Black bear

A small black bear running round the bay south of the causeway.

Rink(s) 2.0

New and improved skating rink has seen a conversion to an 'oval'.  Road is well plowed to maple hill.  Vehicles have travelled to Guest Drive.

Rink

Eight inches of snow in the last 2 days.  The rink is in operation, clear ice. Size 80 x 45 feet.  All welcome.

Snow and winter day 1

About 5 inches of wet snow on the road, and still snowing.

Icy road

Rain has added a layer of water on the lake, making a future skating rink with a flat surface possible.  The road is icy.  At least one vehicle slid off the road on the mill hill but traction in the soft mud made if possible to spin back onto the road. Vehicles still able to travel the length of Clarke Road.

Road

About 1-2 inches of cruchy snow on the road.  Vehicles are travelling with no problems.  Ice of unknown thickness extends across the lake.

Some ice formation

Sheets of ice forming on the lake.  Hunting this fall in our area: 2 does, 3 fawns, 1 bear. Municipality sanding to turnabout.

Wolves

There is an active pack of wolves in the area.  They were howling along the old road near the north end of the new road during daylight.  They have been seen and heard from Ojibway Road to the north end of Elephant Lake.  In a township to the north they killed and ate one of the hunting dogs.  It is illegal to kill any wolves in townships which border Algonquin Park.

Power outage and wind

Power out at 9:20 am for 5 minutes.  Strong winds expected over the next two days.  Cottages visible from the road will be check for fallen trees.

Frost

This morning there was a nice coating of frost on vegetation along the lake. Wolves have been seen feeding in the bush at the top of mill hill on the east side of the road.  A few bear hunters are along the road, but no signs of bears.  Heavy leaf fall along the road.

Unannounced power outage

Power was lost for a few minutes during the morning.

Power outage

A planned power outage for 11 am lasted until 6:55 pm today.  Apparently some hydro poles were being replaced somewhere.  2135 residences were without power.  Zero degress Celsius predicted for tonight.

Frost

Light frost on plants in open fields this morning.  But, temperature along the lake plus 7 deg. C.  Projected to a low of zero tonight..

Power outage/graded hill

Power will be out 9 am to noon, Sept. 5, 2012.  Cottage road from Forest View to Tusk has been graded.  Mill hill greatly improved.

New Lake Hydro Line

Hydro has put in a new line, 28,000kw to the island (underwater, 1/0 wire) to replace the 15,000kw line that was put in circa 1975 and is now corroding.  No new transformer required.  The line will be hooked up either next week or the week after.  They will give 3 day notice for the 2 hour poweroutage.

Third water sample

The third water sample, following the procedure as previously described, turned out safe for drinking.  There is lots of algae in the lake at present and if you have water sitting in a filtration container for any length of time, you might end up with fungi growing in the standing water.  Just a caution.

Road upgrade

"A" gravel added to new road (40% stone, 60% sand).  "M" material added to maple hill.  This material comes from the crusher at the quarry.  It has lots of fine material which helps to bond the fractured rock.  Ditching done along '2 gates logging road'.

Gravel Road Maintenance

The cottage road is still being maintained into next week, July 16 and on.  The shoulders of the new road are very soft.  Take care if meeting another vehicle on the road.  If your vehicle slides off you may need some four wheel vehicle for extracating your vehicle.

If you want a site that has 'depth' on gravel road maintenance, you can go to:
http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/gravelroads_index.cfm

Road construction

Please expect road construction along the cottage road anytime from July 9-13.  There may be some minor delays.

Power outage

There was a brief power outage this morning. 
    Also, thanks to the unknown person who painted the 'pointer' rocks on the road a bright red.  Please remember that the pointer rock just north of Tusk Trail at the top of the incline, was the scene of an ugly accident in the early 1990's and resulted in serious personal injury.  It resulted in our cottage association being sued and we were forced to hire a lawyer to defend our members.  The judge dismissed our involvement.  This is why we have FOCA insurance for our association.
    There have been at least 3 other accidents on our cottage road.  Slowing down and/or sounding your horn on corners is a wise move.

Water Quality-Second sample

Another sample taken 3 weeks later using the same methodology found some E. coli and the health authorities recommended not drinking the water.  A 3rd sample will be taken in July.  The E. coli may be from the ducks and/or beavers in the area.

Water quality

On May 18 a member of the association took a water sample to the Public Health Lab in Haliburton.  The sample had passed through 2 standard residential filters before being capped.  The results came back with 'No significant Evidence of Bacterial Contamination" and an E. coli reading of Zero.

Theft

Fishing rods and fishing tackle were stolen from a boat attached to a dock in our association area sometime between the evening of Saturday June 2 or early Sunday June 3.  This has been reported to the OPP (1-888-310-1122).  If you have any information please make it available to authorities.  There may be attempts to sell the equipment for quick cash. 

Update of area

Several people have reported seeing bears along Tusk Trail. and lots of bear scat on the road.  The beavers seem to have vacated the pond near Tusk and the water is at a long time low.  Turtles laying eggs this week, unfortuntely foxes or coyotes are digging them up quickly.  No herron spotted this year around the island.  Baby ruff grouse have hatched and some are flying across the road.  Dragonflies are in high numbers and this is keeping the blackflies to minimal activity. But horseflies are out!  Up to 30 mm of rain possible this weekend and an update on the road will be posted on Monday.

Four Bears

A mother and 3 cub bears seen on the south part of the new road.

Beavers, theft

The beavers in the pond near Tusk Trail are very determined.  In addition to plugging the culvert, they are now starting to build a dam along the road.  The drag used to level the road has been stolen from its location at that beaver pond.  This is now the second object stolen from our cottage area.

Planned power outage

May 1, 2012, 8 am to noon.

Power outage

Power out at 5:15 pm, returned 8 pm. Strong southern winds in afternoon extending into the evening. No sign of trees down on our association hydro lines.

Bears

There have been some questions about bears in the area. There have not been any seen and there have not been any bear scat found on the road. Trilliums are in bud. At least one moosc calf has been born this spring and is seen most often between Tusk Trail and the new road, always with its mother. Road is in good condition for all cottagers.

Nature

Muskie fish seen spawning along the causeway shoreline yesterday. Loons heard for the first time this spring today.

Stolen snowmobile

A disabled snowmobile which had a cover and was parked on the side of maple hill has been stolen. It did not belong to any person in our association. If you have any information please contact someone in the executive.

Repairs

The 3 difficult road areas have been made much more passable: sandy flats, 2 gates and maple hill. All cottagers should have few problems accessing cottages in this early season opening.

2 gates logging road

The road from the mill hill to the island is in surprising good shape. The most difficult part is around the '2 gates logging road'. Lacking ditching, the water stays on the road and does not drain. Vehicles have made it through this year. If you get off the travelled part of the road you may need a shovel and creative imagination.

Ice free lake

Ice is gone.

Breakup

Long leads extending into the lake. Turkeys active on the island. Racoons, snuggled into winter hiding areas, are wandering around the cottages, looking for easy food.

Soft mud

The road near 'two gates logging road' is soft as you can see from the photo. Don't stop in the middle. If you pass the beaver culvert north of Tusk, there is a shovel that you can use to clear debris that the beaver uses to flood our road.

Getting better

The washout at Clarke and Africa is improving. Water is not running down the road. It may be possible to drive through it both ways. The first turtle hatching has taken place on the causeway. It seems a bit early. Open water developing north of causeway. In general, the cottage road is in the best shape it has been in the last 4 years. Drainage has been very successful.

Troubled culvert

The part of Clarke Road just before Africa Trail is a BIG problem right now. The road is mushy deep, just barely able to get through with an ATV. The problem seems to be the culvert shown in the photo. Although some water is getting through, it is probably partially plugged. Thus water coming down the hill has been diverted under the road and is pouring out in the middle of the road for some distance. Unfortunatley there is not enough solid road to get around it. Perhaps a rocky outcrop is also diverting the drainage. Since this seems to be a new problem, it is most likely a plugged culvert. Beware until it dries.

Potholes

As the frost comes out of the ground, the road heaves and 'hotspots' produce interesting holes. This area is particularly wonderful.

Road

Road is clearing up by the hour. New road is in great shape. It runs north and south and is well exposed to the sun. The north end at the bend is a bit muddy. A strange washout at the bottom of maple hill. near the Africa Trail cutoff. For some reason, although both sides of the road have ditches that are well flowing, an obvious undercut has surfaced in the middle of the road and it is pouring out! This is a new phenomena. A few muddy areas, but trucks can travel as far as Africa Trail and down Clarke Road. But, Africa Trail to the island is still mostly snow and ice. The one plowing this year pushed the snow well off the travelled road and into the ditch area. This worked out well since the melting snow will drain in the ditch and not on the road. This is quite different from pickup trucks plowing, since they establish a small path and keep the snow close to the road and direct the water onto the main road when melting.

Maple Hill

Maple hill is a difficult area with lots of soft snow. In the early morning when the snow is hard it is an 'easy' climb, but when the temperture rises it is a 'challenge'.

Muddy road

Road from maple to mill hill mostly clear of snow. But snow from top of maple hill to island.

Road in transition

Slush snow from island to top of maple hill, thereafter ice to mill hill. Patches of gravel making snowmobiling difficult. Mill hill ice to the top. Half inch hail in morning.

Geese and chipmonks

Geese and chipmonks both become known March 12, 2012.

Fresh snow

Yesterday 4 inches of fresh snow in the afternoon. One small vehicle drove to maple hill. Lots of snowmobile traffic along cottage road. Lots of vehicles at mill hill turnabout.

Water on lake

Most of the lake is covered in water. Road still good for snowmobiling, but mill hill may be difficult to climb if freezing occurs. Clarke Rd from Africa Trail to the end has had no traffic and is deep snow.

Slushy lake

Some parts of the lake are fine for snowmobiles, other parts have slush hidden under the snow, waiting to swallow up your machine. Road well packed with snow.

Road

Lots of snowmobile traffic from causeway, east along cottage road, past the north end of the new road, along the old road to top of white ash hill and taking a winding bush trail to Baptiste Lake. Less snowmobile traffic along new road to Tusk. Lake traffic travelling is excellent.

Rink covered in 2 inches of slush.

Brief Power Outage

About 6 am power went out for about 1-2 seconds, enough to clear the electrical clocks. Very strong winds with branches down. Snow on roofs very deep.

Enough snow already!

Approximately 8 to 10 inches of snow from yesterday to this morning. Even the moose are complaining.

Rink

Rink is shrinking due to the accumulation of snow.

Snowmobile heaven

Over the last few days more than 8 inches of fresh, powdery snow has graced the cottage road. Snowmobiling on the lake has attracted lots of activity. Snow extremely deep in the bush, making the coming maple tree tapping very slow. Racoons have emerged from their winter slumber. Large carnivore tracks around the island probably are from one or more wolves; perhaps this is the reason for the black and white cat disappearing! Moose tracks along the cottage road defy description; the population seems to be very large. The public parking area at the top of mill hill has seen lots of traffic. It is a starting point for entering the monitored snowmobile trails. The lack of snow plowing to East Bay also has people leaving their vehicles.

Power out

For a short period of time this afternoon the power went out. It didn't seem to be planned.

Road

The road is nicely plowed from mill hill to top of maple hill. Lake is excellent for snowmobiling, no slush observed. Rink is crusted with freezing rain from yesterday. Chains required to travel from East Bay to Clarke Rd.

Black ice rink

Rink is smooooooth.

Great rink

Skating is great. Bring your skates when you come.

Road, rink

Road from mill hill to island not advisable for cars, trucks. Rink covered in water waiting for a freese.