We are saddened this morning to learn of the passing of Margaret Ritchie, a long-time summer resident at Joe's Pond until recently. She and her husband, Alban, enjoyed many summers at their North Shore cottage, now owned by David and Carolyn Porter. Our sincere condolences to her family. 

I have just come in from measuring and shoveling snow. It was a bit of a chore clearing the deck this morning - nine inches of new snow had fallen since yesterday morning and it is still snowing and blowing. Although I measured nine inches, there was a drift of about twice that in front of the door onto the deck. On mornings like this it's really hard to get an accurate measurement of the snow because of the drifting and shifting. Some spots are swept nearly bare and snow is piled up in other spots. When that happens, I take several measurements and then get an average.  That's the best I can do. This morning I had a hard time seeing - the snow was swirling and my inclination was to keep my eyes closed. I should have had goggles on. Oh, well. It's only going to get snowier and colder.

Everyone - enjoy your day the best you can. Don't over-do the shoveling, especially if you aren't used to exercise. And if you must be on the roads, do be careful - there are bound to be white-outs with the wind swirling the snow like it is. Be safe.