Calm Before the Storm

A beautiful day here - bright sunshine and decent temperatures. We may have hit 40 degrees here, but I didn't actually see that on my thermometers. I was in St. Johnsbury most of the morning doing errands, and I noticed my car thermometer was reading 37 degrees. West Shore Road was pretty good when I went out a little before 10, but when I came back a couple hours later, there were some pretty muddy spots. I was able to ease through without getting my freshly-washed car too muddy, but I'm glad I don't have to travel anywhere at least until next week. By then we will have added a foot or so of snow to the mix, if the forecast is correct. The storm is going to begin sometime Friday night and remain into Sunday morning, apparently. Next weeks looks like we'll get back to good sugaring weather with nice days and cold nights.

Diane Rossi sent these photos to me this morning. Larry and his crew put the Ice-Out Contest flag and block out on the ice today. It was a perfect day to get it done - fairly warm and no deep snow to wade through. Of course, the block will probably be buried in snow by Saturday afternoon, but at least it's out there and if we get a sudden warm spell, now we won't need to hold our breath while someone goes out onto the ice to set up the apparatus. Being on the ice this time of the year is always a bit worrisome.

Whoever this was seemed to be having a great time on the ice today. When I first looked at this photo, I thought the man had an ice auger and was perhaps trying to find out how thick the ice is at the flag site. Then I enlarged it and, of course - he's on a bike like the two little kids. That must have been exciting for them to bike on Joe's Pond. We don't know who they are, but they'll get a kick out of remembering that this summer when they are riding in a boat along the same route.

Here's the enlarged picture. Thanks, Diane, for sending these.

Now I need to begin a search for my old-fashioned hand kitchen grinder. The last batch of wild bird food I bought has whole kernels of corn, and the chickadees and nuthatches carefully pick through them and leave them. No surprise there. They are rock hard and I can't imagine what bird would eat them except, of course, a crow. I put some of those leftover down on the driveway, hoping the crows would spot them, but if they did, they didn't like them, either, because they are still there. So, I'm going to try grinding them up. I have an electric grinder for coffee beans, but I'm not sure I want to risk ruining that on these things. I'm thinking I can muscle through chopping a few up to see if there is anything about them the little birds will like, and if not, they will be fodder for the squirrels and whatever else comes along. They do make a great filler in the bag of wild bird seed, though. I probably misread the description, and didn't notice the corn wasn't "cracked," but was "whole." If it specified at all. I haven't looked. It is what it is, and I'll have to deal with it. Some wild creature will appreciate it, I'm sure.

I hope everyone stays safe during this coming storm. The forecast has a warning of not only 12-15 inches of snow for higher elevations, but also high winds. Unfortunately, the roof on Hastings Store is still peeled back, so another wind storm may strip the rest of it off and send it flying. I'm sure Jenny has tried to find someone to repair it, but the weather isn't waiting. Not much anyone can do to help. It looks as if there is a substantial base under the metal roof, so it may not be leaking, but that is only a small bit of good news with more wind and snow coming.