Bits & Pieces

 The brief rain has stopped and the sun is more-or-less shining -- there are still some clouds, and the wind is picking up, so there are showers of beautiful red and gold leaves coming off the maples around my house. It is still beautiful, though, and I have been taking every opportunity to be outside enjoying these last fine autumn days. 

I admit I am very excited and proud to announce that our book has now won two awards; most recently, the Richard Hathaway Award for Excellence, awarded yesterday at the Vermont Historical Society Annual Meeting via Zoom. The Richard Hathaway Award is very prestigious, and we feel particularly honored to have received that, along with the League of Local Historical Societies and Museums (LLHSM) Award of Excellence about a week ago. Both awards will be presented personally at a gathering at the Danville Historical Society in November. We were excited to be invited by the Vermont Historical Society to apply for those two awards -- that alone was quite an honor, we thought; but to win both is truly amazing.

I had a previous appointment and didn't make it to the historical society yesterday in time to see the actual award presentation made at the VHS annual meeting, but Patty, Debby, and John work there on Thursdays and all of them watched the announcement. I celebrated with them when I got there. I needed to share the news with someone after I got back home, and Diane was happy to join me - John had already texted her(!) so she wasn't surprised when she got my text to come for wine. We enjoyed a celebratory cocktail hour on the porch with wine, sunshine, and falling leaves.

Fall usually brings preparations for the coming winter for those of us who hang out here all year, and Jamie told me this morning he now has not only his snow blower all tuned up and ready, but yesterday he brought the plow blade out of storage, and it's ready to be attached to the plow truck. Just the other day I put an ice scraper into my car. I vividly recall being caught last year coming out of a meeting to fine my windshield coated with ice and had no scraper. I ended up using a credit card - which works ok in a pinch, but is slow going and it can't be good for the credit card! We are both of the same mind - be prepared! Winter is coming!

I have been wondering what progress is being made at the boating access where the State of Vermont Highway Department is working on the boat launch ramp. Last night I got an email from Joanne Stewart. She and Jamie had taken a boat ride yesterday and sent these photos and this message:

The blue bladders are filled with water and are deep enough to seal "to the bottom of the water" in the ramp area. The contractors will pump out the water that is contained in the blue area. The yellow barriers are to keep boats away.  The blue bladders are solid enough to walk on.  Go check it out!

I'm not sure anyone would be allowed too close to where the work is taking place, but if you still have a boat in the water, you could certainly get close enough to see the progress. Most power boats have been hauled out early - any that have not could be in trouble because the boat launch area will be sealed off now for several weeks until work is completed, and by then it may be pretty cold to be fussing with hauling a boat out of the water.

I heard yesterday that the Erdmanns winter home in Florida has been severely damaged. It is a first-floor condo and I don't know if there is structural damage, but certainly severe water damage. I'm sure others will find their places have varying degrees of damage as they return. I can only imagine the stress and pain people are going through in those places that were hard hit. I once had several inches of water in the basement of my home in St. Johnsbury, and it was the worst mess to clean up imaginable. On the other hand, when we lived at camp years ago, we had a foot or two of water in the basement every spring, and thought nothing of it. The floor is crushed rock and the living space high enough so nothing was damaged. Everything stored in the basement, including the water heater, water pump, tools, and furnace, was elevated on platforms above high-water levels. We used to laugh about keeping the basement door closed so nothing would float away. The water came and went, no harm done, but sometimes things we'd forgotten to store properly were relocated! It was hard to keep a wood pile in place . . . !