Danville Fair Day and A Covid Warning!

Can you believe it? Summer is nearing an end - Danville Fair Day is here! Jamie was talking about that yesterday, remembering how much we all enjoyed going to the fair when the boys were kids, and how we'd load up the station wagon (with kids) and head there every year. He said it was always bittersweet because that also meant the end of summer was close and we would be heading back to St. Johnsbury and school. We closed camp as soon as school began. I was working in the school system in those days, and with school activities, it wasn't practical to try to come to the pond for weekends. We were there from the time school let out to the last minute before school opened in the fall.

There used to be a saying, "It never rains on Fair Day." I'm not sure who came up with that, but I think most years that was absolutely true. It may get a little dicey late this afternoon and evening this year, though. This is also Joe's Pond Association's Pig Roast night, so a lot of Joe's Pond folks will be torn - will it be an evening at the fair with lots of great fair food, or an evening at JPA pavilion feasting on roast pig? Difficult choice for lots of folks, I expect. We will be at the pig roast - it somehow seems safer than crowds of unknowns at the fair, although both are outdoor events. The new surge of Covid makes us all think twice before we head off to any group affair, I think. 

I heard this morning that because the vaccine was first produced and authorized for use during the Trump administration, more people who have been reluctant to get it before now are reconsidering, thinking since President Trump got it and who knows how many others in his cabinet, without being harmed or any adverse effects, it is safer to be vaccinated than to take a chance with the new variations of the virus that are cropping up. I say, good for them! Call it Trump vaccine or whatever - just get it. It's been proven safe and is our best bet for beating this and avoiding being terribly sick, dying, or infecting someone else in our family or community.

My new porch is nearing completion. Yesterday they finished all the trim, outside details, cut the runners for the steps, and cleaned up a lot of the clippings and debris around the worksite. I can easily get onto the porch from the outside now, and Monday they will set the sliding door that Jamie picked up for me at Home Depot yesterday. We were all surprised at how HUGE the thing was in his little pickup truck. It must have been quite a sight cruising down the throughway!

This morning I sat out on the porch for a few minutes with my coffee. It was very nice. Then I heard the phone ringing inside and I scrambled off the porch, around the back of the house and into the kitchen, but of course I was too late. I was able to call back - it was son, Bill, looking for tickets for the pig roast for a friend, so I was able to direct him to Bo Keach. The view from the porch is lovely - on the right is my view to the lower lawn. Fred always called it "the lower 40" and that is where he kept little nooks and crannies a few feet into the woods here and there nicely mowed. I'm not sure why he liked that - I'm more of a "mow in a straight line," person; but Bob, who does my mowing now (a friend, not son Bob) says he particularly likes doing this lawn because of all the variations. The other nice view is towards the road. (See photo on the left.) There are lots of trees and bushes above, where the pond will be, but that will be exciting to watch (from my screened porch!) as Ben excavates and develops it. I'm not sure how I'll fill my time once all these things are accomplished. It's been great having so much going on all this summer.

I just got word a few moment ago that the celebration at the train station honoring Archie Prevost has been cancelled because of Covid. That is so too bad. I know Archie was looking forward to that. I hope the fair doesn't turn out to be a super-spreader for Covid - apparently it is flaring up in our immediate area, so if you haven't been vaccinated, please reconsider and do it a.s.a.p. We were so close to conquering this terrible virus, it's unthinkable that we are almost certainly headed for another winter of masking and distancing, with many of our treasured events and freedoms shut down. Please, everyone, be careful.