Still Hanging Tough!

 Surprisingly, even after a relatively warm night (above freezing, in the 40s and low 50s) the block is still looking pretty secure out on the ice.  There is an ever-widening margin of water along the shoreline, and the ice is darkening every hour, so we know the clock will stop soon - just when is the big question. We will be monitoring it today, for sure. We aren't expecting much wind today and rain is going to hold off until later this weekend, so it will be a matter of a slow melt taking place as the day goes on. Right now the sun has disappeared behind a thin layer of clouds, but weather people assure us it will reappear later today and temperatures will be significantly above normal for this time of year. 

It is always interesting that how different the climate is at St. Johnsbury, Barre and even closer localities like Peacham, Marshfield and Danville compared to Joe's Pond, Cabot Plain and Walden. We are at least two weeks behind in the spring and always have snow much earlier than any other localities in the fall - and more of it! Last week I was impressed that the grass is turning nicely green on St. Johnsbury lawns, while lawns here at Joe's Pond still have patches of snow and it's too wet to rake away the winter debris in most places. Even in nearby Danville, trees are further along budding and flowers are inches taller in gardens. I saw several forsythia bushes in full bloom in St. Johnsbury - but here at Joe's Pond I'm betting it is rare to even find a forsythia that has survived winters here. I haven't had any luck raising that particular bush, but I'm hoping to try finding a likely place for one sheltered and out of the cold, harsh wind. If there is a spot like that around my house! 

The weather has been so nice here recently, I thought you would enjoy seeing these photos taken by Gretchen Farnsworth. This shows the view she and her husband, Jim, enjoy from their home on Sandy Beach Road. The top photo shows the point of land that is served by Channel Drive which is on the north side of the channel and directly opposite the Farnsworth's home on Sandy Beach Road. On the left of the point is where the channel comes into the main pond, and on the right of the photo, the shoreline that parallels the rail trail near Island Drive. This view is looking about in a NNE direction.

This picture is taken small island, Pearl Island, as it looked yesterday under the bright sunshine. This is a more ESE view towards North Shore Road and Old Homestead on the east shore of the pond. 

Isn't it lovely to see all that open water? And no snow? Although we cannot see the ice further down the pond, it is still there, but dark and won't last long with the sun back out today. I was delayed from when I began writing the blog and while I was away from my computer, we had a few drops of rain, but now the sun it out full force again and it's an absolutely gorgeous day with the temperature well into the 70s in the sun. Whoopee!

So, shorter growing season or not, those of us who live here love it for what it is - and may appreciate warm weather and the summer months even more than most because of it. Enjoy your weekend, and if you haven't made your appointment to get your immunization against Covid, do so as soon as possible, wherever you are. That is insure that we all have a safe, more nearly normal summer this year!