A Bright New Day!

The sun is out and it's really quite nice - except for a pretty sharp west wind that is keeping the temperature cooler than it looks to be from inside. My thermometer is reading 45 degrees - but that's not in the sun.

It was hard for me to move from my chair where I was basking in the early morning sunshine, to my office on the southwest side of the house where I won't get direct sunlight until this afternoon. However, I wanted to let people know the weather and pond conditions today, so here I am.

There has been little change in the Ice-Out block during yesterday and today. Things were well frozen over all weekend, with more snow and freezing than thawing and melting going on. There may be some change today, but it will be slow, I think. The air temperature isn't really contributing to melting.

The best news for us locals is that Cabot is working the road this morning. I didn't see the road machine until just a few minutes ago, coming up from Route 2 direction. They usually work the road in sections, and I'm hoping they have already worked on the flat by all the cottages further towards the Danville line. This is not just a "dump material and spread it a little" routine; this is a "dig down, fill the potholes, smooth to a crown" type of operation that should improve the road tremendously. This is something they really can't do well until the frost is mostly out and the road is beginning to dry out a bit - it's pretty hard to get mud to form a crown in order to drain. With plenty of wind today to help dry things out, it should be a big help, and at least a step in the right direction.

The birds I saw on my pond yesterday during a snow squall seem to have spent the night there. The pair was basking in the sunshine when I first looked out this morning. Later, the female was on the shore, and then apparently she took off. The male is alternating swimming aimlessly around the pond with standing in the shallow end, looking  bewildered. I suspect the female either wanted better feeding opportunities or else simply got tired of her companion and their solitary resting place, and has joined a large, congenial group down by Gretchen Farnsworth's. If she comes back, I hope they don't decide to stay here; a night or two to rest up is ok, but I really don't want the mess of having them here for the summer and maybe raising a brood here. I don't think my pond has enough vegetation in or around it yet to be appealing to them. For now, I'm enjoying watching to see when, or if, the female comes back. I hope she hasn't left him for a better provider or something! I'm not pleased to find out geese are regular transporters of ticks. Another reason I'd rather they move on!

The turkeys have been back a few times. I'm hoping they eat ticks, but I haven't found any specific information other than that they eat insects. I hope ticks are on their preferred delicacies list!

  Everything is a balancing act, isn't it? We love seeing wildlife, but they do bring pests and disease. It seems there are pros and cons to everything, and I guess all we can do is weigh the effects carefully and try to be objective. Right now, I'm not chasing the geese away, but it may come to that if they try to linger. I'm guessing ticks are here to stay, regardless, and the geese may pick up more hitch-hikers here than they leave behind. It's really the variety they leave behind that worries me. And other things!

Stay safe and warm.