So Much For Signs of Spring!

 I can't believe we are getting more snow. I usually check the weather before I turn in each night, and last night when I turned on the deck light, it was snowing hard and we already had a couple of inches of new snow. This morning it is still snowing and we probably have another two inches. It isn't awfully cold - 25.4F by my weather station thermometer - and there is no wind, so all of that is good. 

Yesterday was sunny but still on the chilly side - but people were out and about taking walks and enjoying the day. Middle son, Bob, took me out to lunch -  sort of to celebrate my being fully vaccinated and the regulations for restaurants being relaxed by Governor Scott this week. We weren't sure which restaurants were open for seating, and were prepared to order take-out and eat in the car, but the Hardwick Diner was seating customers, and we enjoyed a very pleasant lunch with people spaced around us adequately and everyone wearing masks until they were served. They were careful to have each party sign in for tracking purposes in case it was needed, and I can't tell you how nice it was to enjoy a meal with someone again. After we ate we took a little "road trip" over the back road to Greensboro and I showed Bob the Performing Arts Center there; then we took the back road to East Hardwick, stayed on the old road that cuts over the hill parallel to Route 15 and comes out on the Bayley Hazen Road in Walden. From there we went north to Noyestar Rd. back to Route 15 in Walden. Actually, the roads were pretty good, considering that it's mid-March. There were potholes and washboard, some still snow-covered spots and a few slimy mud-covered stretches, but nothing very serious. I expect within a couple of weeks all that will change and only those who have to be on those roads will be traveling on them. Certainly we won't be.

I hope you all remembered to set your clocks ahead last night. I forgot. Well, I thought of it as soon as I opened my eyes this morning, so no harm done. I was able to get all the clocks in the house re-set and my day should go pretty much as any other. 

Things are generally fairly quiet here at Joe's Pond. The ice shantys have to be off the pond by a week from today, but I don't think there are any out there even this week. We think a lot of fishermen are using pop-up tents this year instead of the usual heavy wood shelters that have been traditional. Perhaps that is because the ice has been quite unpredictable this year and it really wasn't safe for vehicles to be out on it. Usually there are all sorts of trucks, cars, snowmobiles and shantys dotting the lower end of the big pond, but not so much this year. Having that four-wheeler go through early in the winter probably prevented a more serious accident as people realized how erratically the pond froze this year.

As for the Ice-Out Contest - we can't really give you any ice depth information right now. I haven't had any reports of the ice depth anywhere on the pond. I do know people are still cross-country skiing and snowshoeing out there, but there haven't been as many snowmobiles. I think lots of people were wary about how safe the ice is this year. Just remember that you must have your guesses for the Ice-Out Contest in by midnight on April 1 in order to be in the contest. Good luck!