Happy spring everyone! The air turns balmy and freezing again by turns, but generally things are warming up and the sun is gracing our days more often. The ice on Lake Champlain has finally fractured into millions of sparkling, floating sculptures and sheets, which sound like a chorus of small bells with the incoming waves.The Canada geese are beginning their yearly pairing, and every day more of their avian compatriots arrive on our shores and fields.
“Spring!” The birds are singing in Westport, from the red-winged blackbirds to the chickadees and robins and bluebirds. The ducks don’t have much space to swim , as the lake still carries a slab of ice that is moaning and crackling in the frigid mornings, still bearing the scars of ice boats. We’ve entered the time of big transition….mud season…which means the sap is flowing, sugaring weekends are coming up soon, seedlings are sprouting, and soon we can all roll up our sleeves and get to work, in shorts.
It’s almost spring! And we’ve had the most amazing, sincere winter in a very long time : a true, ski-out-the-back door, skate -across -the lake, frozen pipes kind of winter. Now it’s time to dream about putting away the snow shovels, and watching those first seedlings sprout from the soft, warmed earth.
Wow! What a downright traditional winter it’s been (for those of us over the age of 20)! We’ve had the coldest winter in 17 years, and Lake Champlain froze over completely for the first time since 2019. The old-fashioned ice-over immediately brought out ice fishermen, ice skaters, ice-walkers of all kinds, and the most fun ~ ice boats! For three days in the first two weeks of February an ice boating group converged in Westport for some world-class sailing. The boatmen hailed from all corners: Vermont, Quebec, New York, Connecticut..and are part of a Saratoga-based group. It was exciting and nostalgic to see all this activity on the frozen bay!
Wow! So far, 2026 has been a brilliant, cold and snowy year! Oh, except for that brief rainy part. As they say, “into each life a little rain must fall”…but the bright sunrise pictured above erases all memory of THAT! Thanks to David Howson, for capturing this magnificence in his own back yard, and sharing it with us!
Ahhh..life has quieted down from the holiday rush, we’ve come out the other side of the January thaw and we’re easing back into the thick of a cozy Adirondack winter. No one’s sleeping in this town, though…Westport is truly hopping with options for gathering over great food, drink, activities indoors and out, education and world-class entertainment!
Happy New Year, Westport! May 2026 bring everyone much joy, health and new adventures! We here at the Alliance are ready to jump in, with new leadership, new board members, new staff and loads of new ideas. We hope you will join us at meetings, share your ideas, and volunteer at town-wide events!
info@gowestportny.com
