First chipmunks

First chipmunks seen March 26, 2011. Last year they were earlier on March 12. No geese seen flying over the island.

Snow disappearing

Time to prepare for the mud of spring. The cool weather is keeping the road in good condition for vehicles.

Washboarding

At present the road is snow covered from Tusk to the Island. Snow is being compacted but areas of mud are appearing. A few snowmobiles are skirting the side of the road and travelling between the causeway and the old road.
Washboarding is coming. Here are some articles that outline some thoughts on causes and remedies?
www.usroads.com/journals/rmej/0006/rm000601.htm
www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99035.htm
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/435184.html

Yuk!

The road is unplowed from Tusk. The 6" of snow on the road has been travelled by numerous snowmobiles and at least 1 chainless 'tired' truck. The road is quite challenging, due to the unevenness of the snow. With snow heading our way in the next 24 hours, the road should be very 'yukky".

Planned power outage

Hydro One has set Tuesday March 8 as a planned outage from 9 am to 12 noon.

Maple sap flowing

Sap started flowing in the following dates around our cottages.
2009 March 19
2010 March 7

Road survey

FOCA initiated a road survey for cottage associations last fall. Our association filled out their survey. A summary is cut and pasted from their results.

FOCA Road Survey Results
The road survey resulted in a wealth of information from over 170 respondents. Look what we learned:* roads with less than 30 properties are paying an average of $400-500 per kilometre per season for snow removal*
1/3 of associations who responded have either threatened, or have actually ended up in, Small Claims Court trying to get payment on annual road dues or related costs!* 30% have not yet sorted out their road liability insurance needsGet the results of the Road Survey on the FOCA website.