Still Winter!!

We still have winter here at Joe's Pond this morning. While the freezing rain turned to plain rain in much of the surrounding area, we had freezing rain until around 9 a.m. The rain has finally tapered off and about 10:30 it looked like the sun was going to break through, but no such luck. Our temperature is up to 40 degrees after being 30 earlier, and the icicles are dripping. I took these pictures just before dark last night. My small birch trees were loaded with ice and beginning to bend out over the driveway. If they actually bent further, I can't tell, but some years they have actually bent all the way to the ground under the weight of ice and snow. Once released of the weight, they straighten up. Some trees split in these conditions. We've lost several nice young maple trees from a winter overload. The icicles on my deck were intact this morning, but now most have dropped off. There was a coating at least half to 3/4 in. thick on the floor of the deck when I went out to get a precipitation reading - just over 1/4 in.

While I was working in the kitchen last night I was startled a loud scraping noise coming from near the windows in the living room. At first I thought it was the branch of a tree rubbing against the house, but when it happened again, I realized it was a bear. I had lowered the blinds but hadn't taken in the bird feeder. The poor animal was desperate to find something to eat and apparently tried to climb the side of the house to get to the feeder, 10 to 12 ft. off the ground on one of the big picture windows. As soon as I raised the blind, yelled at him and rapped on the window, he took off.

This morning I went out to see if there was any damage, but aside from a few smudges on the siding, everything is ok. I could see by his tracks that he had visited the other window where the feeder had been last year before locating it in the new position. Not only do they have a keen sense of smell, they also have good memories, apparently! I took this picture from the window this morning. When I later went outside I could plainly see toe and claw marks in the prints. I will take my bird feeder in earlier from now on. I had planned on removing it for the season until this ice storm came along and I knew the birds would be having a hard time finding food with everything covered in ice.

Sadly, last week we lost a long-time friend within the Joe's Pond and surrounding community. Richard "Dick" Larrabee passed away at his home in Danville. Dick was a popular builder, handy-man, man-Friday, and former owner with his wife, Terri, of the Joe's Pond Country Store. Folks around the pond knew and appreciated Dick for his building expertise, advice, and very "Vermont" take on the world. His stories were legendary. He will be sadly missed by his family and many friends. Condolences may be sent to Terri and the family at P. O. Box 53, West Danville, VT. 05873.