Diane Rossi sent this picture this morning. The pond has a crusty surface on the snow that is still covering the ice, and we have a reliable report that the ice is still at least a foot thick. Last night the temperature was in the teens and it is still in the low to mid 20s today with only an occasional glimpse of the sun so far. Not  much melting going on today.

With all the rain we'd had and those nice spring-like days, there was some concern that the ice might go out before the April 1st closing of the contest, but with a foot of ice yet to melt and this cold weather, that concern has vanished. There's still plenty of time to get your tickets - either at one of the outlets  locally or on-line. You can either print tickets - as many or as few as you wish, and send them in with $1 for each, or you can purchase ten and pay for them with your credit card on line. If you print and mail them, just be sure the postmark is on or before April  1. The online tickets will be available until 11:59 p.m. April 1, Eastern time. Good luck!