CRYSTAL LAKE JANUARY NEWSLETTER- February 7, 2010
Greetings!

January 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.

WILDLIFE INVENTORY:
The Wildlife Inventory is entering its second year of recordings and observations. A new addition to our list is the Common Redpoll. This little bird of the Finch family made its appearance at two different birdfeeder locations on Clear Bay in early January. These birds have stayed around so far to date. On occasions, as many as thirty Redpolls have been counted. Other times, there are only a few.

Speaking of wildlife, you may have been one of the many people to see the moose that was hanging around in Kinmount over the Christmas holidays. It was frequently seen- near the Catholic Church, the Library, and wandering around the cemetery. In early January, the MNR took action and, suspecting that this moose had terminal brain worm disease, destroyed the moose. The brain of the moose was sent to the University of Guelph for testing (Results can take up to a year). The remainder of the moose was sent to the Wolf Centre at the Haliburton Forest Wildlife Reserve. The Kinmount moose carcass was found to be full of worms and cysts. These were also sent to Guelph for analysis.

BIG RINK PARTY ON CRYSTAL LAKE!!! SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH, 2011
Thanks to fellow cottagers- the Knupps and Langdown-Cyr, a huge outdoor celebration is planned for the Sunday of the Family Day Weekend in February. Skating, curling, and hockey are all possible on a huge lake ice rink, surfaced by a Zamboni! This is the same bay that hosts the movie night in August. All Crystal Lakers are encouraged to participate in this outdoor fun-filled day. Bring your own everything- skates, brooms, sticks, refreshments, snacks, whatever! Be creative about your modes of travel to get to the rink- snowshoe, ski, toboggan, walk, snowmobile, four-wheel, dog sled. Again, whatever! Come celebrate the efforts of Nevil and his friends!

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Sunday, February 13th @ Kinmount Fairgrounds 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Kinmount Winterfest
Monday, February 14th VALENTINE’S DAY
Sunday, February 20th Big Rink Party on Crystal Lake @ Knupps & Langdown-Cyr (see info above
Tuesday, February 22nd @ Academy Theatre @ 8:00 p.m. Peter Karrie
Saturday, February 26th @ Academy Theatre @ 8:00 p.m. Terri Crawford and Friends Saturday, March 5th @ Galway Hall Kinmount Gazette and Victoria Pony Club Annual Dinner Loonie Auction Fundraiser