated people trying to control it on their own, but it sounds from this article as if it will take an "army" and some expertise such as perhaps this test group can offer. I believe the email address in the article is for Joe Houston: coachhouston@myfairpoint.net, or you could contact the Craftsbury  Conservation Commission through the town offices. 
     I looked at the minutes of the Conservation Commission and found they are still very much in the beginning stages of plans.
     In looking on line for more information, I came upon this: 
 

RETHINK JAPANESE KNOTWEED – It’s not all bad; it
depends on your perspective
To be honest, I’m one of the world’s biggest
admirers of the plant, Japanese Knotweed. This plant has helped define and
shape who I am and has provided me strength and healing, as well as motivated
me to write a book, while it continues to provide me a source of income. We are
now seeing it flourish, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, and the plant
is gaining a further bad reputation for spreading throughout the flooded area,
though I see it as a gift. From a human centered perspective it is a devastation
to have this plant around, though I see it as Nature doing what Nature does.
And Nature doesn’t always comply with the way we wish it to be.
As a health care
provider over the years, I have successfully used this plant as medicine for
hundreds of individuals suffering with Lyme disease, including myself. It has
powerful antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects, especially
for the central nervous system. And we have also seen the plant spread in
nearly the same trajectory and at the same rate as Lyme disease has spread
throughout the Northeast, providing the remedy along the way. To me, it is not
a coincidence this plant is flourishing, especially with us hearing of
increased incidence of Lyme disease in Vermont. The roots of Japanese Knotweed
contain resveratrol, the powerful compound touted in red wine which gives you
the liberty to drink as much as you like, and in fact, this plant possesses
higher concentrations of resveratrol than any other plant in the world! And
many pharmaceutical and supplement companies make use of this plant to extract
this compound, and it provides hundreds of millions of dollars in yearly
revenues for them.
Ecologically speaking,
Knotweed is a pioneer species, spreading over disturbed lands to help stabilize
the soil and create biomass to enrich the land. It also tolerates some of the
most polluted water and soil, and even in some cases can sequester the toxins
and heavy metals and transmute them into less harmful chemicals, and therefore
clean the ecosystem of the pollutants. There is a good reason Knotweed moved in
with the floods, and as we all know, those waters carried some nasty, toxic
things in it, and now a plant is there to help remediate the soil. I also
observed that it assisted in stabilizing some river banks while the floodwaters
tore away at other, more “native” areas.
And with this plant’s
widespread presence and great growing ability, I also see potential of using
Japanese Knotweed as a biofuel source. It can grow inches a day and reaches
8-12 feet tall, and one can get at least two harvests a year. The stalk becomes
woody when dry and it is growing in convenient and accessible roadsides and
fields.
Oh, and by the way, we can eat the plant as well and is very tasty. Now is the time to harvest the spring growth up to a foot or so, and cook it up sweet or savory like rhubarb or asparagus. Another thing is bees make wonderful honey with the flowers as well. Of course it is important to not harvest the Knotweed for consumption in
polluted areas.
So to me, I see this circumstance of Knotweed flourishing as a way to provide a potent remedy for a devastating disease that is spreading like a weed throughout our area. I feel we should
recognize the plant not as a menace to be fought, but as a valuable resource to
make use of. Knotweed is a reflection of the destructed and polluted landscape
we’re living in and is there to help clean and rebuild the soils and waterways.
By using toxic chemicals to try to remove this plant, which is being widely
proposed, will be a waste of time, energy, and taxpayers money, and will add
more pollution in our soil and waterways. My belief is that Nature does not
make mistakes, and more often than not, it is the human that does.
Timothy Scott, author of Invasive Plant Medicine, gardener, acupuncturist, herbalist, living
in Dummerston, Vermont

 

Proposed Work Schedule, Week of 8/13/18, Cabot-Danville US 2 Reconstruction [Cabot-Danville FEGC F 028-3(36) C/2]

Project Location:  The 1.4 mile project extends along US 2 from Last Road to Danville Hill Road in Cabot. This is a multi-year project with most of the work occurring in 2017/2018. Completion is scheduled for 2019.

Work to be performed includes reconstruction, realignment and widening of a portion of US Route 2 including bridge replacement, grading, drainage, sub-base, pavement and other highway related items.

Traffic pattern change and speed reduction to 35 mph from Last Road to Folsom Farm is in effect. Traffic will be using the temporary bridge that was previously installed.

Installation of select roadway materials and pipe crossing will continue to take place from the Folsom Farm to Last Road has been completed.

Crews are paving today between Folsom Farm and the Goodrich sugar house. Traffic will be switched over to a temporary roadway at this location.
Motorists are advised that a new traffic pattern is in place from the Folsom Farm to the Goodrich property.

Earthwork will begin next week at Last Rd., and b

ridge work will continue 

at this location as well

.

 

TRAVEL ALERT: Motorists are advised that a traffic pattern change will be in effect at the temporary bridge, and the existing bridge will be closed. A speed limit reduction to 35 mph will be in effect at the location of the temporary bridge. The remainder of the project remains at the 40 mph speed reduction. There are increased fines for speed violations within the construction zone.

TRAFFIC INFORMATION: Construction vehicles will be entering and exiting the work zone throughout construction hours, and as a result, alternating one-way traffic patterns with flaggers will be in place. Brief delays can be expected.
 

Please focus on safety when driving through the construction work zone and remember, it is against the law to use a hand held cell phone while driving in Vermont.

Contact Natalie Boyle, Project Outreach Coordinator, EIV Technical Services, with any questions or concerns in regard to this project at 802-855-3893 or nboyle@eivtech.com

-- 

Natalie Boyle

Director of Communications

EIV Technical Services

www.eivtech.com

The City Lights Building

106 East Allen St., Unit 506

Winooski, VT 05404

cell:  802.855.3893

office: 802.497.3653 ext.1037