Winter All Day!

 We are back in Winter! It has been snowing lightly all day with plenty of wind, and now the temperature is dropping rapidly. We enjoyed being in the 30s most of the day, but now I'm seeing 25 degrees and there's a mean wind out of the west. I think it's going to be a cold night.

As for the Ice-Out Report - the past few days have taken a toll on the ice and the narrows are open. No sign of open water in the upper pond, but I haven't heard from Gretchen. I bet the channel is open, at least past their house. This is typical March weather and we know that "mud season" is fast approaching. Jamie had some ducks stop over near his office by the Passumpsic River in St. Johnsbury, and Marie heard geese one day last week when she was walking. Sure signs of spring! 

 A bit of Ice-Out history: I found this photo, taken May 1, 2007. It hasn't happened often that the clock has stayed into May! And that certainly won't happen this year! I don't know how thick the ice was that year, but upwards of three feet, I expect, with plenty of solid blue ice - not like we have this year, the punky white ice that is a mix of snow and water. This was when the flag and block was attached to Homer's deck by the fishing access. 

Bob and I went on our monthly "First Thursday" lunch date this week - I was busy celebrating Diane's birthday last week, so we had to switch to 2nd Thursday. Bob likes back roads and drives a pickup truck, so we took back roads most of the way to Bradford. I know, where does he come up with them? Same thing on the way home. We went up the old Route 5 and then off into the boonies to Barnet and beyond. Some of those roads I haven't been on for 50 years, and some were completely unfamiliar. When I worked for Bill Lederer in Peacham, he knew all of them in that area and, like Bob, preferred them to anything resembling a major highway. We often went to the library in Hanover where he like to research for his books, and sometimes he took me and did dictation. It was less complicated than taking a tape recorder, I guess.

I was surprised that there really wasn't much mud on those back roads. Some were pretty rough with washboard, but all were perfectly passable. We ate at The Little Grille at the Mill. I had never been there, but Bob played there with his band years ago. It is a fascinating spot - good food, nicely done decor, and is onf the Waits River just before it converges with the Connecticut. Again, we forgot to take a selfie - but there are some neat photos on their website. I would definitely go there again. I don't know if the upper level is also a restaurant, but it wasn't open when we were there. The grille was fairly busy when we got there, but the service was really good. We plan to go back in warm weather when the patio down by the water falls is open for dining.

That's about it for me tonight - it has been a very quiet day and I did some reading and then took a long nap this afternoon. Now I can hear some ravioli calling to me from the freezer. Or maybe it's mac 'n cheese . . . hard to tell! Sometimes it's a matter of what I can find easily when I'm rummaging in the freezer.