Beautiful But Cold!

 That headline sounds like something out of a Mickey Spillane novel, "She was beautiful, but cold as a mother-in-law's kiss."

We had lots of sunshine, but the thermometer hardly moved above the single numbers all day. Tonight is going to be zero or below. To top it off, there was a mean wind, too. That kept the snow moving. We may have had a little ice as the weather turned from warm to cold, but I didn't see any measurable coating here this morning. We are looking at another light snow for tomorrow and no real warmup right away.

In spite of the cold, there were several fishermen on the ice today - one at the middle pond and several on the big pond. There are a number of ice shanties near the fishing access, which is normal - and I noticed one person fishing well up the pond somewhere between Rossi's and Mason's. It must have been cold out there, but they must have been getting some fish or they wouldn't be there very long.

It looks like whoever bought the Leigh's place next to the former Berwick camp on Route 2, is living there this winter, so it might have been someone from that place - or it might have been Bob McKay, who is across Route 2 at Thom Lauzon's (Pond View Development which used to be Injun Joe's Cabins).

We are beginning to think "spring" even in the cold. Traditionally, March begins the main focus of the Ice-Out Contest. It seems early, but the contest closes on April 1, so it's important that the contest organizers have everything up and running at least by March 1. Depending on the weather, Larry Rossi will likely have the flag out in early March and we'll begin to hear more about ticket outlets and ice thickness. Weather conditions, snowfall and temperatures will take on more meaning for a lot of folks who study these things quite seriously in hopes of coming up with a winning guess. There will be regular reports here and posted on the Joe's Pond Association website.

One more thing - I had errands to do in St. Johnsbury today picked up take-out at the new Subway drive-up feature for my lunch. Subway has moved just a little up Railroad Street to the former bank building on Federal Street and the former teller's window is now a very convenient take-out window - and as always, Subway's sandwiches are very good. Where they were on Railroad Street, the parking was difficult, the place was small and there was no chance for a drive-up window. The phone number is an easy one to remember - 748-1212, or you can order on line. I've always liked Subway food, but I did miss the convenience of grabbing a cup of coffee at McDonald's after they closed in St. Johnsbury. I still like their fish sandwiches and french-fries on occasion. But now I have to go to Lyndonville for that treat! 

Speaking of french-fries - have you seen the setup Al's French-fries in South Burlington has now? That looks like a lot of fun for families or safe pod groups. I'm not sure how those tents would hold up if we had a really big snowstorm or windstorm, but it's an interesting experiment.

Stay warm and safe - keep your pets inside tonight and be glad you aren't in Texas!