ICE SHOWING SIGNS OF AGING

Well, the ice still isn't out of Joe's Pond yet, but it may not be long now. We had this report from Kevin Johnson on Wednesday. With the really warm and windy weather Wednesday, a little rain last night, and another mild day today, I'm sure the melting process has accelerated. Here's Kevin's report:

The ice is still about 16-18 inches thick. I went out yesterday and the day before (after work) - perch fishing. On Monday they were biting very good! I caught my limit (50 fish) within an hour! My tow boys, Kyle 10 and Connor who's 7, caught 42 between the two of them. I was up till 11:30 cleaning fish! Then last night I caught 50 more, but it took longer to do it. The ice was getting very soft on the top and I'm sure that today's weather will take its toll, also. May not be safe to venture out after today. -Kevin

My advice to Kyle and Connor - get your dad off the ice and have him switch to a nice brook for some trout fishing. Won't get as many, but it's a whole lot safer this time of the year! Happy fishing - I sure hope the Johnson family likes perch in a big way.

ICE STILL HOLDING

I have an up-to-the-minute report for you on the ice condition at Joe's Pond. It seems that in spite of the last couple of days of warm weather, there is still plenty of ice left, at least in the big pond where the marker for the Ice-Out game is located.

Homer (Fitts) said he saw someone fishing west of the narrows between the middle (2nd) and big (3rd) pond late yesterday afternoon. He later found out it was Kevin Johnson. Kevin caught his limit of perch in about an hour and reported at least 16 inches of ice. Homer also told me he spotted the Plattsburg Channel 5 TV crew there yesterday and caught their picture of our flag and marker on the early morning news. I'll check with Jane Larrabee tomorrow about when or if the New York Times reporter is coming.

Tomorrow is going to be a very warm day - possibly high 60's or low 70's, according to the forecast, and windy. The rest of the week will be colder than normal. The good news is that Cabot has been working on West Shore Road and it's drying out a little more each day. No big mudholes like some years, so if some of you decide to visit your camp over the weekend, you should have no snow and very little mud to contend with. It could be chilly, remember that Joe's Pond weather is always at least 10 degrees cooler than Barre or St. Johnsbury, almost always windy, and quite changeable, so come prepared with warm clothes.

A Beautiful Day at Joe's Pond

It's been a very nice day here, although still on the cool side. I've had several inquiries as to whether the ice has gone out yet or not, and of course it hasn't. I do have some pretty reliable information though. I heard from Chico Carcoba (he's the computer guru that logs in your tickets so we can quickly find the winner when the clock stops!), and he tells me that historically the ice in Joe's Pond goes out about a week or 10 days after it goes out at Woodbury where he has a cottage. Chico was at his cottage this weekend and predicts the ice will be gone there on Tuesday, and he further predicts with some certainty that it will go out here at Joe's Pond on the 18th (or maybe the 19th or 20th). Those of you who travel Rt. 2 past Molly's Pond here in Cabot, know that the ice there goes out almost exactly one week before Joe's. Although I think last year that wasn't the case. Anyway, we try to give you all the latest information so you can try to predict if your guess will be the winning one. Good luck.

We do have some really interesting information, though. Jane Larrabee told me Saturday that she's had a call from the New York Times saying they want to send a reporter up to do a story on the Ice-Out Contest. She was waiting to hear when the reporter might be here, but hadn't any word yet. Wouldn't it be way cool if he/she was here on the day the ice actually went out!?
It's pretty cool that a big newspaper like the Times wants to do a story on us anyway! We will try to keep you posted. Stay tuned.

By the way, if you're wondering if Chico is in the game, he isn't, and neither am I.

THE ICE IS STILL WITH US

We don't have much to report. The ice doesn't seem to be melting, but I'm sure it is. More water is showing through the narrows between the ponds and in the channel. The weather has been unusually cool - good for sap runs, maybe, but not much else. Our roads are still slick with mud or snow or black ice. There were a couple of mishaps on Rt. 2 in W. Danville this morning in the area of Point Comfort. The moisture from the open water collects and freezes on the pavement making it very dangerous for unsuspecting drivers. There are plenty of potholes and bumps to slow most folks down, but sometimes those become the culprits that send a car spinning out of control.

On the plus side, we're nearly ready with the Joe's Pond Association newsletter, spring 2006 edition. We're in a holding pattern until the ice goes out and we can publish the name of the winner of the contest. I can tell you that another record was set with ticket sales, so the contest winner will receive a good sized check.

We have recently posted some new pictures to the web site. Go to "Photo Gallery" where you'll find some recent snow and mud shots along with some previously unpublished spring-like scenes from our area - wishful thinking shots, I call 'em. I searched my files for the above flower picture taken last year - nothing like this poking through the snow here yet, but I think it's a cheerful picture and is a hopeful reminder that spring's coming. Think daffodils!

IT'S SPRING?

Around noon yesterday the weather turned sour and a wet snow began to fall. This morning we had three or four inches, but some areas got much more. Eeverything was white - again. The Town of Cabot plowed (they worked the roads by here only last week!) and now we have a mixture of mud and snow and slush. But when this snow goes, underneath will be revealed sweet green grass and the roads will be dry!

The picture above is the view this morning from my deck overlooking West Shore Road and Joe's Pond. That white space in the center is the pond between Channel Drive area and the big island, and in the foreground you can barely make out the Randall house across the road from us. We can't see much of it from this angle, but the channel is open and ducks and geese are frequent visitors. I don't know where all the robins from last week went, but I'm sure they'll be back in a few days, after the snow is gone.

I had a message from Homer last night. Here's what he wrote:

I was sitting in Elsie's chair yesterday [Monday] and visiting on the phone. Looking out the back window I saw 2 moose strolling down Edgewood Ave. toward the access area. I went out to take some pictures. At the first flash of the camera they moved up the access area driveway toward Route 2. Stayed on grass about 100 feet to the west and then crossed Route 2 and went into the woods. Elsie sure would like to have been sitting there to see them.

Kevin fixed the clock connection and reset it to Daylight time Sun. afternoon. Also measured the ice and still 16 inches out there by the pallet after Saturday's heavy rain. Great weather ? ? Homer.

NO APRIL FOOL'S!
Bob LaBrie reports the Ice-Out Contest in Goshen, MA is officially over. The block dropped at 8:28 PM on April 1. Fortunately, they end their contest on March 31, otherwise the contest could have been over before it was over -- well, you get the idea. He posted these before and after pictures. At the left, the block is sinking, disconnecting the clock, and the next morning there was only the telltale hole. The winner will be announced as soon as all the entries are in.
This came dangerously close to a real calamity - imagine if the ice had gone out before the contest was officially over - someone could have had a huge advantage in picking the date and time.

The above picture was sent to me by the chairman of the Goshen, MA Ice-Out Contest fashioned after our own. As you can see, their ice is closer to being gone than ours. Chairman Bob LaBrie's comment re. the picture is that it "shows some of our finest doing what they do best - standing on thin ice."