Out of the Rain, Out of Snow!

 What a dismal day it was on Saturday! It had rained all Friday night and the wind was strong and steady, but fortunately, we had no unusual events or damage - just some limbs broken off and all things loose were scattered around. The rain washed off most of the gravel on our back roads, leaving them either glare ice or with 6-8 inches of slush. Mostly it was ice. We had advertised being at the Danville Congregational Church on Saturday with our new book, so I packed my gear into the car and went off into the steady rain. The parking lot at the church was like a skating rink, and even though it had been sanded, that was quickly washed away. All of our team showed up on time, but we knew the weather would prevent many from venturing out. Back roads were treacherous, from all reports.

The rain finally began to let up around noon, and we did have a few people brave the elements to visit us, and we are most thankful to them. Patty and I were able to go over the "wish list" to find people for whom there was no email, and I left that afternoon with a list of people to try to contact to let them know the book is ready for them to purchase. I also put a few extra books in my car so I would be able to provide them to anyone who might be interested. Good thing I did - I sold several unexpectedly today when I was out delivering a few to people I knew wanted them but who weren't able to be out and about to get one.

My first stop was in Walden where Johnny Greaves has been waiting patiently for this book. Sally Goodrich met me at the door and insisted I come in and personally hand the book to John. I took a few minutes to chat with them, but I had others to deliver, so I couldn't stay very long. In St. Johnsbury, my friend, Lucille Oakes was excited to get here - and I dropped one off to my son, Bob, and went on to leave one with oldest son, Bill, in Waterford. Bill had orders for four more, so I was glad I had extras with me! 

People seem to be very enthusiastic about the book so far. When John held it in his hands, he remarked on how large and heavy it is and said, "Now I understand what took you so long to write it!" 

This afternoon when I returned from making deliveries, I made a few more calls so I'll have contacted everyone on my list by the time we meet at the historical society tomorrow.

Today was a near-perfect day, weatherwise; however, we have lost most of our snow. I'm amazed that there were people skating on the ice today - on the big pond. I simply don't understand why they would take such a risk. All the rain we had is pumping warm water into the pond and that not only raises the temperature of the pond water, melting the ice, it also moves the ice as the water level rises. This can create thin spots and cracks that make that ice very, very dangerous. I do wish people would use common sense and be more careful. Last year we had a snowmobile go through the ice in a very unexpected way. The driver knew the pond well and there was no obvious reason for the ice to be thin in that particular spot, but it was, and the machine broke through. Fortunately, the operator was able to get off the machine, and it did not sink completely - but it had to be winched out the following day, and I'm sure it didn't do it any good being in the water as it was. We are just relieved the operator wasn't injured or worse. Today was pretty warm, so there was water on the ice, and skating couldn't have been that great, so why on earth risk your life to be out there? It makes no sense to me. Everyone should stay off the ice until we've had several below-zero nights and continuous below-freezing days. Even then, we've seen accidents such as last year's happen. I'm of the opinion that no ice is safe ice.

Our weather is going to be unseasonably warm for the next several days, so we could see the pond open up again. The middle pond has a large stretch of open water from the narrows along the Route 2 side of the pond. I haven't been keeping track, but it isn't unusual for the pond to freeze over and then open up again two or three times before it finally freezes over solid and remains frozen until spring. Old timers used to say it took three times freezing and thawing; but with dramatic weather patterns these days, that theory no longer holds true. It crossed my mind today that we may have a light snow winter this year, with periods of warm weather and bare ground in between heavy snowfalls and deep cold spells. We don't have much control, and predictions are unreliable.

Vermont is still experiencing a sharp increase each day in Covid infections, so we all need to be extra careful. I was in a store today where nobody was masked - except me. I was surprised at that, but I was the only customer in there, so perhaps that made a difference. I still prefer to have my mask on. Three or four months ago, things were looking pretty good, but not so much now, especially after the Thanksgiving holiday get-togethers. I'm afraid that Christmas may mean even more people testing positive. 

So please be careful, if you haven't been fully vaccinated, do it now! I really cannot understand why there are still people who won't get vaccinated. There's no better reason than keeping yourself and your loved ones safe, but it's also irresponsible to not take advantage of the vaccine if you are eligible. If you get sick and land in a hospital, chances are good that you will be taking a bed that a heart attack victim or someone who has been in an accident needs. Beds and hospital staff are about at their limit already, not to mention the additional cost that filters down to everyone for care for Covid patients. Being that stubborn and obstinate about something as easy and safe as getting free vaccinations seems ridiculous to me. Time has proven the vaccines are safe, so why are some people still being stupidly resistant? They should have some compassion for people around them, and then perhaps we could all get something like a normal life back. Please, if you aren't vaccinated, rethink it.