CRYSTAL LAKE COTTAGERS- FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER March 13th 2011

Greetings!

Sorry for the tardiness of this newsletter. Kathy and I were out of the country on a brief holiday. February gave us some blasts of winter, mixed with some very sunny days. There were some good skating days on the Lake as well.

WILD WEATHER:
Family day weekend saw some very strong winds hammer our area. On Friday night (Feb.18th), strong winds blew down a large balsam tree across the Galway Road (near Reid Road). This tree blocked the traffic for about 45 minutes. A total of 7 vehicles were lined up. Luckily, a phone call from a cell phone to a cottager (already at their cottage on Clear Bay) was made and a much needed chain saw arrived. With the help of several of the motorist, the tree was cleared and everyone was on their way.

However, this same wind storm knocked out power to about 29 households on the north shore of Clear Bay. Power was not restored until Saturday night just shortly after 7 p.m. These households were without power for 25 hours.

Unfortunately, experts state that wild weather is going to be increasingly the ‘normal’. Therefore, cottagers should be prepared! Have emergency kits easily located in your place. Include flashlights, batteries, candles, matches etc in the event that the power goes out. Also, be sure your vehicle has blankets, candles, water, food, etc. for that ‘just-in-case’ scenario.

SIGNS OF SPRING?
From the nature world, the crows are back. Also, this weekend, the first appearance of a chipmunk was encouraging.

ANOTHER DAM UPDATE!
Construction on the Crystal Lake Dam continues. The front part of the dam has been re-faced. The Parks Canada crew has now begun the down river side. ALL, I repeat, ALL of the stop logs are in place, including the half log. As of today, 3 ½ logs are above the current water level. The culverts have been removed and the temporary dam is now underwater.

Ryan Hamersma of Parks Canada is in charge of this project. In a telephone conversation with him, our dam is going to also have new railings installed. The automated gauge that will track our water levels will be the last thing to be installed. Remember, this gauge attaches to the dam and monitors our lake levels. It does not control or affect our lake levels, nor the operation of the dam. With all the stop logs already in place, it is up to Mother Nature to fill Crystal Lake via spring run-off and precipitation (rain).

UPCOMING EVENTS:
March 17th St. Patrick’s Day
March 25th & 26th Tommy Hunter @ Lindsay Academy Theatre @ 2 p.m. anuary 2011 has come and gone. Crystal Lake saw some glimpses of winters past with a couple of nights reaching temperatures of - 27, -28, and a -30 degree C. Curiously, these three low temps were all recorded on Monday mornings. Although we received snowfall on many days, there were no days of great accumulations. In actual fact, Groundhog Day saw the most one-day snowfall so far in 2011. There was even blowing snow across the lake and some snowdrifts. In places on my rink, I measured 12 cm of snow.