Catching Up

I've been fairly quiet on my blog recently and it's time to catch up on things. Autumn seems to be an unusually busy time - I usually have all my health checkups about this time. I have no idea why it has happened that I get to do these around the same time as my birthday, but that's how it is. Not perfect timing, for sure, and there's something weird about being greeted at a doctor's office with "Happy Birthday!"  Well, yes, I'm happy to have another one each year, but still. And I get greetings from my dentist, even though I don't have an appointment there, and even an automobile dealership I haven't used in years. Comes under the heading of "customer relations," I guess. Anyway, they are all good people, and I do appreciate them - and their well wishes.

I celebrated a little uniquely this year. It was with friends - although vicariously. I was not feeling up to par on the day we were going to go for lunch in honor of my birthday, so they celebrated without me and shared texts and photos (see photo, Dotty, Sherry, Cindi, and Diane). They went to Polly's Pancake in Franconia - it had been my choice, and unfortunately had to wait an excessively long time for a table. Franconia is flooded with visitors this time of year, and I should have thought about that. Sorry, ladies. Had I been with them, I think I would have opted to go some other place - back to Littleton to "99" or to Wells River to the truck stop - that would have been a hoot.

I was very pleased that two of my cousins, one who lives in Denver and another who lives in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley region. It was wonderful to hear from them both and catch up on the family news. I haven't seen either Judi or Dick for literally years, but we have kept in touch. Dick's birthday is four days before mine, so we remember each other's dates; Judi just somehow remembers things like that, and has a nice habit of calling or writing to me every so often, and it's always great fun. Their calls made my day. 

 So now I'm up to speed again and feeling pretty normal, ready to catch up on emails I've neglected.

A few days ago I had this message from Barry Cahoon:

On Friday, 10/04/24, the state Aquatic Invasive Species dive team, assisted by JPA member and scuba diver Jim Bernotas, JPA President Joe Hebert and Joanne and Jamie Stewart, installed approximately 200 square feet of benthic barrier on the lake bed to cover the most dense areas of Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) establishment identified to date.  This operation was conducted just off the shoreline along Sandy Beach Road and was preceded by the removal and relocation of any freshwater mussels found within the footprint of the benthic mats.  The mats consist of a geotextile material designed to limit the amount of sunlight and solar energy accessible to the EWM thereby killing it over time, and are anchored to the lake bed by pieces of steel reinforcing rod laid on top of the mats.

The application of the mats was limited to this small priority area as the AIS believes that more widespread use of the mats results in the elimination of native plant species which, if left intact, serve to deter the establishment of EWM.  EWM will quickly and aggressively re-colonize any bare areas of lake bed.

Continued vigilance, monitoring, hand pulling and potentially additional treatments may be required next spring.

********************************

I also had this message from Emily Finnegan, FPAC-NRCS, VT :

Hi Jane,

My name is Emily Finnegan, and I am the District Manager for the Caledonia County Natural Resources Conservation District.  We've been working with some folks in the Joe's Pond community for the past few years through a program called Lake Wise, which is an initiative of the Agency of Natural Resources that provides free, non-regulatory technical assistance to lakeshore homeowners and awards lake-friendly shoreland properties.  We have even facilitated a few projects on the pond, including replacing a retaining wall with a natural shoreline, that I can't wait to show off to the community when they are complete!

 The reason I'm writing today is that we also work closely with the federal USDA Natural Resources Conservation Program (NRCS) to gather community feedback on natural resource concerns in Caledonia County.  Together with other folks who work in the region, our job is to translate those concerns into federal financial assistance for local land stewards.  Given the broad audience you have with your blog, I was wondering if you would be willing to share a bit about an upcoming opportunity for folks to share their natural resources concerns with us at a free community dinner and feedback session on Thursday November 7^th from 5:30 to 7 pm at the Peacham Community Meeting House (56 Church St in Peacham).  I attached a press release that I recently sent out, if that's helpful as well.  I'd also be happy to trade more emails if you have additional questions, or feel free to reach out to me anytime at 203-219-4638 if you want to talk more about this opportunity!

 Thanks so much for your consideration. Emily Finnegan

************************************

Like lots of you, I've been watching closely the terrible weather situation Florida is going through right now. We have many Joe's Pond folks living in Florida each winter and friends who live there year around. Some Joe's Ponders have not left Vermont yet, and no doubt their migration to their summer residences may be delayed, and in some cases, may be cancelled altogether and they will opt to go elsewhere this winter - or remain in Vermont. I haven't had any reports yet, but it is still very early. I'm hoping everyone is safe and properties weren't badly damaged. The news is pretty grim and there will be a long period of cleanup once roads are cleared and utilities are restored down there. I will relay any information that comes my way, but for I just hope everyone is ok.

Our weather turned wet and cold today. I had to go into Danville to get my flu shot and it was really a lot chillier than I'd expected. I stopped at Marty's, and when I came out of the store there was a cold, misty rain - just a tad off from being snow, I think. Golly, it was cold. A cup of hot tea put me right once I got home, but it took a while to warm my fingers up. A woman in the waiting room at the Health Center told me there was hail at her house yesterday - but she was called for her appointment before I could find out where she lived. I bet we had flurries last night - the low was 33 degrees and there was .09 inch of precipitation in my measuring tube this morning. We haven't had a real frost yet, although a couple of nights have been right at the freezing point, and one morning last week Jamie said there was a bit of frost up at his house. He is a few feet higher in elevation than I am. I bet there was significant frost on the Plain.

The foliage is holding pretty well - I think it's a bit past peak in most areas, but still pretty, especially now the leaves are wet. I noticed an ad someplace that St. Johnsbury is having an autumn train ride this year - about 1 1/2 hr.round trip, I think it said. I believe I saw that in the Caledonian Record, but if you are interested in it, you will find details on the Visitors Center site. Seems like a fall thing to do.