Another cold day, but no snow overnight. That will come later today. In the meantime, we are enjoying temps in the single numbers ABOVE zero. We hit -8 degrees last night and this morning we are only up to 7 above - and it doesn't seem to be moving much at all. The forecast was that we'd reach the 20s above today, but that may not happen.

I had this great photo from Jamie and Joanne Stewart this morning. Joanne's mom celebrated her 104th birthday last week. Just look at what she received for gifts! She entertained friends and family at a birthday party (I think Jamie told me 29 were present for lunch). She has lots of friends with whom she plays cards, etc. - and by the looks, they are a swinging crowd! They will be enjoying chocolates and wine for a while at her card parties! Happy Birthday, Sophie Connors!

I recently heard that there is a pending bill in legislature that will revise the law that allows town clerks to charge the public to search public records. At the present time, I believe the law leaves the decision up to town clerks, so some charge and some don't. Danville does not charge, thankfully, but Cabot recently began charging $4/hr., and that's for just opening the record books. If you need a copy of something, there are more charges.  I hope the legislators change that, but we'll see what happens.

In the meantime, the Danville Select Board has approved a new Substance-Free policy of no smoking, drinking or vaping at Joe's Pond Beach. This was done at the request of a student group from the high school. The board's vote was unanimous. Now many of us are wondering who will enforce this new ruling. I'll have more on that as information emerges.

Also, some of you will remember Ray Louise Saufroy, wife of Raymond Saufroy. They lived on the hill above West Danville where Raymond had a seed distribution business. Raymond died several years ago, and Ray passed away on December 18. She was 95. I  met her only once, at the post office in West Danville. It was shortly after her husband had died. She was a vivacious, petit, beautiful woman, and I remember thinking at the time that she had lots of energy, and I wasn't surprised when she told me she was terribly lonely. I think she left this area shortly after that.

This is a good day to find something to do that keeps you inside. If you do have to go out, bundle up. It's cold out there. I'm seeing just a little wind picking up out of the south, so perhaps that will moderate the temperature a bit. However, we are expecting the snow this afternoon, and that will mean we'll have to get out there and clear driveways, paths and decks, so plenty of exercise opportunities coming up if we choose to take some. Be safe, whatever you decide.

I heard the other day that some sugaring operations have their trees tapped and lines out hoping to take advantage of warm spells as they occur. It seems that the trees don't wait for the calendar to tell them it's spring, but they respond to temperature changes and sap begins to flow when it warms, no matter if it's January or March. Apparently science indicates there is no damage done to the trees by taking advantage of the off and on sap runs. Who knew?