Special Reminders and S'more!

Here is a special reminder from our Joe's Pond Association President, Joe Hebert:

BOAT ACCESS CLOSURE

As you may be aware the State of Vermont plans on repairing the boat launch area this fall. We have been notified that the work is scheduled to start on Monday October 3rd. Consequently it would be advisable to remove any of your watercraft before that day as the repairs are scheduled to take at least two weeks during which time the area will be closed. If the work schedule changes we will provide an appropriate update.

Joe Hebert
President JPA 

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I really need to pay closer attention to the posters I share here. I posted about the bean hole supper this past week and thought it was today. I was feeling a bit pressured - the older I get, the harder it is to fit more than one "event" per day into my schedule without feeling I have too much on my plate. Our JPA final meeting was yesterday, and then a small group gathered here last night for S'mores to initiate my firepit. We had a really good time, but none of us are "spring chickens" any longer, and I now know that I definitely need more lighting out in that back yard! I have a solar light near the steps into the (almost empty) pond, and motion-detector lights here and there, but if we are going to enjoy future night-time fires comfortably, I need more. I'm thinking tiki lights or strategically placed yard lights in order to navigate among those big boulders safely. We did ok with my little solar lanterns and a pretty  powerful battery-powered bug/spot light I bought for the deck (pre screened porch!) We didn't need the bug zapper, but the flashlight feature saved the day - or, I should say, saved the night!

Diane got some photos - can you believe neither she nor I had ever had s'mores? The experiment was a success overall, and everyone made it home safely. I found I was pretty chilled even though I had a heavy jacket on. There was a very heavy dew and we all got pretty damp and began to notice the chilly currents off the hillside behind us after the fire died down. That's me, bottom right, trying to figure out the switch on the little lantern. 

Putting together the s'mores is an art, Diane and I found out. Mine was all marshmallow on one side and all chocolate on the other; Diane had a marshmallow torch almost immediately. We might have mastered the technique with a second try, but I was afraid that more than one s'more on top of wine could be a recipe for trouble for me. That's an awful lot of sweet and it's ok that we have leftovers for another time!!  

I went out this morning to see if anyone left anything behind, but I guess everyone found their belongings, even in the dark. The fire pit looks fine, but the pond is nearly drained dry (see photo at right). I'm still pretty sure there is a leak, apparently near the very bottom, in addition to it being so darned dry this summer. Jamie told me this morning the spring above our house has only about a foot of water - down considerably from where it was two or three weeks ago, and it hasn't been used at all in recent weeks. This is an unusually dry period, and the water table is getting lower every day. We may be compensated by having an unusually wet fall - or a lot of snow this winter! Time will tell.

Here is another reminder - Joe's Pond Association will leave a table at the pavilion where people can leave items they wish to donate to the Danville Food Shelf. Someone will pick up there every week, so as you clean out cupboards in preparation for closing up camp for the winter, this is an easy option that will benefit a lot of people: please consider bringing your extra items to the JPA pavilion instead of packing them home. Please check dates to be sure whatever you donate is still good. We thank you in advance for your generous donations. Every little bit helps! Have a great late-summer day!

I'll also remind you that if you'd like to know when I publish a new page on the blog, all you need to do is let me know. My email is janebrowncabot@gmail.com - or give me a call at 802-563-2381. I'm always happy to chat with you! I hope to get some quiet time soon to concentrate on getting the new host for the blog set up. Once that happens, there will be an option to subscribe so you'll get automatic notice; but for now, I am happy to add names to my list of blog readers and each time I post, I send everyone an email. It will show up in you mailbox as coming from me at the above address rather than showing as Joe's Pond Reflections like it used to a few weeks ago. Just one more thing Google has cut or changed. I was surprised to find that this has been a problem with that company for a while. I know I really miss one of their photo aps that I used to use to clean up old photos. It was so direct and easy - and then it was gone and the updated computers would no longer support it. I kept an old computer just for that ap, and then the computer died, so I struggle with inferior programs to enhance photos. I guess nobody has ever told Google "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."