Is It Spring Yet?

 This is certainly unusual March weather - at least early March weather! The bare patches outnumber the snow patches around my house now, the road is wet and slimy (but thankfully no deep mud bogs like some years - thank you, Cabot road crew!), the pond is looking mighty watery, although a few days ago someone had their truck out there. That is living dangerously!

Speaking of the pond and ice, just a reminder that with this fickle weather, it may be a good idea for those of you holding your Ice-Out Contest tickets until the last moment to turn the in, may want to reconsider - or at least pay close attention to the weather and ice conditions. I don't know how thick the ice is now, but with the continuing rain we're getting today, and warm temperatures both day and night (38.1 now and it has been much warmer earlier in the day, but not below freezing for several nights), the ice must be melting from all directions! The moment the clock stops, the contest is over and no more tickets can be accepted unless postmarked before the clock stopped.

We're still in a pattern of temperature swings, but the warm days and nights are far outnumbering the cold ones. Ski slopes are getting bare and it's too warm for snow making, so some are closing. There was a flood warning posted for parts of Vermont and New Hampshire today. A couple of hopeful and confused geese visited a few days ago (photo by Gretchen Farnsworth) but they were discouraged at the lack of open water and left. We lost electricity briefly last night - probably a tree toppled over after the earth around its roots got too soggy and it lost its grip. Some animal visited my suet feeder the other night and I found it in the pathway some 15 ft. from where it had hung, open and empty. It could have been a bear but I suspect a raccoon. There is so much bare ground, I couldn't make out any tracks at all, but I'm sure bears are out and about in this mild weather - hungry, as usual. We'll probably see daffodils and other spring flowers poking through the ground soon. It's freakish weather, for sure.

Here's some interesting news - I learned recently that a youngster, Rownin Berube, of St. Johnsbury, caught a 12 lb. lake trout that was 34 in. long in Harvey's Lake. The same messenger disclosed that a woman caught a 15 lb. laker here at Joe's Pond this winter. Every now and then a big one gets caught in our smaller lakes - they are down there, but I guess if they live to be that big most also may have figured out how to avoid being caught. That is Rownin pictured here. A big fish and one happy youngster!

WCAX had a short news item tonight about the wake boat decision. The new regulations will go into effect this summer. 

I leave you this evening with one more reminder - be sure to get your Ice-Out tickets in the mail earlier than usual. If the flag goes down and stops the clock before April 1st, that will be the end of the contest and no entries will be accepted after that date and time. The weather has fooled us a few times in the past and while we were very worried about having to call the close of the contest early, it never happened. This year could be different - or March could turn on us with it's usual furor. Stay tuned.