Tonight's the night - to turn your clocks back one hour! 
I always wish we didn't have to go through this clock changing stuff twice a year, but actually, after the first day or so, it really doesn't make that much difference. We adjust. On dreary days like today, it gets dark pretty early anyway.
     We had an inch or so of snow today - but then a lot of it melted before the temperature dropped again tonight. We are getting some wind tonight and it wouldn't be surprising if we lost power. Some places have already lost power today. Wet snow on branches, soggy earth around trees - all that can mean problems. I was out on the back lawn this morning - before the snow came - and even spots that are normally very dry were squishing water underfoot. We have had a lot of rain lately (for us) - we had  about an inch while we were away on Tuesday through Thursday, and this morning I measured another .70 inch. The snow today was very wet, so there will be a lot more  when I measure tomorrow.
     We had a dreary start for our trip on Tuesday, but once we got through Crawford Notch, the sky began to brighten and before long we had sunshine. We

found the foliage still very pretty through the mountains of New Hampshire and in Maine. Some years we see only tamaracks and oak trees for color when we travel that route, but this year even the maples still had their leaves. The color wasn't as brilliant as it probably was earlier, but the trees were still pretty.
     Andy Rudin sent me this picture taken near their home in Philadelphia. He said  fall is about a month later and spring about a month earlier than here in Vermont. Thanks for the picture, Andy - very nice.
     When we were at Long Sands in York, Maine, we noticed a lot of sidewalk along the beach road was new and there were still  workers obviously repairing the road where it had been washed away. We asked about it and were told it happened last winter when there was a bad storm that took out a lot of the road along the beach and flooded many of the homes. Most of the places along Long Sands Beach are summer places, but there are a few year-around homes there. I guess there was a lot of damage. Big boulders were washed up onto the road and into some of the homes and businesses. 
     Of course we took some pictures while we were there - we never miss going out to the Nubble lighthouse - such a pretty spot. As we drove into York Village, the sun was on the steeple of the beautiful old Congregational church in the middle of town. 
    There weren't many people around while we were in the area. We were surprised because it was very nice weather. We saw mostly only local folks. And that's just fine with us. There were a few would-be surfers out there, but not much surf, so they were doing more paddling than riding.
    We met some very nice people and even found a couple who knew our friends, now deceased, that we always visited in years past. We also had plenty of seafood while there, and found a great restaurant, "The Pilot House" in Kennebunk where we had lunch on Wednesday. We usually go to Petey's in Rye, but decided to explore other options. The rain held off until we were well on our way home, but then there were showers most of the way after we left York Four Corners. 
    We met Fred's brother and his wife in Laconia for lunch, and then came home through the Squam Lakes area - a favorite route that always reminds us of "On Golden Pond" (and Purgatory Cove!) as we wind our way along the lakes. One of the things I really like about York is that it seems to us not to have changed all that much in the 30+ years we've been going there. It actually hasn't changed too much from when I spent summers there more like 75 years ago. I know the locals see more of the changes - and of course there are better and faster highways, probably fewer fishing boats and way more people from "away" living there - and a couple of big old structures had burned and have been replaced with more modern ones along the beach; and York Harbor lost one of the big hotels on the Point - it's now all new condos. There are more private roads than there used to be - or maybe as kids riding our bikes we didn't pay as much attention to the "Private" signs. I do know the prices on homes there have gone way up - Fred and I  used to dream of buying a place there years ago - and as we look back, we should have! It would have been a good investment. But we are happy to visit once or twice a year - feel like the Union Bluff Hotel is our second home - and they treat us very well!