So far I don't think there's been rain here - however, that said, we were out for a walk around 4 o'clock and there seemed to be kind of a mist in the air. My thermometer is reading 30.8F right now (5:40 p.m.) and there's nothing falling out of the sky right now.

I had a message from Karen Morris today with these photos. This heron looks uncomfortable. Karen said the bird has been quite puffed up and stays busy preening its feathers. I wasn't aware these birds do not migrate - but they do try to stay where there is open water. However, they will eat just about anything that they can catch, including frogs, fish, and rodents, according to the site I found on line.

Karen said she's been watching very large flocks of
geese in their cove, too. Most of them will be out of the area soon, I expect. They will probably pass on staying at Joe's Pond now that it is mostly frozen.

Yesterday I learned that my friend, Barbara Carpenter, passed away. She was one of the co-authors with me in writing the oral history book about Cabot in 1999, and she continued to write interesting histories of people and places in Cabot. I will miss her. She had a quick wit and sharp mind, and we had wonderful exchanges both when writing the book together and in the years after that. The other co-author, Amanda Legare, let me know the sad news. The three of us had talked about perhaps doing another book together at some point - but we never got around to do that.

Also, a neighbor, Ted Domey, passed away this weekend. Ted had battled cancer for several years. It is very sad to lose him, even though his passing, like Barbara's, was expected. It is still difficult. I have worked with both Ted's mother, Marvie, and his late father, Carlton, who passed away a few years ago. Carlton used to distress me by claiming he and I were "about the oldest folks left in Cabot." That was probably true, but I didn't like to be reminded - especially since Carlton was several years older than I! All good people, and I'm sorry for the loss of loved ones in both the Domey and the Carpenter families.

On a much lighter note - I said yesterday that Kelly Pitman was putting their cottage on the market. That was wrong. I totally misunderstood her email. What she was actually asking was that we put the cottage back on the website as a rental. We have that all straightened out now. In my defense, the cottage was on the market at one time, and then they decided to keep it and took it off. Apologies all around.

If you are driving tonight and tomorrow, please be careful. Roads could be slippery. 'Tis the season!