First some old news. We had a small Mardi Gras party, served po-boys, muffalettas, and king cake. The king cake and the breads were made by Monica at Crosstrax, a new restaurant across from the train station that has finally opened. It was nice to have king cakes that weren't beat to hell from being mailed up. Crosstrax has teamed up with the theater to run the Playhouse Grill in the downstairs banquet area on concert nights. It's great to be able to have drink, dinner and a show all in one place.

Melissa loaned Monica the clock that was in her dad's roadside stand, the Birches, for many years. It's about 18 inches in diameter with green and pink neon rings. I've often thought that someday it will hang in a coffee shop called Wilbur's Clock. This winter has finally let go. It was a long, cold one right to the end. It's in the 40's and 50's during the day now and the melt is pouring into the lake. Last weekend we were still walking on the lake and I watched an ice fisherman drill a hole and get 30 inches of ice. Ice out may be a little late this year. We walked the dogs on the lake all winter, but now wildlife is starting to crawl out of their holes. Wing and Scout had a negative encounter with a porcupine. They had to go to the vet, be anesthetized and have the quills removed. I suppose a skunk would have been worse. There has been enough melt that their invisible fence is back online. We're dependent on that. I coordinated a candlelight peace vigil here in Unity. About 50 people came. It was part of the world wide peace vigil on March 16 run by moveon.org. The Bush administration's policies, both domestic and foreign, seem utterly wrong-headed. The future has to be about membership in an international community, not cowboy individualism.

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