With the freezing temperatures, there isn’t a whole lot of events happening around town and folks are venturing out on an “as needed” basis. On the positive side I was happy that the frigid weather had made it possible for a few of the traditional ice fishing event were able to take place after four years of being hampered by poor ice conditions. The Kids Ice Fishing sponsored by the Beaver Brook Rod and Gun Club was a great success and attracted over thirty-one participants.

Lots of prizes were awarded and everyone was well fed to boot. It’s wonderful that the local sports clubs do so much for young kids so they learn how much fun it is to enjoy what the outdoor activities and sports have to offer. Next weekend is the Ice Fishing and Pig Roast on Highland Lake and hopefully the ice holds and they will finally be able to crown the best fisherman as the King Of The Ice. Looking forward to it!

Since I like to get out and about and see what’s happening and avoid more cabin fever laying around binge watching Netflix for hours, on Saturday, February 22 from 12-5 p.m. I plan on going to the Port Jervis Cocoa Crawl. It’s sponsored by their Chamber of Commerce and the Crawl involves twelve businesses-some new stores for shoppers to visit and get a cup of cocoa. (I’m not sure that I can drink twelve cups of cocoa.) Port Jervis’s commercial district is very interesting and walkable.

The first stop on the Crawl is the International Deli which may just be the best sandwich shop in America where there will be a map showing the location of the other eleven shops. To start you get a “passport” and each participating business visited will give you a stamp if you purchase something. Apparently there are prizes which will be given out once the passports are then returned to any of the stores. The twelve businesses participating in addition to the Deli are The Breathless Juice Bar, Haven for Heroes (comic books), the Foundry 42 (Coffee shop with live music), Fox N Hare Brewing Company, Awakening/Harikoa, (wellness center, massages, yoga and Pilates classes), Neverlost Adventures, (bike shop and outdoor equipment), PJ Dog & Company, Upfront Gallery, (art exhibits and music events), RH Smith Mercantile(house artist and makers studios), Azure Candle Company and Al’s Music Store (guitars, hard to find instruments, repairs and music lessons including piano, tin whistle, flute and recorder). The Port Jervis Cocoa Crawl is free and there seems to be many impressive businesses to see. For more information go to Port Jervis Cocoa Crawl on Facebook.

Last Sunday at 7:02 a.m., the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil came out of his burrow and saw his shadow signaling six more weeks of winter. This year was the 139th celebration of Groundhog day, a tradition that began in 1887. The result was a reversal of 2024 when Phil called for an early Spring. The good news is that technically long-term weather prognostications don’t match up with Phil’s and there are already signs of an early Spring in the South. Meteorologically speaking, Spring officially begins on March 1 with more hours of daylight than night and the astronomical Spring begins on March 20 at 3 a.m. In addition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that overseas our weather reporting found that over the last twenty years Phil was correct only 35% of the time and over the years he has leaned heavily towards predicting more winter weather! If you look back all the way to his first prediction in 1887, Phil has been right only slightly better (but still worse) than a coin toss-at 39 percent. So, start to make your outdoor activities and gardening plans as this bone-chilling weather will soon be only a memory.