On Weather and Such

Not much action weatherwise to report tonight.  The day was fairly Januaryish with temperatures in the 20's, a little light snow off and on, and very little sunshine.  There is still lots of ice under a skimming of new snow, which makes walking (and driving on the back roads) a little iffy, but with caution, we can navigate pretty well.

Bill, Monika and the girls, Tangeni and JoAnn, arrived home safely from Namibia, Africa, late yesterday afternoon.  They were tired, but glad to be home, in spite of the deep cold.  They stopped at our house on their way home, and we were delighted to see them all.  Even in just four weeks, Tangeni has changed - she's mastered the wink she was working on at Thanksgiving, and seems to have enlarged her vocabulary somewhat, and the ability to put whole sentences together.  JoAnn told us she also learned a few bad habits from her little cousins in Namibia - like hitting and screaming.  She hadn't forgotten about Woody, our cat, and he certainly remembered her.  He immediately woke up from his nap when he heard her voice, and the two of  them "hung out" together the whole time.  When it was time to go home, Tangeni insisted he must go with her, and displayed a bit of displeasure when Woody disappeared (with a little help from us) into the basement.  The family will all get back on schedule in the next few days, and JoAnn has some makeup work to do at school she told us she's not really looking forward to.

Today I've been editing transcriptions of the interviews done for the Cabot oral history book, and I came upon a term I have never heard before.  The late Jennie Smith Donaldson was talking about harvesting corn when she was young and lived on Whittier Hill in Cabot, saying they "stook" it.  Sure enough, I looked it up and it's an old fashioned term, meaning to stand the corn stalks with the heads together to dry.  Her family I believe, came from Scotland.  Folks back then grew sweet corn for eating, a field corn for the animals, and nearly everyone planted some for popcorn.  They were almost entirely self sufficient, neighbors helping neighbors. 

Something else I came across, this time when I was reading one of Burr Morse's recent newsletters a few days ago, and he mentioned how, when it's very cold, you'll hear maple trees bang loudly - like your house does sometimes, when it's below zero.  I happened to hear that one day about a week ago when I was walking up the hill on one of those very cold days.  I'd forgotten how trees do that in the cold.  At first I thought it might be something that had fallen or someone was pounding over at our neighbor's, but  then realized what I'd heard.  It reminded me of when we lived at the pond and used to hear the ice rumbling and cracking.  I've been told that is air under the ice, and doesn't necessarily have to do with temperature, but I Googled it and came up with this site, complete with a recording of "ice sounds" - not exactly as I remember them, but  interesting.

I happened upon this photo taken January 7, 2007, and noticed we didn't have much snow on the ground that year, either.  Lots of bare ground on the east side of the pond.  After the rain tomorrow, we may look a lot like we did in 2007.  I looked back on the blog at what I'd written on that date, and I said then the weather seemed more like April than January.  It turned bitterly cold a few days after that, though, so these crazy temperature swings and the exasperating washing away of our snow is not uncommon.  

Fred was telling me today that some scientist he read about recently said we have become "weather wimps" these days, and the storms we are experiencing are not at all unusual - well, you can read what they said by clicking on the link.  I read some of it, but it didn't make me feel any warmer, and I doubt the folks who are experiencing below zero weather and blowing snow across the nation will feel very good about being called wimps.  However, we were saying Tuesday night that at least we have a new phrase to add to our vocabulary, "polar vortex."  Weather folks are using it, you'll hear it at cocktail parties, and I bet it's been mentioned by more than one classroom teacher, and all sorts of people who want to impress someone.  It's "in" - it's the "phrase of the moment," and fun to say; but best of all, it gives us something to blame for the weather that most of us are still convinced is generally peculiar and confusing.

VT bill H.526

During the holidays, I received an e-mail from Joe's Ponder, Michael Abadi (Edgewood Road) regarding a hearing on the Shore Lands Protection bill H-526.  I was busy at the time and it slipped my mind until I found my notes on it today.  The date for the hearing is past, but we have heard some discussion of this bill in the past and I thought you might be interested in the interview Michael did with Senator Hartwell on the subject, and the comments that followed.   Here's the history of bill H-526.

 

We actually saw the sun today, but it didn't warm up much.  There was that cold, icy wind, too, but not much snow to deal with - just cold and ice.  This will go down as the winter of huge temperature swings, I guess.  There have been some serious consequences of the severe weather.  On one hand, there have been more fires of one sort or another, and then there are the frozen water pipes and septic systems, and of course the hazardous road conditions.  Now we're told some towns are running out of sand and salt already, and we've hardly begun winter weather.

We had dinner with Bill and Diane Rossi last night - Diane always very kindly remembers birthdays, this time Fred's, and we had a lovely time.  In the course of conversation, we talked about schools no longer teaching students to write - that is, everyone prints.  The cursive writing most of us learned in school is considered obsolete and unnecessary because students use computers - everything is printed.  I have run into this problem recently when a youngster looked blankly at one of our carefully preserved documents at the Cabot Historical Society.  At the time I thought the difficulty was due to the spelling being slightly "off" on some of the words, and an "f" appears in place of "s" in the really old documents, whether printed or written in cursive.  However, later I spoke with a young school teacher who confessed she "never learned cursive."  I'm seeing more articles bemoaning the fact cursive, or script, is no longer taught in schools; and rebuttals proclaiming cursive is dead, unnecessary in this computer age, no longer needed.

We pretty much decided these young people will miss a lot, being unable to read letters, documents or journals written in long hand.  The Constitution, the original copy of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, or any of the important hand-drafted documents that make up our history - let alone a note from their grandparents or, in most cases, even their parents.  Who is going to take the time to print everything out for them?  Of course, students today have at their fingertips all kinds of gadgets to transcribe, describe and provide whatever information they need, so they'll probably never miss what they don't know.  It's sad, though, and I truly hope this trend will reverse.  Otherwise, future generations will be unable to read any of the beautifully written documents that we've been so careful to preserve over the years.  Makes those efforts seem pretty useless, doesn't it?

Then today I received an e-mail from a friend who had recently received a note from one of the ladies at the Open Door in Danville - and guess what?  It was written in beautiful cursive.  My friend didn't know who actually wrote it, but she said she'd like to express her thanks - seeing that lovely writing made her day.

I've been scanning photos for our West Danville History Project today.  Monday Jane Larrabee brought us a family album with lots of old pictures in it - and I mean lots of them.  213, to be exact.  I finished scanning them tonight.  Of course, not all of them are appropriate for our project, but we have yet to make choices, and I'm sure Jane will enjoy having digital copies of the photos in that old album.  We will be collecting more photos and information, of course, and would love to hear from anyone who remembers things like going to school in W. Danville, the railroad station, when the road was paved, the new bridge put in, changes in town, characters, events - whatever.  Any recollections may be just what we're looking for, so get in touch with Jane Larrabee, Dot Larrabee, Patty Conley, or me.  We plan to meet at the Danville Historical Society building on the first Monday of every month, and we'd welcome your information, or your presence, if you have the inclination.  We'd love to hear your stories.    

Weather Modified

We have enjoyed a much warmer day - it's been in the 20s - may have even reached low 30s when I wasn't looking.  There hasn't been any sun, although very early it looked promising but it just didn't happen. It's interesting that during those very cold days, there were no animal tracks in the snow, and this morning there were several tracks where deer, rabbits, mice, birds, etc., have been roaming around our yard.  It's always surprising when I look out our bedroom window and discover a deer or some other animal has been so close to the house I could have reached out and touched it.  It was good to see the tracks and know animals were moving again.

Fred took these photos today when we were on our walk.  The top one is looking down W. Shore Rd. from our turn; the bottom one is the property line along Jamie and Marie's driveway next to Henretta Splain's, the little house that is on the market now.  It was very pretty, and so nice to have it warmer.  I bet the Sherwoods went skiing . . . tonight it may turn sour, though, with rain, snow, sleet . .

Woody has been outside a couple times today, but it's still not quite warm enough for him to enjoy it.  We always set a kitchen timer for about five minutes so we won't forget him.  In the summer, we have a knocker on the front door as well as the door from the garage, but it's a metal storm/screen door so now that the glass has replaced the screen, we don't hear a knocker, thus the timer.  Maybe we could teach him to ring the doorbell . . .

I had a nice e-mail from Homer today, letting us all know how great the weather is in Venice, Florida.  Here's what he said: 

IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THE TEMPERATURES.    75 ABOVE HERE AND 50 BELOW IN FARGO.    THAT IS 125 DEGREE DIFFERENCE.    GUESS WE WILL STAY HERE IN THE 75.     IT WAS ABOUT 65 WHEN WE GOT UP.    68 WHEN WE LEFT FOR CHURCH.    AND NOW 75.   WILL ONLY GO UP TO 76 THEY SAY. 

GUESS WE ARE IN THE RIGHT AREA.   GOING TO LAKEWOOD RANCH IN BRADENTON TO SEE FRIENDS  THIS AFTERNOON.

 I just had an e-mail from Pat Parizo on Sandy Beach Road saying she noticed some fairly large dog tracks on Sandy Beach Road when she and George were walking today, and she's hoping it might have been Lily, the lost black Lab.  I have left messages for Lily's owner, Melissa Lu, and we are letting others in Sandy Beach area know so they can keep an eye out for her.  We sure hope it might be her - she has been out since about Christmas, and must be in tough shape - cold,  hungry and tired.  Please keep watch - she's wearing a red harness and is very shy - particularly of men.  She's a rescue dog, so life has not been easy for her.

Here's an interesting link sent to me by Butch Bouchard.  It makes sense to me - I went on line after I read that piece and checked out some other dome homes - interesting concept, for sure.  

If you have to drive tomorrow, our area may have some icy roads going on, so please be careful.   

Lily is Still Missing

Several people have asked if I've had any word on the female black Lab, Lily, who  became lost around Christmas Day.  I got in touch with Melissa Yu, the dog's owner, and sadly, they have not located Lily yet.  Here's what I posted on December 29:
 She is wearing a red harness, and her name is Lily.  She got spooked at her home on Whittier Hill in Cabot, and may be in this area, having come through the woods.  Her owner, Melissa Yu, told us she is a rescue dog, and is still very timid, especially around men.  She also doesn't like stairs.  Please keep an eye out for her and give Melissa a call, 535-5412, if you see her.

Please watch for tracks in the snow or any evidence that a stray dog  may be in your area and let Melissa know.  The dog was apparently not familiar with her new surroundings, I don't think Melissa has had her for very long, and she is so timid, she would probably not go near humans, but she might be attracted to other dogs or be looking for food and shelter, and may even be hiding some place.  She's probably frightened and definitely cold and hungry.  We'll hope for good news soon.

We're in for another cold night, but at least the temperature is going to stay in the positive numbers, that is - above zero. Things are heading in the right direction, and tomorrow may bring some really warmer temps, like in the high 20s or low 30s.  We'll be happy to have some above zero days and nights.  Above is our world as it looked from our kitchen window this morning - weak sunshine that never got very strong.

Last night was very cold, well below zero.  We had a very nice evening with Bill and Diane Rossi and Don and Diane Sherwood, here at our house.  I thought about calling them and asking if it was too darned cold for them to have to be out, but decided we'd all gotten together in past years when it was bitterly cold, and they would not mind too much.  And I was right.  Bill and Diane, of course are old hands at Joe's Pond winters, and Don and Diane are, too, sort of.  They have been coming to camp right after Christmas for I don't know how many years, and have experienced just about all the quirky weather extremes Mother Nature loves to throw at Joe's Pond - in their case, it's usually been rain that they bring with them when they come for their ski vacation.  Last night, Don reminded me to mention that "the spell is broken." But here's the thing.  According to the forecast, there may be some rain briefly during the warmup next week, so maybe it will just arrive a bit late  . . . or it could skip us and the pattern will be definitely broken.  I don't know which is worse to bring with you on a ski vacation, rain or bitterly cold weather . . . You're not totally off the hook, yet,  Don.  

I have to say, though, Diane S. and Pam Hebert went for a long hike on the rail-trail yesterday, about 4 miles, Diane said, and in that intense cold, that is an accomplishment, even courageous. Diane said they were going to walk on the pond, but the wind made it too cold, so they stayed on the trail where they were more or less protected.  With the temperature around (I'm guessing) minus 15 degrees yesterday, the wind chill would have been like about 25-30 below, so I'd say they used good sense.  I confess, I didn't go outside all day yesterday except briefly to check the snow/rain gauge, and I haven't been out today, either.  

Today I had to search out a tape I did way back in 1992 so I could share it with the others working on the history of West Danville when we meet on Monday.  It was with Betty Woodring, who used to own Point Comfort.   Betty was married to Glen McLaughlin years ago.  I did the interview with her in November of 1992, and she told me she was 95.  She was living in an apartment at the St. Johnsbury House then, and seemed sharp as could be the day we met and chatted about her life, her sons, Tommy, Jimmy and Bobby Reagan, her former husbands and living in West Danville .  The tape seems not to have stood the test of time, however, and there are only parts of it still audible.   I found the notes I took that day, so all is not lost. 

Also today, I've been editing and reformatting more of the interviews done for the Cabot oral history book we published in 1999.  I have been working on the interview with Bob Davis, the former manager of Cabot Creamery, and coincidentally, I saw in the paper he died this past week.  I didn't know Bob much, or his wife, Barbara.  They had Paul Swett, out of St. Johnsbury, build their house near Cabot Plain Cemetery years ago.  They later sold the house to chef John "Woody" Woods, when Bob retired and went back to his home town of Morrisville to live.   I remember my father was working for Gravett and Swett when they built that house, and he came to like the Davises quite a lot while working there.  At one time, they had a fairly large maple processing  operation at the house.  Their sugar woods was where our family had sugared for many years before the property was sold to Bob. 

The transcript I was working on was mostly  about the Cabot Creamery and gives a real insight to how milk handling changed from the 1950s on.  The creamery was nearing failure when Bob came into the picture; but he had experience in the milk handling business and was willing to learn about cheese making, and turned things around.  Not everyone was happy with his tactics, of course, but what he did seemed to have been what kept the business alive.

For me, the most interesting part of editing these old transcripts is all the information that didn't get in the book, Cabot, Vermont, A Collection of Memories From The Century Past.  Also interesting is that now there are used copies of this book showing up on line for $19.95 and much more.  We are still selling them new for $20.00.  

Oh, I nearly forgot.  Fred got this picture of Woody last night as we were awaiting the arrival of our dinner guests.  Woody has abandoned me in just about every way.  He now spends most of his time in with Fred during the daytime, either hanging out on the bed  (Fred's "office" is our spare bedroom) or on the rug next to the printer.  He jumps into Fred's chair if he gets up from the computer for even a minute - and then Fred just rolls the office chair to one side with Woody in it and uses one of  the dining room chairs.  That probably explains why I've been abandoned - when he nabs my chair, I pick him up and deposit him on one of the other half dozen "beds" available to him in the house.  So last night, just as we were about to sit down for a few minutes, we found him taking a snooze in Fred's chair in the living room.  He did wake up long enough to socialize with our guests a little during dinner, but mostly he slept.  These cold winter days and nights have him a bit flummoxed, I think.  But I have to admit, I miss him in my lap and on the desk next to my computer, even though sometimes he's a real pest.