Gosh, I haven't left the house all day! There are a couple of reasons. First, I have been glued to my computer, mostly doing research for the history book. I am writing a chapter on deaths and noticed a definite trend of people dying quite young, in their thirties and forties, around the turn of the century, 1900. When I investigated causes, many of the young men had tuberculosis, and most of them worked in the stone sheds. Of course, there were other causes of early death, but that stood out. I learned that workers who came from Italy in the 1800s to work in the Barre granite business were the first to complain about working conditions in the shops. In Italy they mostly worked outdoors where the wind swept away the harmful dust associated with cutting the stone. When they came here, they worked in enclosed spaces because of the cold weather and there were times they could not see to identify the man working next to them because the dust was so thick. Of course, there was no thought of wearing masks or exhausting the dust out of the work area, but after complaining and pointing out the obvious results of breathing that dust, some progress was made, but it wasn't until the 1930s or so that conditions began to really improve. 
    I found that while doctors were diagnosing tuberculosis, they were unaware that the primary condition was silicosis, and left untreated, that left the men susceptible for TB. Early doctors were telling families that unsanitary conditions in the home caused the infections. They finally realized the connections, fortunately, but in the meantime, a lot of young men died before their time.
    I want to let you know that there is a new training session set up for early June on cyanobacteria - the blue-green algae we see from time to time. Some of it is toxic, while other species are ok. To learn more about this, check out the link. There is also more about it on home page of the website.
    I owe a lot of you apologies. When you post a comment here on the blog, it is supposed to alert me that there is a comment and then I can either approve it for posting or delete it - depending on the content. (I get spam on here just like you get it in your email or on the phone!) However, here's the thing - I haven't had any messages to alert me a comment is waiting for approval. I'm not sure why that is. The only way I realized I'd missed some neat comments was when I was checking my settings tonight because suddenly the default font for the blog was different and I couldn't seem to change it. I finally figured out that out of half a dozen fonts offered, only about half actually work. Again, I have no idea why!  I will now periodically check for messages by going to my settings - and hopefully will get this wrinkle smoothed out. In the meantime, I'm sorry your comments were not shared. It wasn't personal - it was just that I didn't realize there were any waiting. I'll be more watchful in the future.
    Honestly, I don't see how some people, especially older folks like myself, manage to keep their computers operational. I'm forever finding something is goofed up and have to have Fred rescue me, and I'm fairly savvy about computer stuff. Some of my contemporaries are pretty clueless about their computers - they know how to turn the things on and send an email, but that's about it. I can get into trouble just going from one page to another, and most of the time I'm pretty sure I didn't touch anything I shouldn't, but just the same, things change. One day last week one of my shortcuts disappeared from the screen. It took me a while to figure out how to get it back - and then I found it in with some files in the document file. That has happened with other files - they disappear from where they've been forever and later I find them (usually when I use "search") tucked in with some other unrelated stuff. It's probably that my fingers are doing the walking on the wrong keys, but then, it could be gremlins in the hard drive . . .
    The second reason I've stayed inside and felt sort of like a prisoner much of this afternoon is because I kept thinking about how thick the black flies were yesterday and I began it itch all over again - so I just didn't go out. Yesterday I thought I hadn't been bitten, but soon after supper I realized I had a couple bites behind my ears - a favorite spot for the little pests to dine, apparently. I am digging out my Crocodile Insect Repellent - it will probably work better than the Off! they seemed to relish yesterday.  I am so bothered by their bites, I looked them up to find out what causes the intense itching and found when they bite they inject an anticoagulant to make the blood flow more freely and that's what causes the itch. What I read didn't mention this, but for me, the itch triggers hives and they spread rapidly and itch intensely. So the scalp on the back of my head has itched like crazy most of the day. Very distracting. The only relief is cold compresses. Or I could soak my head in cold water. Either way, I'm not going outside again until black fly season is over! That could be a while this year. They like babbling brooks and with all the rain we've had, there is plenty of babbling going on everywhere. So unless the weather changes, we could be victims of these pesky little gnats well into July - or maybe they'll be here all summer. I itch all over just thinking about them. I'm going to go and get a cold compress for my itching head now. If anyone has better solutions, let me know. Comments are welcome - I'll watch for them!

 

Frances Prevost

We learned today of the passing of Frances Bogardus Prevost, less than two weeks from her 101st birthday. "Fran," as she was affectionately known in West Danville, came to live at Joe's Pond with her husband, Col. Jules Prevost, in 1968. They built a beautiful home on the Route 15 side of the middle pond and stayed there year around until a few years before her death when she moved to the Greensboro Nursing Home. A celebration of her life will be held at the West Danville Methodist Church on June 1, at 2 p.m.  Our condolences to her family. 
    We attended the celebration of the life of our friend, Billy Keach this morning. The Joe's Pond pavilion was packed to over-flowing. Billy had many, many friends throughout the area. He graduated from St. Johnsbury Academy and after serving in the military, returned to St. Johnsbury and eventually worked with his father, Ken Keach doing  carpentry. That was how I came to know Billy. Actually, my son Bill recommended him when I was looking for someone to renovate my parents' house when Fred and I moved here. Billy was great to work with - he tolerated my whims and figured out ways to preserve some of the work my father did when he built this house. Later, I knew Billy as a staunch supporter of Joe's Pond Association and we looked forward to seeing him at meetings and social events. We learned a great deal more about him today, and no surprise - how much he meant to so many people. I heard more than a few say how much he would have enjoyed seeing all those who were there today. It's hard to say goodbye, and we will miss him at every meeting, every social gathering. Our thoughts are with Bo and the family. I know it was a hard day for them. I hope it helped to know so many people cared for their loved one so much.

  Today was another disappointment weather-wise. I received this lovely photo from Gretchen Farnsworth (Sandy Beach Road) today, so apparently the day started off quite promising - however, I wouldn't know because I was sound asleep at the time Gretchen was out there taking the picture. If you know the old saying, "Red sunrise at morning, sailors take warning," the day proved the adage absolutely correct. We had cold, miserable rainy weather most of the day. It's been in the 40s all day - and tomorrow isn't going to be much different. Perhaps a little warmer, but still well below normal temperatures and possibly some rain - again. Very pretty picture, and thank you, Gretchen.
    Gretchen said from her living room she can see the loon nest on Pearl Island using her binoculars. I'm hoping she will keep an eye on them and let us know how they are doing. I can't help wondering why they abandoned the floating platform they have successfully used for so many years. I guess even loon families need a change of scenery after a while.  
     I will remind those of you who will be going to the service for Billy Keach tomorrow - 11 a.m. at the Joe's Pond Association pavilion - it will be chilly there. The side curtains help, but the place is by no means draft free, and there is no heat, so please dress accordingly. 
 

 

    Another pretty nice day. There was a cooler than comfortable breeze that was great if you were working, but if you just wanted to sit and enjoy the sunshine, you were a little too cool. Tonight we are possibly getting a frost, and that's about normal for late May. It really isn't safe to have tender plants out until the second week in June, and sometimes even then there is an occasional night when the temperature drops awfully close to freezing.
    I've finished up the last of my Joe's Pond Association secretarial duties, I believe. The minutes of Saturday's meeting are posted on the website, I've spent most of today pulling out the albums where I've filed hundreds of reports and various other papers pertaining to JPA business, getting things ready to transfer to our new secretary, Jamie Stewart.
     When I took this job twenty years ago, I inherited a jumble of papers, many of which were over 70 years old, frayed and fragile. My first priority back then was to organize them and put them in archival sleeves to protect them from further damage and then file them in binders. Over the past 20 years, I've added many more papers, newspaper clippings and photos to the collection, so now there are at least a dozen binders and albums documenting the Joe's Pond Association activities. There are digital files as well, and those are ready for Jamie to have, as well.
    This weekend I had a couple of emails that had something to do with JPA and it was fun forwarding them or explaining I'm no longer secretary. I suppose that will happen for a little while, but people will quickly get in the habit of contacting Jamie instead of me. Of course, I'll miss that - I have always enjoyed the contacts with members or others with questions or concerns about the Association, and helping whenever I could. We will still be "available" to post information on the blog or website, but instead of Tom or me, you will need to contact Joe or Jamie about JPA stuff.
    I want to thank those of you who have either sent responses directly to Audrey Prospero about the town landing. If you haven't already contacted her (or me), please do so. I'm not sure when the information will be presented to the select board, but I'm sure they will want to repair the dock sooner rather than later - it's my understanding it's in really bad shape. So use the link I posted here on the blog and make your voice heard.
   The minutes of Saturday's Joe's Pond Association meeting are posted on the website for those who couldn't be at the meeting or others interested; Association members should contact  Joanne  Stewart and she will arrange to get your directory to you. If you need Ice-Out tickets, contact Mary Anne Cassani. I had previously said Diane Rossi or Michelle Walker, but Diane tells me Mary Anne is "keeper of the tickets" this year.
    We hope you had an enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend and honored the memory of those who have served our country as well as those who are serving now, putting their lives in danger to protect our freedom. Our nation is in unusual turmoil these days  and the men and women in our military are especially important right now. When you meet someone who has served or is serving in the military, remember to thank him or her. It doesn't matter if you don't actually know them - they are serving all of us without personally knowing us.
     

We want to remind Joe's Pond friends of Billy Keach that a memorial for him will be held at the Joe's Pond Association pavilion on Wednesday at 11 o'clock. The family asks that you carpool (parking is limited there) and dress casually. 

 ________________

Charles and Linda Livendale, 3504 Rte 2W have a double bed with spring and mattress they would like to sell. You can contact them at 802-272-6564 if interested. Linda said she is anxious to have it gone, so make her an offer!

If you haven't  weighed in on the dock at the town landing by the bridge in West Danville, please do. I posted contact information on Friday, and it's important for you to make your voice heard if you use the landing and wold like the town (Danville) to keep it there. The contact person is Audrey Prospero (adeprospero@danvillevermont.org), or if you prefer, you can send your comments to me, janebrowncabot@gmail.com and I will see that it gets to the Audrey.

We had the first JPA meeting of the 2019 season this morning. It was a very special meeting. It was a pretty warm (comparatively) morning and lots of people turned out. I'm guessing at least 100 - a very good turnout for the first meeting when some people aren't back at the pond yet. 
     Then, both President Tom Dente and I resigned from office. We've each had about 20 years as officers on the Board of Directors - long enough, probably; it was difficult to make that decision, but for me, at least, it was definitely time and I'm turning my secretarial duties over to a couple of very capable people, Jamie and Joanne Stewart. 
     Tom has been a wonderful leader for the Association and he will definitely be missed. He and his wife, Camilla have been dedicated to Joe's Pond Association and brought so much to the mix it's hard to know where to begin. Tom said in his farewell today that the members of JPA were "like family," and said he always felt they should be treated like family. That he did - and with his guidance, the Association grew with respect for fellow members and a deep concern for the pond and our environment. Along the way, Tom was steady, good-natured, and fair. The members appreciated him - he held the office of president longer than any other person in the organization's history.
     The meeting was an emotional one, with lots of good humor, laughter and a tear or two, and along with all of that, the Ice-Out Contest winner received her check and went away happy, reports were made and accepted, decisions were made and I believe everyone went away with some feelings of sadness and regret, but also knowing the high standards Tom set will be carried on by his replacement, Joe Hebert. Joe is fortunate that he, like Tom, has a supportive, hard-working, dedicated wife who will  be at his side just as Camilla was at Tom's through the years. Pam is already very active in the Association and has proven herself time and again on committees and heading up the  boat inspection program.
     At today's meeting, Pam stressed that we should be aware that while we've so far been fortunate in not having to cope with eurasian milfoil,  from time to time we do have a blue-green algae that may or may not be toxic, and on dry land we have purple loosestrife that is very invasive.
Pam urges you to be aware and if you have questions, give her a call at 684-3655. The links above will tell you more about these pests. Pam said she doesn't feel either is a huge concern for Joe's Pond, but we all need to be aware. She considers watermilfoil by far the bigger threat but said the greeter program and biennial surveys give us an advantage. 
   You are in good hands, Joe's Pond Association! 

Concern for the Loons

From Steve and Bev Allen:
 Some of the (way too many) Pond speeders and wake boat drivers think it is a hoot to go blasting between the West Shore and Pearl Island.  There will need to be signs IN THE MIDDLE at each end of that Channel mandating "wake speed" through the area.  I know there have been complaints through the years about speeding there and the wake boats make it even worse as they create waves from shore to shore wherever they go.  It would indeed be a tragedy to destroy any nest of these iconic birds.

Town Landing

I was contacted yesterday by Deb Stressing, chair of the W. Danville Community Club asking for help in finding out how people feel about the Town of Danville possibly eliminating the town landing. She said the town  "has accepted that the landing is their responsibility and needs to be repaired," but they are wondering if it gets used enough to warrant keeping it. Those of you who use the landing should contact Audrey Prospero at adeprospero@danvillevermont.org to let her know your sentiments on this issue. Your response(s) will be important in the decision the town makes.

In other news about the pond - I heard this morning from Geri Pelok that the loons that normally have nested on the platform provided years ago have decided this year to nest on Pearl Island. Geri will be contacting owners Liz Sargent and Peggy Pearl to let them know and seek permission to put nest warning signs there, but in the meantime, please know that the loons are there and stay away, and please do not roar by in your boats to make a big wake. As most of us on the pond are aware, the small island has already been eroded over the years and with high water this year, the loon's nest is at very high risk of being washed away. We have had such remarkable success with our loons over the years, it would be very sad to have the nest destroyed this year. We will try to keep you posted on their progress.

Billy Keach

The Joe's Pond community is shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden death of our good friend and long-time Joe's Pond Association member, Billy Keach (Narrows Drive). Billy suffered a severe asthma attack and then went into cardiac arrest this weekend. He was rushed to Dartmouth Hitchcock Memorial Hospital where he later passed away. We will miss his good nature, generous spirit and caring ways. Bill always had a warm greeting for everyone, often with a big teddy-bear hug. Summer at Joe's Pond won't be quite the same without him. The  thoughts and prayers of his many friends here at Joe's Pond are with his wife, Bo and their family. To send condolences, direct them to P.O. Box 165, West Danville VT 05873.

I will post further information as soon as it is available.

JPA President, Tom Dente, sent this message today:

I spoke with GMP about the current pond situation. They informed me that they are aware of the flooding and high level of the pond and have taken all steps to reduce the level. However, it will take about 2 days to return to normal. Here is his answer:

"As you can imagine, lots of runoff this spring followed by more rain has kept the ponds and rivers pretty high but continuing to monitor and move water out of Joes pond as efficiently as we can.”

We thank Tom for keeping the power company aware of the situation, and we know that GMP does not have complete control over how the water level in Joe's Pond is managed. The Public Service Board and the Agency of Natural Resources people make the decisions. They continue to "go by the book," i.e. the books they studied in college, or else they go along with what someone else has told them in the past, and exercise no common sense about what is actually happening. As you can tell, this is a sore subject for me. 

     This is what has been happening around the pond this week - high water everywhere. This picture was at James and Gretchen Farnsworth's on Sandy Beach Road. Their dock was completely afloat - and their lawn awash. Gretchen said there was no damage - at least so far. The wind was whipping here today and that can do some damage when the water is high.
      Looking ahead the weather this week is not great. Tomorrow will be partly cloudy and a little warmer than today was, and there may be some scattered showers. Showers are predicted every day through Sunday. It could clear a little on Monday and Tuesday, but then back to showers. Looks like temperatures will be in the low to mid 60s - nothing to write home about, for sure. Great weather for black flies and mosquitoes, but not much good for growing anything except grass. We really need more sunshine here, but may not get much except perhaps a little Saturday. 
     If we don't get a lot more rain, the pond may get a chance to get down to a more normal level, but it probably won't happen quickly. So the costume at Joe's Pond for the foreseeable future is woolies and waders. If you decide to launch your boat (presuming you have a dock stable enough to tie up to) please be cautious as there are all sorts of partially submerged and floating obstacles in the water that could be dangerous if you run into or over them.

     

Jack LaGue (Sandy Beach Road) has some planking that washed up on his waterfront. He said:

One looks to be two 2x10s nailed together... about 14 1/2' long.   The other is a 4x4 post with a pointed end a little less than 4' long.

Given the wind direction at the time. I would say it came from someone south of our place... perhaps someone on the south or east shores of the big pond... but who knows... it could have come from anywhere.  I'll put them off to the side for a while in hopes that someone claims them. 

 

This is normal when the pond floods like this. Things just float away. There have been lots of things floating around, and the way the wind has been blowing today, goodness knows where things will end up!

 

We have had showers off and on this afternoon and the power went off around 3 o'clock. It kept coming back on and then going off again, so we were beginning to think maybe this would be a good night to go out for dinner - and then, wouldn't you know, the power came on again a few minutes ago and seems to be steady now. Darn! I was looking forward to a night off from cooking!

 

I have had an afternoon off from the computer, though, and that has been both good and not so good. I'm having to catch up on things now, but at the same time, not being able to be on line I decided to catch up on the newspapers. I usually have two to four issues waiting for me, but now I'm caught up and will read today's after supper. The weather still looks pretty gloomy and there's still plenty of wind, so there's no guarantee that the power will stay on.

 

Don't forget that the first Joe's Pond Association meeting of the summer is on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the pavilion. We will be awarding the check to this year's Ice-Out Contest winner and addressing new business for the coming summer season. It is always a very special meeting when people come back and we get to see everyone after a long winter. You do not have to be a member to attend our meetings. If you have concerns about something at the pond, this is a good time and place to air them. And by all means, if you are new to the pond, stop by and meet some of your neighbors. The business meeting usually lasts an hour or less, and everyone is encouraged to come early, have a cup of coffee and a doughnut and chit-chat. We hope to see new faces there and look forward to meeting new friends and old.

 

 

Summer seems to have hit us all of a sudden. We had continuous rain and thunder storms rolling through last night and I measured 2.94 inches in my rain gauge this morning. The rain was very hard during the night and this morning there were some washouts along driveways and roads. It looked as if a good bit of gravel and dirt had washed across the road from one of the roads at the old Injun Joe's Cabins - but it had been cleared by the time I went by a little before ten o'clock. 
     I stopped at our camp by Barre Avenue and the water was on the lawn, but when I came back around two o'clock, it was much higher - up to the front foundation of the cottage. One of the buoys Jamie had stored on the lawn floated off, but Carolyn Hamilton was kind enough to call to let us know, so Jamie was able to retrieve it. When I was there at two, there was some kind of boat - looked like a dingy - upside down in the middle of the lawn. I don't know how many other things were floating around in the pond, but I'm very sure a lot of docks, floats, furniture or whatever wasn't tied down will be misplaced before the end of the day. Water is still pouring into the pond from brooks and culverts, so the water will continue to rise for perhaps the rest of the day - and more rain expected.
     I didn't go over to the dam in West Danville to see the water going over the dam, but I could hear it - a familiar sound when the power company lowers the dam as far as they can but there is just too much water to be able to keep up with it. The sound is deafening if you are close to the dam, and it's very scary watching that much water tumbling down the falls. Now is the time white-water kayakers folks would find Joe's Brook a challenging ride.

     I went to the memorial service of one of my high-school classmates on Saturday. Larry Thompson passed away on December 22, 2018. He was the fourth of our class of six graduates to go. Now only Muriel Pike Green and myself are left. Larry lived in Cabot and I saw him quite often at meetings and occasionally had a phone call about something going on in Cabot. Larry went to UVM for a short time and then in 1950 enlisted in the Navy along with another classmate, his cousin, Howard Carpenter. Larry volunteered for the submarine service and served on the USS Nautilus, among other boats. He was awarded several decorations for his service, and when he retired from the Navy, he returned to Cabot and was active in the community. He received the Cabot School Alumni Association award and later, in 2000, the Cabot School/Community Service award.
     The service on Saturday featured his son, Tom, also in the Navy, and several others who had served with him over the years telling stories - mostly very typical "Larry" stories, and I couldn't help thinking his personality really didn't change from high school to adulthood and retirement. He was resourceful, direct, opinionated and sometimes funny - but there were certain things that were very important to him. He was loyal to his beliefs and his country. One did not want to disrespect our flag in his presence - he was not afraid to confront anyone who did. He was appointed the town Service Officer and served in that capacity for several years. He was instrumental in creating the Cabot Monument honoring Cabot veterans of WWI and WWII. 
     I will miss Larry. He kept folks on their toes.

Another sure sign of spring is when the rabbits change their coats from white to brown. This fellow is almost there - nearly has his summer coat. Mary Whitcomb caught him with her camera playing in her yard a couple days ago. Also, the male humming bird showed up!
     After Mary's picture of the little female the other day, I got out our feeder and it wasn't up more than a few minutes before it had a customer. It's strange how they find the feeders so quickly.
     Nice pictures, Mary, thank you.
     Yesterday I had an appointment for my eyes and this time had a shot in only my right eye. The left one is "my good eye," according to Dr. Kim. It is only slightly dimmed by the macular degeneration, while vision in my right eye is sharp - but there is a big bump in the center of things. Together, I still see pretty darned good, fortunately - I'm being held together by the shots and special vitamins for my eyes, Areds2. These appointments take a toll - I don't really see very well for a few hours, so I didn't get much work done on the computer. 
     Then today we had no internet and no telephone for half of the day. That really knocked a hole in my already loused-up plans for working on the book. I was able to work on the manuscript, but I couldn't get emails or fact check on the internet. It is truly amazing how dependent one becomes on these things. Fred was on the cell phole with Charter and I kept thinking they would be able to fix the problem, but when it got to be close to noon, I worried that my co-authors might have decided to meet today and I wouldn't know and would stand them up. We had emailed about possibly meeting today or Monday, but nothing had been decided as of last night.
Finally, Charter said they would send a technician later today. I called Dot to see if I'd already missed a meeting (I hadn't) and explained I was completely incommunicado, probably for the rest of the day. 
     I put down the phone and sat down at my computer and, force of habit, went to check my email - and we had internet!!! At just about the same moment, Fred realized it was back, too. It was like meeting your best friend again after a long absence. We were both happy and relieved to be in touch with the outside world again, but on some level, I am almost ashamed to admit how lost I felt without the internet, especially. The phone I can do without, but I'm really dependent on the internet for communicating and researching. I was thinking about that and of all the times I was in various libraries over the years, searching for information that is literally at my fingertips now. Not only that, but I built up quite a reference library of my own over the years. Some are well worn from use, other that I've only cracked open a few times but were particularly important to me at the time I purchased them. Some I still find useful once in a while, but mostly they just collect dust. How times change.

Another dreary day, but tonight, just before the sun went down, we had a few minutes of bright sunlight! Seemed so good! I happened to be outside, doing some last minute stuff in the flower beds, and it was very nice to have those few minutes of sunshine as I worked. I picked some of the daffodils that got damaged from the heavy snow, so now I have a nice bouquet to add to the cheery sunshine event.
    My friend, Mary Whitcomb went on line to see the newsletter and tonight I had this email from her about the picture of Jim Morris:
 Hi Jane,  When I shared the picture & story below with my brother, Dennis Whitcomb, I found out he knows him.  Several years back, he hunted with Jim in Maine along with our brother-in-law, Andy Squires, and Eddie Bisson.  How about that?!!

 

Turns out it IS a small world!

Some of you already know this about my friend, Mary - she loves animals and takes great pictures. She sent these pictures of a little female humming bird. She said the little bird sat on the lim for about five minutes before she went to the feeder. I have a theory about that. I've watched humming birds do something similar, only the make chased the female away from the feeder, so she would sit patiently until he left and then went to drink. I wonder if the male was somewhere in the vicinity and had maybe chased the female away when Mary first saw her. We will probably never know. 
     We haven't put our feeder out yet, but the humming birds are back and came to the window, I think it was on Saturday, to let us know they are here and hungry. We didn't have the feeder out last summer, so I was a little surprised when the bird came to the window to announce his arrival, just as they have done in years past. That deserves some attention, for sure, and tomorrow we will take care of getting the feeder set up.
     In the meantime, Jamie and Marie have theirs up already, but haven't had any visitors yet. They had the same experience except they were working outside when the first hummer showed up and hovered in front of them to announce their arrival. They got the feeder out immediately. They are such good people! I raised him right - "do as I say, not as I do."
     I've been reading the chapter that will be in the history book on the railroad through West Danville this week, and it's very interesting. Patty has details in there that I'm sure very few people know about. Lots of great stories. We each read what the others write so we won't repeat information too much. There are bound to be overlaps, but we try to keep each chapter fresh with it's own information. Patty is a wonderful researcher, and we are all indebted to her for digging out not only material for her own sections of the book, but for Dot and me as well. I appreciate that - I enjoy researching up to a point, but am nowhere near as thorough as Patty. 
     More people are back at the pond - I saw Bill Ricker and his sister, Alice Aime, walking their dogs this afternoon, and others on our road will be coming back soon. It's harder to keep track of who is back on the West Danville side of the pond, but I know the Stewarts are here (Joanne did the newsletter) and Karen and Jim Morris are here. I've noticed work being done at Decker's in preparation for their return, and also at Barbara Pollack's. So, welcome back, all you lovely tanned people! Sorry about the snow and cold, but that's Vermont for you. We're cool!