Weather, Sailing, and Sunsets

Unfortunately, we're getting some not-needed rain again today. It has been fairly steady most of the morning, and at 9 a.m. I measured .56 in. that had fallen in the past 24 hours. Since then we may have had almost another half inch. On the already-super-saturated earth, this could mean more flash flooding in streams and high water in ponds. Our area has not completely recovered from the last deluge, and work crews and volunteers must be very disheartened by more rain. It's really time the sun smiled on us for more than two days at a stretch.

In the midst of all the chaos of flooding, Marie Thompson, who owns a home on Main Street in Cabot Village, told me their family held a wedding for her granddaughter in spite of the rain and mud. Much of the Thompson family was there, plus lots of friends, and, as has been their custom for many years, her sons and grandson marched as color guard in the Fourth of July Parade, representing the Navy and Air Force. Marie's late husband, Larry, was a classmate of mine (Class of 1948), and made the Navy his career soon after graduating from high school. After his retirement from service, the family moved to Cabot and Larry was active in the community, acted as Master of Colors for many years, was instrumental in having a new monument honoring Cabot's service men and women placed in front of Willey Hall, and I doubt he ever missed marching in the parade on the Fourth as color guard. He passed away in 2018.

I'm happy to let you know that the Randalls found their boardwalk and it is safely back at their docking area. Liz said Mark and Rena Ellingwood spotted it and let them know, and apparently Bill Hodgeman secured it at their cottage on Meadow Lane. With help from Walter Ruf, they retrieved it yesterday.

Jamie Dimick has cleaned and replaced the buoys on Smith's Point and Sunken Island. Please do not tie up to any buoys or other markers on the pond. Although they are securely anchored, the pull of heavy boats (or humans) can displace them. High water and large wakes can also raise havoc, so please be respectful. Also, please give Jamie adequate time to remove sailing buoys after the race is over before you head out on the pond and make large wakes. Having to secure the buoys in choppy water can be difficult and dangerous, so please keep that in mind and wait until he's had a chance to retrieve the sailing buoys. He always does that immediately following the race, so just be patient.

From Susan Bouchard: 

The second Sunfish Sailboat race for 2023 is this Sunday, July 23 with the race starting at 1pm sharp.  Any sailors interested in racing please find the rules and registration forms on the JPA website. If you don't have a boat but want to sail, or if you have a Sunfish that you no longer use, please get in touch with me so I can possibly match sailors with boats.   If a rain date is needed, it will be the following Sunday but it looks like a sunny day this Sunday ~ woohoo!!!

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. --Susan.

 

 

I received this lovely sunset shot from Louis Monaghan (Clubhouse Circle) earlier this week.

Some of you who are new to the area may not know about the lovely sunsets that change constantly and always impress on Cabot Plain, by the cemetery and covered bridge. The covered bridge is featured in photographs more often than I could count, but the real beauty is just the natural area. The sun goes down behind Camel's Hump, Mt. Mansfield, the Worcester Range, and Jay Peak. Before the daylight fades, you will see the white gleam of quarries in Woodbury, and twinkling lights from homes and farms spread out from south to north in the western sky. Turn around and through the trees you may glimpse the last rays of the sun reflecting on the White Mountains in the east, far beyond Joe's Pond. This is where there was once a fort and skirmishes with the British took place and the headquarters for Revolutionary Soldiers building a road that was supposed to reach Canada. It never got that far, but this is the road the first settlers followed and established homesteads in Cabot. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, there was a thriving business community here with stores, a large tavern, a school, and history tells us at one time there were as many as 60 stages a day coming over the Plain from Portland and Boston, bringing goods and returning with various produce. You will find granite markers supporting some of this history. It's a beautiful spot, and sometimes on a summer evening, there will be several cars lined up to watch the sun set. It's worth the short trip on West Shore Road to Cabot Plains Road - a gradual climb for us, but on the original military road, it was a long, rigorous climb for horses or oxen. Enjoy.