And Now We Wait!

Today has been a lovely, warm, spring day - unlike yesterday which was cold, windy, and gloomy and we awaok to ice-covered trees and a few slick roads, depending on where you were. Not much obvious melting went on yesterday, but things warmed up overnight and this morning the snow pack was noticeably less. Today the remaining snow has taken a beating. Yesterday my friend, Mary Whitcomb sent me some interesting screenshots from a site called "Lake Monster" which is dedicated to information for fishermen. I'm not sure how they come up with those figures, but I suppose there's some science behind it - it looks logical. And she sent the long-range forecast. Thanks, Mary - fun to look at!

 

 

 

 I thought Joe's Ponders who may not get the Responsible Wakes publication might be interested in seeing the results of recent information gathered from last month's letter campaign to legislators regarding the wake boat law changes. I think it's interesting to note that apparently more people who were opposed to further restrictions mailed duplicate letters than those who were in favor of tougher restrictions; but when the duplicates were discounted, the numbers for restriction were even higher than those opposing it, percentage-wise. Click on the link above to read the article. I guess sometimes "stuffing the ballot box" just doesn't work.

I was at Marty's 1st Stop recently and their addition is coming along really well. It looks like their store will be almost doubled in size. I'm sure it will be really nice. I snapped a quick picture - by the time our Joe's Ponders get back in a few weeks, it will be much further along, I'm sure, but I didn't want you to be completely shocked when you get here in a few weeks! I'm not sure when they plan to have everything done and operating, but certainly pretty soon, by the looks. They are really busy almost every time I go there, no matter what time of day.

The deadline to have Ice-Out tickets in is well past (it was midnight, April 1st), and the ice-out committee has been busy collecting tickets from all the outlets and getting them to Theresa, who is putting the information on a spreadsheet. When the block finally sinks and stops the clock, she will be able to quickly sort through the thousands of tickets and find the winning one (or more). There are always heaps of tickets coming in at the last minute, so it will take time for her to get them all listed. It's a process - when the clock stops, the ticket with the closest (or sometimes right-on) date and time has to be found. Next, the ticket holder must be located and the information on the ticket verified. Only then will the winner(s) be announced. If there are two or more winners, the winners' share is divided equally.

Diane sent me a photo this morning and the block hasn't budged - nothing about it had changed. After today's warm sunshine and slight wind, things may have moved a bit, but we don't think the block is going to sink right away - no Easter Sunday Ice-Out excitement this year, I guess.  

When the clock stops, it's always a scramble to let newspapers, radio and TV stations know right away, and the committee also lets all the outlets know the time and date - but they don't name the winner. That has to wait until verification is made, which sometimes takes a while. I remember one year when the winner was repairing his mother's house in Florida and had no idea he had won - he was from St. Johnsbury and we finally found out where he was by actually going to his home and checking with his neighbors. It delayed announcement for a couple of weeks while we searched for him.

We will keep you informed of the ice conditions - and the weather. It won't be long now!