We are back in winter mode, big time. From a high of about 40 degrees yesterday and being in the low 30s most of today, we are now on a slippery slope downward as night falls. The reading now on my thermometer is 18.7F, and falling steadily. There is a brisk NE wind that is swirling around the new, dry snow that fell this afternoon making it look like a blizzard out there sometimes. It's going to be a very cold night.
     Some folks probably won't mind the cold all that much. Andy Rudin sent me this little news item a few minutes ago. (How does he come up with these things???) Here it is:

MIDDLESEX, Vt. — One Vermont community is celebrating the holidays and the winter solstice with a massive bonfire and what they hope will be the world’s largest s’more.

The Winter S’morestice takes place Saturday at Camp Meade in Middlesex and includes fire artists and dancers, music, food, beer and wine and, of course, a sampling of the giant s’more.

The local Red Hen Bakery will make the 4-by-8-foot (1.2-by-2.4-meter) concoction, baking its own enormous cracker, whipping up marshmallow and using chocolate from a neighboring business.

The giant dessert will then be chopped up and shared with attendees. Organizers said they were too late in pursuing a Guinness World Record but may try next year.

     I hope they have a good big bonfire going - I have a feeling they are going to need it tonight! Sounds like fun, though. Too bad they didn't go for a Guinness record, though.

     We are so fortunate to have Jamie and Marie living just above us. Jamie came down with "The Peach" this morning and scraped all the slush off our driveway before it froze. The snow was only a couple inches deep, but was very heavy and hard for the snow blower to handle, so we were both very relieved that Jamie took care of it for us. I think after New Year's we will get a stretch of pretty nice weather - not unusually warm, but also not unusually cold and stormy. Seasonal is the word, I believe! That would be nice for a change.

     The New Year will be here before we know it, so let me wish you all "Happy New Year" right now, and along with it, pass along a genuine wish for your good health in the coming year and, dare we hope? - a sensible resolution to at least some of the nonsense going on in our nation's capitol these days. 

     Keep your loved ones close and enjoy a safe New Year's celebration. May happiness extend throughout 2019 for all.

    Today has been another with a mix of weather going on - most of it very messy. There was sleet and freezing rain early this morning - and that fell on about an inch and a half of new snow. Well, actually, more like three inches of  snow because we got another inch and a half the day before. The rain made the snow heavy and, of course very slippery on the roads. The temperature is still above freezing as I write this - it's been in the mid to high 30s all day. It may have gone above that, but every time I checked, it was high 30s. Tonight it's just a little above freezing here, so there are probably pockets where the air is colder and there's icing going on.
    We were out and about this morning. West Shore Road was well plowed and sanded, and about 9 o'clock tonight we saw the plow and sander going through again. The main roads were being plowed regularly, but still there was a lot of slush and every passing car, or worse the big trucks, left a spray of slush or salty mist that was very frustrating. We had to keep the wipers going and used lots of windshield washes. There was some wind, but we haven't lost power - yet.
     I want to remind everyone that it time to be getting serious about the Ice-Out Contest. The pond is well frozen over and before you know it, April 1st will be here and we'll be waiting to hear who had the good fortune to guess the right time the block went down. The block and flag aren't out there yet - that won't happen until around  March 1st, but tickets are available and you should probably have a supply on hand so you make educated guesses as time passes and weather changes occur. 
    You can go on line and get printable tickets that you can fill out and send with $1.00 for each one; or you can contact Diane Rossi to send you however man you want. Diane's phone is 802-563-6088, and her email is dmbrossi@aol.com. If you live close by, Hastings Store has a supply on hand - year around, actually! 
     Lots of people don't know that tickets are available almost all year long. The only time we won't have them is from April 1st, after the contest closes, until about the last week in May when the tickets for the 2020 contest will be ready. The 2019 tickets have been a popular item at Hastings Store all summer and fall! Tourists love them. Mostly the tourists don't have much of an idea what the weather is like here in the winter or what the ice conditions could be in the the spring, but then again, there have been more than a few out-of-state winners in the past. Just lucky guesses, and that's what this game is all about.
     So get in touch with Diane, or go on line to get your tickets now or any time until midnight, April 1. And GOOD LUCK!
 

     It has been a pretty day today, but on the cold side. Tonight we're getting some more snow and it's 20 degrees. About right for the holidays. 
      We have been seeing what we think are fox tracks in the snow on the lawn around our house. Ray Rouleau told me he's been seeing a very pretty and healthy looking fox at their house - it seems to have a regular route going from one house to another and on the pond, no doubt looking for food scraps of any kind - rodents or leftovers from ice fishermen. We have had lots of evidence of moles - the trails they leave in or sometimes under the snow, and a fox would enjoy snacking on them. Jamie and Marie have seen a fox a few times at their house, so we're thinking this may be a neighborhood regular.
     I learned today that one of my high school classmates in Cabot, Larry Thompson, died a few days before Christmas. I graduated in a class of six, and now there are only two of us left, Muriel Pike Green who lives in Florida, and myself. I haven't heard from Muriel since we graduated, 70 years ago. I saw Larry fairly often around Cabot - he used to come to Historical Society meetings and until recent years always was a color bearer in the Fourth of July parade. He served in the U. S. Navy, aboard submarines. Larry was a cowboy at heart. His father came to Cabot from out west - Montana, I believe, and Larry rode his horse every day from Woodbury where his family lived, to Cabot for high school. His cousin, Howard Carpenter, was the only other boy in our class. Howard served in the Navy, too - and he died many years ago after retiring from the service. Beverly Walters Carroll from our class also died several years ago, as did Jeannette Bickford Lyndes. It doesn't seem that long ago we were carefree and energetic in high school - the decades have passed quickly.
     I was thinking today about how parents or grandparents like to tell the youngsters today that they had to  "walk five miles to school, and it was uphill both ways." I was remembering that Larry made the trip daily from Woodbury to Cabot - which is more like seven miles - and it WAS up hill both ways. He had to climb a ridge that separates Route 14 and Route 215, both coming to school and going home. He was late some mornings when it was below zero or blowing a blizzard, but I don't remember that he ever missed school due to the weather. I was lucky. I rode my bike about four and a half miles - mostly downhill to school; but it sure was up hill all the way home. I boarded in the village during the winter, but as soon as the roads were dry enough, I was back on my bike. I remember I could never wear a wrist watch - they couldn't take the punishment of the rough roads. More than one was ruined before I figured that out.
     And so the Class of '48 just got a little smaller. Perhaps the four that are gone are having a reunion of their own . . .
     Now I'll to try to find Muriel to let her know about Larry's passing.

This morning it looks and feels like April out there. We actually have bare spots around our house. I really didn't believe we'd lose as much snow as this - there's water running off of the hillside in sheets under the remaining snow - everything is soggy and it's still raining. I measured 1.21 inches of new precipitation this morning. The temperature hasn't fallen much yet, but the forecast is for it to drop rapidly this afternoon. I haven't checked the forecast, but I expect if there's a sudden drop there will also be some wind involved. We've been lucky so far - no power outage.
     Our driveway is absolutely clear of ice this morning. Jamie very thoughtfully had the sand truck do ours yesterday along with his. We saw the truck go up through and Fred was thinking he'd go down and hail him to do ours, but he wasn't sure he wanted to risk navigating the icy driveway on foot - but before he would have had his boots and creepers on, the truck came, did the job and was gone!  Now when things freeze up, we will at least have a light coating of sand still on the driveway, and that will help a lot.
     In the meantime, we're happy there's no water rushing into our basement over the threshold of the doorway. Larry Rossi designed a berm to keep most of the water away from the door. What we have today is just a little seepage where the back wall meets the floor. There is probably a lot of water in the soil on the back side of our house, but a lot less than before Luke Persons dredged a ditch up in our woods! Good news all around!
     Before things get all frozen up again, I'm going out to see if the pocket where my snow measuring pole goes is uncovered. I can't tell from looking out the window, but it could be the snow has melted off that spot so I can get the pole up for the rest of the winter! I really missed it being there during all this snow we've had already.

     So here at Joe's Pond, we'll still have a White Christmas - but almost everywhere else has bare ground, and not likely to get much snow before the holiday. Santa's sleigh may have a bit of a struggle - but I understand his magic sleigh has a hidden set of wheels, so bare rooftops won't be any problem at all! Lead on, Rudolph!

    Here we are, the first day of winter, and it looks and feels more like late March. We have rain, wind, and a balmy temperature of 34 degrees. The rain didn't seem to start until early this morning, and it comes in waves, but pretty hard sometimes. This is supposed to last all day and then turn cold again sometime Saturday.
    We anticipated this (hard to miss with all the warnings on radio and television!) so did some shopping to lay in plenty of supplies yesterday so we wouldn't need to go out for the duration. Mainly, we knew this rain would wash away the snow cover on our steep driveway and all that ice that was the Bourne trucker's undoing last week would be exposed. This morning we could start at the top of our driveway and easily slide (or skate) to the mailbox without moving a muscle. With a little effort, between the rain and some salt, we may get some blacktop showing by the end of the day. However, sometimes that isn't such a good thing as it can get pretty glare if it is wet and freezes, so before it all freezes again, we may be throwing snow back on the wet surface to give it some texture. All part of living in the back woods. 
    Our Cabot road commissioner a number of years ago commented that he couldn't understand why anybody would live on a back road. He lives in the village, of course. However, it's all a challenge, but we're used to it, having lived here for so long. It's a whole lot better than when I was growing up here - and way better than when Fred and I first came here to live in the early 1980s. Back then, roads were sometimes completely plugged with snow while the plows struggled to get to us, and because we were right at the Cabot/Danville town line, we were very often unable to get to Route 2 because Danville hadn't plowed. And mud season was the pits, in every sense of the word. There hasn't been a really bad mud season for quite a number of years. Sure, there have been bad spots, but back when we were living at camp there would be at least a week or two when we'd have to leave our car parked somewhere on Route 2 and walk to it - sometimes we left it at the fishing access and other times at the farm at the head of our road.
     I have to say that our present road commissioner, Karen Deasy, is doing a great job keeping roads plowed, sanded, reasonably smooth and free of deep potholes and downed trees. When we call about a problem, someone responds quickly. It's a tough job, especially with the crazy, changeable weather we are getting. It's definitely a challenge for road crews. I don't believe there are many female road commissioners in Vermont, but Karen has surely been a success in my mind. She and her crew do a great job. That said, today is a good day to stay off the road if you don't have to travel!

Dr. David Toll

   We are sad to learn of the passing on Sunday, December 16, 2018 of Dr. David Toll, a long-time pediatrician in St. Johnsbury. Dr. Toll was Abel Toll's father. Dr. Toll was such a highly respected doctor for so many years, many are saddened by his passing, but none more than his family.  
     Dr. Toll was 93 years old and had only retired three years ago, having treated literally hundreds of children and sometimes well into their adult years. He had a reputation of not only being a talented doctor, but also a very accessible one. He never turned  anyone away. He was admired and respected in the community and by others in the medical profession. His presence will be missed.
    Any who wish to send Abel and his family condolences can send them to: Mr. & Mrs. Abel Toll, P. O. Box 192, Danville, VT 05828. 
    A celebration of his life will be held at the Creamery Restaurant in Danville from 1-4 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, December 21).
     Our deepest sympathy to Abel, Kitty and their family.

We were interested in watching the UVM basketball team on the news tonight. That reminded Fred of Will Voigt, from Cabot. We followed Will's career for a few years, as well. We knew the family a little - the late Blanche Lamore worked for the family for many years. They lived not far from Blanche on the West Hill Pond Road. She traveled a great deal with them as nanny for the children. Nice family, and she loved them dearly.
     I keep forgetting to post this snippit sent to me by Andy Rudin a few days ago:

From USA Today. The Coldest Spot in Vermont

 

Sutton

• Average low temperature: 26.4 degrees Fahrenheit
• Average low temperature during coldest month: -1 degrees Fahrenheit (January)
• Average number of days that reach 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below: 204.8

I wouldn't argue that, but I'm pretty sure there are other towns that run a close second - and Sutton may lose that distinction at any time. It could be Walden - or West Danville!

We are enjoying the Christmas music - including "Baby, It's Cold Outside!" that has retained its place on the playlist of radio stations everywhere after the brief ban by some stations. Silly stuff.

Do you remember Gene Autry? He was known as "The Singing Cowboy" and did a bunch of Christmas songs. One was "Here Comes Santa Claus," and another popular one was "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." He did lots of others, as well.

I always like Bing Crosby's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," the version with the Andrews Sisters. Pretty typical 1940s sound. For a pretty neat contrast, listen to Bruce Springsteen's version! Then here's one you don't hear every day that I really like - the Temptations doing "Silent Night".

Enough Christmas music for awhile? We'll all be listening to something else in about a week! Time flies.

 

How cold is it? I'm showing a mere 14 degrees right now, and the wind is making it feel more like zero. The overnight low was -4.1F. We got about 2.5 inches of new, fluffy dry snow and there's still snow in the air - whether from blowing or snow showers, it's hard to tell. I was outside only long enough to measure the snow and clean off the deck. The wind is bitterly cold and whipping snow off the trees in clouds. I just checked on line and our friends in Anchorage  had 22 degrees at 6 a.m. It was about 4 degrees here at 6 a.m.
     I may hear from Diane Rossi or Shelly Walker who are at pond level on West Shore Road that they had reading much colder than I did. We'll see. According to Google, West Danville is also 14 degrees at this time (10 a.m.)
     I'll share a little personal story with you - I'm sure many other women (and perhaps men, too) have had this same experience. Over time I have developed arthritis, especially in my hands. I've always joked that it was a direct result of wringing out all those cloth diapers from three babies back in the day. Or more realistically, it may be more job related. I learned to type in business school in about 1949, and any job I ever had required typing - endlessly, sometimes. I can't imagine the number of pages I tapped out on manual Underwoods, Royals or Smith-Coronas. Then there were the IBM Electric typewriters, and now computer keyboards. The point is, my fingers did the working and now some of my knuckles are swollen and painful - especially my ring finger. I had my wedding rings resized several years ago, but realized recently that no matter how or what I tried, I could not get my wedding band off over my big knuckle.
     I recently talked to another woman with the same problem and she described it as feeling "claustrophobic." I hadn't thought much about that, but knew it wasn't going to get any better, so I began looking for a solution. I knew I could get the ring cut off and resized, but then for it to be large enough to go over my knuckle, it would be huge and dangling on my finger, catching on things and uncomfortable. I knew that was not an option. 
     We stopped in at Sunshine Boutique in St. Johnsbury, to talk to Fred Little a few weeks ago and he came up with a hinged band that might work. I had him cut off my wedding band and he ordered a hinged  replacement. 
     We picked up the new ring on a Saturday, on our way to Lisbon for granddaughter Tangeni's swimm meet. The band looked ok  - but just "okay." It had very square edges, not the soft round ones I was used to. It looked more like some kind of industrial washer plated in gold. It locked on well and came with a neat little tool to use to unlock it, but after only a few hours wearing it, I realized it wasn't going to work for me. Too sharp edges, irritated my finger and I was just not happy with it.
     I was describing my problem to JoAnne, our oldest grand as we watched the swimmers. After listening to me carefully, she said, "Just wear your  wedding band on a gold chain, Grandma."
     You know, that made perfect sense to me. It might not be the solution for everyone, but I loved the idea. Problem solved.
My wedding band is  repaired and polished, and I have a lovely gold chain that belonged to my mother that is perfect for it. I miss it on my finger, but I appreciate no more worries about it becoming painful and really difficult to get off. Who knows - perhaps one day I'll find just the right ring and can replace it comfortably. 
     And by the way, Fred Little, the jeweler did a very nice job of cutting the ring off. He had a neat little gadget that did it in a matter of seconds and it was completely painless - except for the anxiety of realizing "he's cutting off my wedding ring!" That was a bit wrenching, but husband Fred was in full agreement that it was time to take action, and if he felt any sentiments, he didn't voice them. After all, it takes more than a ring to make a marriage.

Just when you think you've seen everything! This picture came from Diane Rossi today. Diane said she thinks they were roasting hotdogs! Sounds good, and what a great day to have a picnic on the ice! Or maybe they were cooking the fish they just caught! 

Then later in the day we were in the village to get the mail and saw two people sitting and fishing out on the ice in just off the beach at the first pond. I don't recall seeing anyone fishing there often, but I suppose there's no reason not to. With the current a bit more swift as it flows towards the day, I'd worry about the thickness of the ice, but I guess they probably knew what was safe.

Lovely weather today - a good deal warmer and at least some sun. Now I'm hoping we don't lose all of our snow before Christmas! It could happen - but not very likely, as I think there must be 12-18 inches still on the ground. I got our snowshoes out the other day, so there's no reason for me not to go out and measure the depth - except I'm downright lazy about it. Maybe tomorrow, if the spirit moves. I should do it from time to time for CoCoRaHS, but for the past couple of years I just haven't bothered. There have been some years that I waded out into the back yard where it's level with no drifts, and carefully measured the depth and took a core sample to measure the amount of precipitation. I have to shovel down to the ground to get a metal "stopper" under the tube to keep the snow in. My measuring tube is only about 14 inches tall, so sometimes when the snow is really deep  I have had to take precip measurements in two or three segments. Sometimes there's a crust part way down and that can make getting a good measurement difficult. But like I always say, measuring snow and precipitation isn't rocket science, so I just do the best I can.

This information came from Paige Crosby today. This is something that really should have been done a long time ago - we are just really fortunate there hasn't been a tragedy there. So glad Lindsay and Paige took the initiative to get this done:
 

I wanted to report to the JPA that the State of Vermont has installed a fence on the river bank across from the Hasting's Store.  Many thanks to Lindsay Kurrle who took this right to Joe Flynn at the Department of Transportation after the last JPA meeting in August.  I emailed them a few days later and they were aware of the area and it is now fenced.  It was always my fear that a child would slip down that bank and be whisked away over the dam.  I am not a lover of chain linked fence but that 30 feet of steep bank always terrified me.  It is now much safer.

Happy Holidays.

Paige Crosby

So many thanks to both of these women for getting the job done!

 

We had an unusual experience this afternoon when Bourne's came to deliver fuel. Our driveway has been fine - no large amount of ice although it has been crispy underneath. The truck backed up as usual. I didn't hear him leave, so got up to look out the kitchen window and there was the truck headed down over the bank part way down our driveway!! Now, this isn't the first time we've had a runaway fuel truck on this driveway. It happened years ago when my parents lived here - pretty much the same thing except I think the driver had to call a wrecker that time. 
     I called to Fred who was busy in the other end of the house and had no idea what was happening. I went out and called to the driver who by then was part way down the driveway, the hose still extended up towards the house. I asked what happened and he said the truck just started sliding. Fortunately, he had finished and shut off the hose and was getting ready to reel it in when he said first thing he knew it pulled out of his hand and he saw the truck moving down the driveway. He looked the situation over and called his office to let them know his situation. Then he told me he was going to "try to drive it out." He said if he couldn't, the office would send a wrecker .
     We have had that experience, too. My eighty-something father once went too far off the end of the driveway and while Fred and I were trying to shovel him out, he called out to us saying, "Just stand back, I think I can drive it right down over the hill." And he did. Slick as a whistle, down over the steep bank and onto the road. The ditch wasn't as deep then, and that year we didn't have nearly as much snow as we had this time - but same scenario.
     I told the driver about the deep ditch that is along that side of the road now, and off he went. He waded into the snow, got in the truck and gunned it. He made it almost onto the road - the two front wheels were on the road, but the left rear wheel was caught in the deep snow that was part ditch, part snowbank from the plow.
     He got out his shovel and went to work, and a few minutes later he was out and onto the road. He churned up some mud out of the ditch, but somehow got that hulking oil truck out of there - no harm done. He looked under the thing to be sure it was ok and off he went.
     I later went out and took pictures of the spot. The truck went over one or two of the little maples we have growing along the roadside, but I don't think it harmed them much. I'll look more closely tomorrow, but other than maybe some skinned bark, I think they will be ok. 
     We were really impressed with the driver's ability to get himself out of a pickle like he did. It took nerve and skill to get out of such a predicament.
     Bourne's will let us know when there's going to be a delivery next time so we can salt or sand the driveway if needed. Our driveway has caught more than one driver off guard - myself included. I've found myself off one side or the other in a snow bank once or twice; Billy Rossi had to have a wrecker haul him out one time, and more than once we've had to shovel and push someone out of the snow - most of these times it has been when the driver didn't have enough momentum and traction to make the hill and had to back down. That's the tricky part - getting too far off on one side of the other when backing. Today the truck just took off front first, sliding. Of course we took pictures!!

Another cold night and cold morning - but we have beautiful sunshine. The sunrise did not bode well, however. If the old seamen's adage, "red sunset at night, sailors' delight; red sunrise in morning, sailors take warning" holds true, our beautiful day will likely end with some sort of weather disturbance. Probably snow for us.
     Fred took the above shot from our living room window this morning as the sun was coming up. A few minutes later he took a picture of our weather station showing a mere 1.6F. The low was -4.9F last night. Now the sun is still very bright and the temperature is all the way up to 19F.
     Some of you no doubt know about the bobcat attack in White River Junction. This is quite unusual unless the animal had rabies or some other disease. Two people were actually attacked, one in Wilder village and the other  in downtown White River Junction. Neither person was seriously injured, but after the Wilder attack, Vermont officials were tracking the animal and Lt. Dennis Amsden of Vt. Fish and Wildlife Department said the animal was being tested and results should be known shortly. 
     Just recently a St. Johnsbury woman posted on Front Porch Forum about watching two bobcats checking out her rabbits in the Spaulding District. The bunnies were not harmed - apparently they are securely penned, but she said it was interesting to watch the two bobcats. They were looking for an easy lunch, I suppose. 
     The Route 2 bridge work west of us near the Goodrich Maple Farm has finally come to a close. Here is the latest, and probably last report until spring:

Proposed Work Schedule, Week of 12/17/18, 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.


Active construction activities will wrap up this week for the winter shut-down period. Next week crews will cover construction signs throughout the project and the 40 mph speed zone will be removed for the winter. Updates for this project will resume in the spring of 2019 when construction activities commence.

TRAVEL ALERT:  The speed reduction zone of 40 mph will be removed for the winter shut-down period.

TRAFFIC INFORMATION:  Construction signs and temporary speed reduction signs will be covered next week for the winter shut-down period.

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

Lynn Carpenter

Here is the obituary for Lynn Carpenter who passed away this week. For those of you who may want to send Don and the family condolences, his address is:
Donald Carpenter
P. O. Box 102
West Danville VT 05873

We have to report sad news today. Lynne Carpenter  (Otis Drive) passed away yesterday afternoon. We don't have any details yet, but I will post them as soon as they are available. Lynne had many friends at Joe's Pond and will be very missed. Our deepest sympathy goes to her husband, Donald and their family.

Another wintery day! We had sunshine with snow flurries most of the morning and then mostly sunshine, but temperatures stayed in the teens. It's been heading downward all afternoon - slowly but surely, and is now 10 degrees. Fred took this picture as we left Marty's after gassing up this afternoon. We stopped to pick up mail at West Danville and the wind was really cold, making the 18 degrees we were seeing on our car thermometer seem more like 8. It was so nice to see the sun, though, we really didn't mind being out, even though it was cold.
The snow flurries yesterday and during the night amounted to 1.5 in. when I measured at 9 this morning. We had flurries after that, but just a dusting, and even the slightest breeze would shift the flakes like fairy dust. Everything sparkled under the sun - including us, I think. At least, we felt invigorated just to see the sun shining.
     My friend, Mary Whitcomb, sent these lovely pictures of the birds she has at her feeder and in her yard. They are so beautiful, I wanted to share them with everyone! Mary has a real knack - or I guess more aptly put, a real talent for photography and is a very knowledgeable birder. I'm putting the pictures in as small images, but to really enjoy them, click on one and then you can see them all enlarged as a slide show. Enjoy! And thank you, Mary for these lovely shots.

When we were heading out (to Tangeni's swim meet) today, we noticed there were two shantys on the ice! We had said as we headed down West Shore Road that there might be fishermen out on the ice, but we really didn't expect to see the houses up yet. This evening I had a message from Shelly Walker -

Hi Jane,  There are two people ice fishing in the bay this morning, braving the 13 below temps.  One is in front of Alonzo's and another in front of Kevin Johnson's.  The one in front of Johnson's has a little pop-up tent.  Neither is out towards the middle of the bay, but it makes me nervous to watch.  I have no idea how thick the ice is.

 

We just have to trust those guys know what they're doing. I'm glad they weren't far from shore - in case they went through the ice they might at least have a chance at getting to shore. They would be darned cold, though. It's cold again tonight - but we didn't have a temperature reading as cold as Shelly and Diane, probably because we are a little higher. I guess it won't be quite as cold tonight. I do hope the sun is shining again tomorrow. Today was so nice with the sunshine, even though it was still bitterly cold. Even in Littleton area where we were for the swim meet, it was only in the low teens.

 

 It is a very nice facility - I think it's called Evergreen, or something like that. The top photo was Tangeni and in the next one, she's the little girl in the middle.

 

Baby, It's Cold Outsi . . . .Oops!!

Better not go there - might offend someone. But it IS cold outside this morning. Bright sunshine, and four degrees - above zero. Low last night was -1.4F. The sky was clear and it was a beautiful night to look out - not so nice if you had be BE out.

We had snow flurries off and on yesterday, but they didn't amount to much. Just enough to cover up the icy spots so you can't see them walking or driving - little surprises along the way.

I went online to read the lyrics of the now banned holiday song and I can see how in today's culture they come across as controversial. In it's day, 1944, it was just flirty and suggestive - but really never offensive.

I read what the daughter of  Frank Loesser, who wrote the song had to say, and I thought it was very enlightening - I don't know about the part about Bill Cosby spoiling it for everyone else, but the part about how her father came to write the song was interesting and I could imagine those parties where lots of people in the entertainment field had gathered and it was expected that some of those performers would entertain the guests with bits from their latest act or, in the Loesser's case, a new song performed with his wife and musical partner, Lynn Garland Loesser.

One thing strikes me as being out of sync somehow is that this song is creating such a fuss while the really, really raunchy stuff being written and played on the air every day now is perfectly acceptable. Trust me when I say you don't want to read the lyrics on many, many of those songs. But radio stations everywhere are playing this really bad stuff - rap, hip-hop, rock and even country-western - they all have some pretty racy stuff going on these days.

Of course, it's a totally different world than even 20 years ago. Better or worse, it's where we are as humans right now. Some songs I will choose to leave off my play list; but I think I'll probably keep Baby, It's Cold Outside - it's a reminder of a time when girls appreciated an occasional whistle or an enthusiastic "Hubba-hubba!"

Proposed Work Schedule, Week of 12/10/18, 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.

 

Crews will continue to work on the wall and fence located at the Goodrich property. When this work has been completed, the contractor will close up this project for the winter. Work will resume in the Spring of 2019.

When winter shut-down activities have been completed, construction signs and the temporary speed reduction signs will be covered for the winter.

Miscellaneous clean-up, ditch work, top soiling and seeding has been completed.

 

The extra width from the westbound lane and side slope have been removed and installation of permanent guardrail in this location has been completed.

Paving operations were not able to be completed this construction season due to temperature and weather conditions. Final course of paving for this project will take place when the 2019 construction season commences. 

TRAVEL ALERT:  A speed reduction zone of 40 mph is in place for this project until the winter shut-down period begins. There are increased fines for speed violations within the construction zone. 

TRAFFIC INFORMATION:  Construction signs and temporary speed reduction signs will be covered once the project has been shut-down for the winter.

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

     Back to winter! I measured an inch of very light, dry snow this morning and it's been snowing lightly to moderately since then, so we probably have another inch or so. Nothing that is going to hold up traffic or anything, but the temperature is in the 20 degree range and there's a mean gusty wind that makes it feel like it's in the single numbers when it's whipping through. Now that we're into December, I guess we can't complain - this is "normal" for this time of the year. I just hope we get an early spring to offset starting winter so darned early.
     I know many of you know this, but just in case you've forgotten - I'm no longer involved directly with the Ice-Out Contest. It's now in the very capable hands of Diane Rossi, Mary Anne Cassani and Michelle Walker. This new committee decided last year they would not distribute the usual ten tickets to all our members; therefore, if you are wondering what you did with your ten 2019 tickets, don't fret it - you never received them. Perhaps you picked up some at one of the meetings last summer and if you misplaced them or left them at camp, that's another scenario altogether. If you didn't pick up any then and want some mailed to you, get in touch with one of the committee members:
Mary Anne Cassani - 802-684-2195
Michelle Walker - 802-563-2357
Diane Rossi - 802-563-6088

Mary Anne will be monitoring Hastings Store and after about the first of the year, the mail as well. She will alert me to any mail not Ice-Out related, but until the end of Ice-Out season, that's what the majority of the mail is.
     Nothing else has changed. Fred is doing the web site, Henretta Splain is already logging in tickets, and I'm still here answering emails and writing the blog. Later on, more will change because I am resigning as secretary of JPA - but the changeover will be relatively seamless, and God willing, neither of us is going anywhere, and we'll always be happy to hear from anyone in need of help or information.
     I feel after twenty years as secretary, it's probably time someone else gives it a shot. Not only that, but I really, really, really want to finish up this history of West Danville, and even after all the stories are told and the writing is finished, the manuscript will need to have photos inserted and be formatted ready for printing - no small job, and Patty, Dot, Jane L. and I - along with our super editor, Linda - are going to be very busy. I'm "clearing the decks," so to speak, in order to have time and energy for that process.
     Every now and then someone will ask how come we haven't publish yet - it's been four years since we began this project. I have to say that unless you have written a book, you don't understand how much work it is. Even if you have written a book, unless it was one that had to be researched and the information verified as much as possible, you'd have no clue. One of our problems is the constant discovery of "new" material - something that comes out of the shadows of someone's mind or from a dusty edition of some old book or newspaper - and we feel compelled to investigate and probably we'll want to include it. I've told the others several times, we have to draw a line here some place; but then we find something we hadn't seen before that we know needs to be included. It's the nature of a history project - it's never going to have "everything" included, we know - but we'll try our best to not leave out anything important that comes our way.

We spent a good share of our morning in St. Johnsbury - it was raining hard when we left home, the roads were very mushy and when we got beyond Danville, there was pretty dense fog. Strange weather all around, but this afternoon it almost cleared for a few minutes, just before dark. The temperature is going down and we are going to have a little snow tonight and possibly tomorrow. That should brighten things up where the mud was beginning to show through. No mud showing here on West Shore Road, but the trees are clear of snow, and that is a good thing.
     My friend, Mary Whitcomb, sent me this message today:
 

Hi Jane,  I’ve been enjoying reading your blogs and wanted to share this drone video of Walden, because it looks like your photos at your home and I thought you’d enjoy

looking at your next-town-over-neighbor’s snowy scenery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8or9J9Cw0Y

The Green Mountain Drone video of Walden shows 14 inches of snow in the last 2-day snowstorm with music by Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys.

I hated to see winter come so early this year, but in 18 more days, the days will start getting longer.  😊

Keep warm and healthy and enjoy the next 3 weeks leading up to Christmas.

Take care, Mary

 

I watched the video taken by the drone - it's fascinating to see all that snow from above. And of course, Walden is our close neighbor town, so this is exactly what the woods around Joe's Pond looked like before the rain took away the snow.

 

I watched the next video, too - about the house in Sweden that is enclosed within a greenhouse. That, too, is fascinating, but it doesn't sound like it's for everyone. Interesting, though.

 

So thanks to Mary for sending the video. It's always good to hear from her. She has taken and shared some wonderful photos of animals around her house in Duxbury and always seems to have  something interesting going on. Forever the optimist, as you can tell. It's nice to think that in 18 more days the days will begin getting longer! Thank you for that, too, Mary!!

This has been a really rainy day. The snow is gone like magic from the trees, but there are still mounds of snow on the ground and on roofs. Our roof has had water running off and freezing into icicles - even the unheated garage roof has icicles, thanks to all the rain. The air was cold enough to make ice during the night, but today things were melting rapidly. It's still above freezing (35.5F), and I think the rain has stopped. Tomorrow is going to be colder but no rain - just some snow late in the day. It's going to be really cold all next week, and no precipitation in the forecast. Things are going to be really crusty/crunchy!! Time to get out the inner tubes and toboggans! There is still a lot of snow on the ground, and I expect there will be a very hard crust that will be great for tubing.
     Our friends in Anchorage report they had no big damage from the earthquake at their house - just items knocked off shelves. Their aquarium splashed onto a computer router and that knocked out their computer messaging for a while. Michael used some special stuff to dry it out, and it still works, but he said it still really isn't happy. He said they didn't lose electricity and everything else works, too. Other parts of the city were not as fortunate. We are just grateful they are all ok.

If you live here in the "Kingdom" - or I'm guessing anywhere within about a 150 mile radius - get ready for another winter storm and possible power outages.  This warning comes from Green Mountain Power Corp.:

Green Mountain Power is preparing for a new storm forecasted to bring wet snow, ice and possible outages to areas already hard hit by Monday's big snowstorm. Crews have already restored power to more than 104,000 customers and are on track to get everyone back on just as the new storm reaches southern and central Vermont late Saturday.

GMP is urging customers to plan ahead for possible outages. The company has opened its district offices in Bethel, Brattleboro, Sunderland and Springfield to customers who need food, a place to charge their phone, WiFi, or a warm place and state emergency officials have shelters open.

A complete list of shelters along with warming centers, which are open during the daytime, is available at the Vermont Emergency Management website, https://vem.vermont.gov.

GMP is also reminding customers to be safe.
 If you don't have power and can't be safe in your home, you can reach out to 211 for shelters in your area.
 Stay away from downed lines and downed trees, they can be hidden by snow.
 Watch out for power and emergency crews who will be working with large vehicles in narrow, snow-loaded roadways.

To get the latest information on outages and restoration times, customers can sign up for text service alerts, by texting REG to 46788 or GMPVT, or signing up online at greenmountainpower.com/textalerts. Customers can also sign up for GMP's app to report outages at the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and search for GMP. Customers may also report outages by calling 1-888-835-4672, or visiting GMP's Outage Center page at www.greenmountainpower.com.

Tomorrow and Monday may be troublesome; however there is a long stretch of pretty nice weather forecast for the next several days. If we can manage to get through the rain and freezing stuff in the next couple of days, there's light at the other end!
     Unfortunately, we still have piles of snow still on trees that are bending over highways and power lines. The rain that is expected starting tomorrow will wreak havoc on these already compromised trees.
     We went to Newport yesterday, just to take a bit of a road trip after pretty much being pent up watching snow fall. It promised to be a fairly "normal" day with only a few snow flurries that wouldn't complicate travel. We were surprised at how many limbs were overhanging the power lines along the highways. No wonder so many people were without power!
     There weren't many people at Eastside Restaurant when we got there around 5:30, but later the place began to fill up. There was a nice three-piece band playing in the bar - two men and a woman all three with guitars and one of them also played a mean harmonica. We were in the dining area just off the bar, so couldn't see everything, but we thoroughly enjoyed listening to them. Our waitress told us the name of the band, but we couldn't really understand what she was saying, so left it at that. They were "a little bit country" doing the FJohnny Cash song, "Folsom Prison Blues" and the female vocalist did a great version of Patsy Cline's "Crazy." They also did "Brown Eyed Girl" - but their version wasn't as good as our that of our local "Hit Men." What surprised us was the nice sound of three guitars with no drums.
     It was a nice get-away and dinner was very good, as always. It was good that it wasn't crowded in the dining room and therefore wasn't terribly noisy. The bar was a different story, I'm sure.
     So, get ready for the next onslaught of weather. Be prepared with auxiliary heat, extra water and food because not only could we find ourselves without power, we also might not be able to get past downed trees in order to get out for supplies. Above all, don't do anything foolish. Leave the downed trees for the experts - notify the power company if there is a tree on the power line; notify your road crew if there's a tree or big limb obstructing the roadway. Don't be out on the road unless you absolutely have to travel - and if you do have to go someplace, watch out for icy patches. The forecast is for freezing rain. Isn't this winter proving to be more fun than hot summer days?!  Then there's Alaska. Earthquakes and according to our friends who live in Anchorage, they have very little snow so far this year and haven't had the deep cold we've had. Go figure! I'll take the snow and cold rather than the earthquakes!