Yesterday, with a temp near 50° F, the surface of the 12-14 inches of ice on Richmond Pond was safe enough for ConCom Chair Emeritus, Holly Stover, and I to spend an extremely pleasant afternoon walking about. I’m sure the ice will soon be gone with these warming temps and the longer days but, yesterday, the sun and beauty of surrounding had our spirits soaring. And metaphorically, the long-frozen impasse with the damage to the western slopes of Lenox mountain also seems on the verge of melting. At our ConCom meeting Tuesday evening, DCR Senior Ecologist, Nancy Putnam spoke about her and DCR’s commitment to work towards a restoration — completed before next winter. More news on that front will be forthcoming soon. For the time being, the parties have agreed to having a plan to talk about at the May 11th ConCom meeting. It’s the first hopeful note on that front. Spring is indeed, right around the corner.