Pretty & Cold

 We had another single-digit night last night, and although there has been bright sunshine most of the morning, the temperature is rising only very slowly. I'm still showing only 8.8F, but the good news is that's above zero. There was a mean, gusty north wind when I was outside taking snow measurements. It was colder than I'd anticipated, but luckily, I had only 4 inches of snow to clear, and it was very light and fluffy, so I didn't have to be out there long. This storm dumped a total of 17 inches - more or less - on us. That's what I measured, but as I've said before, measuring snow, especially when there is or has been a lot of wind, is not an exact science, so we do the best we can, usually be taking several measurements and averaging. The trees are pretty, and I enjoy sitting in my chair and watching the birds at the feeder, and the traffic going by - although there isn't much traffic, this time of the year I do recognize a few vehicles and know my neighbors are out and about. You will notice above that the trees on the right aren't snow-covered like the ones in my yard. The snow has blown off those across the road from me. It all depends on which direction the storm is coming from. It's very pretty, but also very cold with the wind blasting out of the north at a good clip. My wind gauge is still frozen from the rain we had at the start of this storm, so I have no way of knowing how low the wind chill actually is. I know from being out there, it's cold.

I have been watching for the squirrel, but I didn't see anything of him/her all day yesterday. This morning there was one down by the lilac bush, some distance from the bird feeders, and one busy burrowing in the snow for seeds under the hanging feeders (picture below). There were no connecting tracks, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have tunneled underneath the snow so they can go back and forth without being exposed to the elements - or the mean old lady that pegs snowballs at them. 

This morning, as soon as the one under the feeders spotted me, he fled into one of the convenient holes in the snow. A little gun-shy, I'm guessing. I was later able to get this picture - but I haven't seen him dangling from the hanging feeders again. 

I had an interesting email yesterday from a man (not sure where he lives) with whom I have corresponded from time to time regarding his family, one branch of which one time lived in Cabot. He has spent several years investigating and recording his genealogy findings, and was excited to tell me that he had just found out one of his ancestors had met Abraham Lincoln - before Lincoln ran for president. That took place in the 1830s, as settlers began to move west for free land. I was particularly interested because my great grandfather, John Bolton, took his family west to homestead in southeastern Minnesota, close to the Wisconsin and Illinois borders in the late 1850s, but returned to Vermont at the beginning of the Civil War and enlisted. I have no proof, but I expect he didn't want to leave his young family in the still very wild and sparsely populated region to fend for themselves while he was off to war. I'm presently researching to find out more about those early years. 

It's interesting that in several accounts of Greenbanks Hollow, Harrison Bolton is mentioned as owner of the woolen mill before it was sold to Benjamin Greenbanks. I have found no record of a Harrison Bolton living in the area at that time; however, at one time my great, great grandfather, John Bolton, apparently partnered with a Harris in ownership of the woolen mill. This ad ran in the North Star in the spring of 1848, and I believe someone misunderstood Harris and Bolton and heard in stead, Harrison Bolton. One of John's older daughters, Abigail, married Levi Harris. Given that John died in 1843 and the ad was taken out in 1848, I obviously need to find out what Bolton was involved in the woolen mill business at that time, and what Harris was part owner. It was likely John's eldest son, William Bolton, as there is some reference to John and William owning and operating a saw mill, grist mill and woolen mill in South Danville. It will take some time exploring deeds in the town offices to clarify this, which I will be doing very soon.

In the meantime, I have lots of reading to do here at home, files to sort and puzzles to solve regarding all of it. Family histories are complicated. Families are complicated. But what would we be without them and the history created that enfolds us all?!