Catching Up

 My goodness, July has been busy! We've had some super-hot weather that slowed many of us to a mere crawl. Today has been almost ideal weather (for me) with much cooler temperatures, sunshine, a nice breeze, and an occasional passing cloud so the sun doesn't seem quite as intense. We started the day with some fog, but that didn't last. Last night's showers did little towards bringing my pond back to normal level, but showers seem to be in the forecast, so that may change. My pond is down about a foot.

News around the pond: 

The fireworks went off as scheduled on July 3rd here at Joe's. It looked like it would be a complete washout right up to the last possible minute - and then the heavens cleared and people are saying this was just about the best show ever. I can't confirm that - I could only see glimmers of them through the trees, but reports are the beach area and along Route 2 had lots of cars and people watching.

Last Saturday was our Annual Meeting for the Joe's Pond Association. It was very productive, but the news on Eurasian water-milfoil (EWM) is dismal. Barry Cahoon was frank and forceful in letting JPA members know that this will no doubt be a long, difficult, and very expensive journey to even keep it from spreading more, and he warned that we may never be totally free of  EWM. However, the JPA members are solidly behind getting this done - everyone is pitching in however they can to donate time, money, or other support. There is a small, dedicated team of divers who go out nearly every day to harvest it as it escapes from under the barriers and check for new outbreaks. There is a strong support team working with them, and all are determined to win this battle. For details, check the JPA website  where you will find a map showing the largest patches located so far, and more detailed information by clicking the Milfoil page button further down the page. Please stay away from those areas shown in red on the map and let others who may not be familiar with the seriousness of the milfoil infestation know how important it is to no spread the stuff. Even wakes can break off small bits that float to other areas and take root or will stick to your boat, paddle, swim fins, or whatever - so just stay away from it, please. If not controlled, in a matter of another year or two, it could choke a good portion of our shoreline and make swimming, fishing, and other water sports impossible to enjoy.

The good news is - the construction on Route 2 continues - but now it is mostly completing the finishing touches. Delays haven't been bad any time I've needed to travel in that direction. Unfortunately, the Joe's Pond Craft Shop still doesn't have a front entrance. Visitors have to enter from Hastings Store - which isn't awful, but Deb Stresing really needs her own entrance back! Having construction going on for so many years has impacted all the stores in the village, but this year it has seemed worse with no parking available because work was done on both the parking area and along the store fronts across the road. The project is nearly complete, so things are looking up!

Here's more good news: The folks at Pope Memorial Library in Danville have lots going on this year -  especially for youngsters who are looking for interesting things to do. Check out their schedule:

 Upcoming Events for Children at the Pope Memorial Library

Every Wednesday morning there is fun to be had at the Pope Memorial Library. Kids of all ages are invited to attend Outside Storytime. The fun begins at 10:30am. The library is located right across the street from the Danville Village Green. Behind the library is a grassy area under the shade of mature apple trees, and this is where most events will be held.

This coming Wednesday, July 9^th, Four Winds Nature Institute will create a child’s dream playscape; mud kitchen, water play, materials for bubble making, materials for forts and fairy houses and more. On July 16^th, it’s Messy Art Day. On July 23^rd, it’s Read to Murphy Day. Murphy is a certified therapy dog, part Newfoundland and part Great Pyrenees. He is a big, gentle lovable dog who loves children. Stories and songs are all about dogs on this day. On July 30^th, it’s Tie-Dye Day. Miss Marilyn, Youth Librarian, has figured out a no-mess way to tie-dye so even the youngest children can participate.

 

The library is also hosting Art Workshops for kids age 6 through 10.

Starting Wednesday, July 16^th from 2:00 to 4:00     Location: 2^nd floor of the library

This first workshop is called Paint a Poem. Local author, Maggie Keefe, will share funny poems from her book; Silly Poems for Silly Kids and then everyone will “paint a poem.” With a minimum of instruction for inspiration, the focus is on free artistic expression. Young artists can create their own poem to go with their painting or just have fun illustrating the silly poems that made them laugh.

Wednesday, July 23^rd from 2:00 to 4:00     Location: 2^nd floor of the library

Local artist/educator/storyteller, Caroline Demaio, tells stories using a very cool art form called Kamishibai. This type of storytelling is Japanese Street Theatre. There is a small wooden stage box where storyboards are inserted to illustrate the story as the storyteller speaks. In this workshop, children can work as a group to create their own storyboards using crayons and markers and paint, dreaming up the story as they go. To add to the fun, their creativity will be celebrated when family and friends are invited to see their storytelling performance. (Date of performance to be decided by the group.)

Wednesday, July 30^th from 2:00 to 4:00     Location: 2^nd floor of the library

Local artist/educator, Abigail Bartell, will demonstrate a very cool painting technique, creating paints from natural pigments. Children will have fun discovering and exploring with these “homemade” paints as well as watercolor paints. All supplies will be provided.

The library encourages families to sign up children in advance, if at all possible.

Call 802-684-2256 and feel free to leave a message,

or send an email with ART WORKSHOP in the subject line.

 Shara McCaffrey, Library Director

 Marilyn McDowell, Youth Services Librarian

 Pope Memorial Library - 802-684-2256

popememoriallibrary@yahoo.com

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I took my poor old laptop computer up to Northeast Computer Systems in Lyndonville this morning. It has been slow in responding and sometimes refused to open programs at all. There have also been some dire warnings popping up on the screen saying that certain programs will no longer be supported after a certain date if not upgraded to Windows ll. It is discouraging. I love my laptop and use it often when I'm in my recliner watching TV. It's handy to check news items, get background information as I'm watching something, checking email-, or just enjoying "down time" playing a mindless game, but I wasn't sure I would replace it if Josh told me it was beyond help. However, when I went back in about an hour, he had diagnosed it and said it will be good as new once upgraded to the new Windows 11. I was really pleased. I decided to have him do my desktop, too. Although that is working flawlessly as far as I can tell, it will need to be upgraded to Windows 11 sometime before this fall if I want to be able to take advantage of future support. I suspect I'll find it will be much quicker responding once Josh gets it upgraded and all the clutter cleared from it. So I will be making a few trips to Lyndonville to get this all taken care of. My biggest concern is getting my desktop hooked back up to everything once I get the main computer back - Josh warned me to take a picture of all the connections. I will certainly do that - and I already have all the individual cables and wire hookups labeled - I just hope I can get everything plugged into the right places. It's all part of living in the age of computers, and if I fail miserably, I'll just call Jamie!