Winter Wonderland!

 Today is the second day we have been all white here at Joe's Pond, after having large patches of bare ground showing. The robins that were eagerly running across lawns finding insects and worms are now hunkered down in the shelter of woods and brush, waiting for things to thaw out again. The sun is supposed to come out later today, but there will be no warming until Wednesday, and then we'll finally see temperatures in the 40s again instead of single numbers and teens. Our low for the last two nights was only 7 degrees, and with the wind blowing steadily out of the north, the feel-like temperature was right around zero or below. I'm pretty sure we've been making ice these last two days, not thawing it. However there are only a few days left in the 2022 Joe's Pond Ice-Out Contest, but still time to get your pick for when the flag and block will drop through the ice. If you can't get to one of the local outlets (Hastings, Marty's, Walden Stop-Inn Shop, Cabot General Store, or one of the outlets in Barre, Montpelier or St. Johnsbury listed on the JPA website), you can get tickets on line by going to www.joespondvermont.com.

I was just outside to measure the snowfall and found 1.5 inches of very light, dry snow had fallen in the past 24 hours. The wind was brutal. I have to be very careful when I go out onto my deck because the wind will whip the door away from me and bang it against the railing. It is a relatively new storm door I had installed about 3 years ago, and the first winter after it was installed, it got away from me in a wind and there is a significant dent in the front edge. Now it does not close as securely as it is designed to, so I have to be careful not only when I open it, but also be sure it's pulled tight when I close it. With all my paraphernalia for taking weather/precipitation measurements in hand, it is a delicate balancing act getting onto the deck without some sort of disaster when the wind is blowing - which is almost every day. I need to install a safety chain, and will try to get that done soon. But not today - it's too darned cold to be fooling around with drills, screws and metal chains.

I'm told this has been a pretty productive maple season. It seems it's being prolonged and may go well into April. I doubt that the buds on the maples are bursting forth quite yet. I have seen some pussywillows on the back lawn, but it's been either too wet or to cold for me to find any enthusiasm for getting out there to cut some. Perhaps Wednesday when the weather is supposed to moderate again. 

Jamie (youngest son who is director at Kingdom Access Television in St. Johnsbury) told me this morning they are recording a meeting tonight in St. Johnsbury about the final stages of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail that is scheduled to be completed - all 93 miles of it! - this fall. Work will begin very soon, apparently, from the point at the north end of Joe's Pond where the easternmost section ends, north to Hardwick. In the meantime, connections in other locations will be completed, finally. Governor Phil Scott allocated money in 2021 for this to be done, and work will begin as soon as winter releases its grip on us here at JP.

So, be prepared, Joe's Ponders - there will be lots of activity this year around the Channel Drive area, I expect. We are all (well, most of us - perhaps some not so much) excited to have all the sections of the trail connected. The trail along Joe's Pond is widely used, but it will be great to be able to go the whole 93 mile route, if one chooses. On the map at the right, the red sections are now open, the green sections will be finished this summer.

Now I need to get busy on "spring cleaning" in the basement - an al-winter project that will probably last well into next summer! Anybody need large glass gallon size screw-cap jugs? I have a few! It's been a long, wine-demanding winter! I've kept two or three filled with water for emergency use when the electricity goes out, but now I have a generator, so I have extra!