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.