Today was a really pretty day with lots of sunshine that really made everything look beautiful - but it never warmed up to the sun's hype. We had four inches of fluffy new snow that we really don't need, and although the air temperature got into the low 20s, there was a gusty wind that went right through you.
     I had a meeting with the book committee at noon - and the roads were really good. It was just warm enough so the salt could work and mostly they were dry by the time I went out. West Shore Road has been well plowed and sanded, but I could see the shine of glare ice in the wheel tracks in spots. I suspect if anyone had to make an emergency stop, you might find yourself in a snowbank. At lease we have pretty good sized snowbanks to catch us if we slide off the road! The town has been through pushing the banks back very well and that should help to make room for the next batch of snow we are getting tomorrow night - six to ten inches, according to the forecast.
     I expect there will be some much warmer weather soon and with all the snow we have, there will be flooding in places, for sure. On the WCAX weather today they said this winter has made it into the ten most snowy winters on record. This is seventh right now, but after tomorrow's storm, we could move up to third or maybe even second.
     I found that hard to believe, but then I remembered that we lost a lot of the snow last week when we had some very hard rain going on. The snow pack went way down so we don't have an unusual amount on the ground; but if we count each snow storm, the inches do add up. In fact, I added up what I have recorded just this month and got a little over 57 inches.
     Anyway, February is just around the corner and with the sun higher in the sky and daylight lasting longer, the earth will begin to warm up - in spite of the cold temperatures we'll no doubt still be experiencing. I think this has been one of the colder winters on record - but we'll have to wait and see how that turns out. We've had some freaky warm spells, too, so it may average out to be just that - average!
     The book is progressing. Both Dot and Patty have travel plans during the next few weeks, so their time is limited to spend on writing. We have no plans to go further than St. Johnsbury or Barre, at least not until mud season, and then we might take off for a few days. We had dear friends, Paul and Paulette Hartrick, who always planned to be gone during mud season. Spring is always a nice time to head off someplace. No matter what direction you go from Joe's Pond during that time of the year, within just a few miles the weather is warmer, trees are budding, flowers are blossoming, birds are singing and the grass is truly greener. If you stay away a few days, when you get back you can enjoy spring all over again! Double the pleasure.