Good Morning!

Looks like another beautiful mid-July day! Yesterday was pretty nice, too - I didn't mind the off-and-on showers, and in between, the sun was nice. My pond is inching up, but slowly, getting a little boost from the rain in addition to the constant flow from a spring up in the woods that used to provide water for the house before my parents drilled a well. The trees and lawns are lush and green, but the ground is pretty dry in most places, so we need the rain.

If you haven't been on the Joe's Pond Association website recently, you should go there and check out the new drone video of Joe's Pond done by Nate Somers, of KATV in St. Johnsbury. Nate is the photographer that did the cover for our book, West Danville, Vermont, Then and Now, 1781-2021. The video is incorrectly credited on the website to Jamie Dimick; Jamie gave the video to the Association, but it was Nate who actually shot it. Nate works at KATV and I think he had come to really like and appreciate Joe's Pond!

Jeremy Grenier has posted the Pitch scores from last week (July's game):

47 Cheryl Semprebon...........Congratulations!

50 Louie Cassani

52 Ted Goulette

55 Jeremy Grenier

 

You did not have to play the previous month to play at the next gathering, which is on August 9th. Each month is an evening of fun on its own. 

All the best,

Jeremy Grenier, 802-223-3281, ext. 221 

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I read in today's Caledonian Record that the State is making an effort to find where the dead spots are for wireless reception along Vermont's roads. They are looking for input from individuals who may experience trouble spots the research drivers may miss. For more information on how to participate or to suggest specific roads that might be added to the state routes, visit the PSD website https://publicservice.vermont.gov/content/mobile-wireless-drive-test  You'll also find a map on that site so you can tell if your road is on their list to drive-test.

 

Cousin Ora and her friend, Kate, came for lunch on Sunday and we had a great visit. We spent most of our time on the porch chatting and listening to the birds, identifying them with our phone apps, and Kate roamed around taking pictures while Ora and I continued to catch up on family news. It's always fun to be with them. We always seem to find plenty to talk about, and when they are in Vermont, they find some of the most interesting places and events I never knew about or have never visited. At some point on this year's visit, they were in Newport and sent me this photo of the flowers at the town docking area. I have been there, and no matter what time of year you visit (except maybe deep winter months when the wind is bitterly cold almost everywhere you go in Newport), it's lovely. I haven't been dockside for some time - the last time was with Fred when we were a bit early for our reservations at the Eastside Restaurant, across the bay. I think it was fall when we were there. We took the boat ride one time far up the lake towards Canada, with our friends, Don and Mary Encarnacion who are now both deceased. We have also spent time at the park when son, Bob, in the Hitmen band, played a concert one Fourth of July. And there were many, many wonderful meals on the deck or inside at Eastside Restaurant. Bob played there a few times, too, and we always enjoyed that. Newport is an interesting town to visit.

And that's it for today. I defrosted my chest freezer yesterday - a job I should have done last winter, but I kept putting it off. With that off my "to-do" list, I need to buckle down to some other chores on that list today. One of those is trimming more of the cedar hedge. I did one last week, but never got to the one next to my front steps, and it's pretty shaggy. I'll wait until things have dried off a bit more to do that, though. I don't want to use the electric trimmer when everything is so wet - I'm not up for being re-charged by 110 volts! Probably it is safer to work on finishing up laying stones on the patio by the porch. I'm putting down a few stone at a time - bringing them from a variety of stockpiles left from digging the pond. I have plans for plantings, too, but it takes time and energy - taking one day at a time, but I enjoy doing it. I don't know how many projects around here like that I've done - and then redone after a few years because I got inspired to do something different. This project grew from not being able to grow grass here successfully because the ground was so compacted after building the porch. You can see bare spots - and I'm hoping most of those will be replaced by field stones - and with a little extra loam, some of the other spots will eventually fill in. It's looking better - especially now we've had a little rain.

Take care, be safe, and enjoy your day!