After things turned winter-like on Sunday, Monday was a relatively nice day. A mix of sun and clouds with an afternoon high around 50F. The sky is clear early Tuesday morning, but a warm front with potentially heavy rain is forecast for later today. Could even have a thunderstorm or two before it clears out late tonight. The middle of the week is forecast to be mild before seasonably cold weather returns on Friday.
After the council meeting on Monday I mentioned there being a new "Community Improvement Plan." A link to that plan is now on the links page of this website. Give it a look. Comments should go to the municipality, not me.
There is a construction fence around most of the parking lot at St. Ola Station. Their long-delayed construction of gas pumps is underway. Looks like the tanks have been set and the plumbing is happening now. Hopefully they are selling fuel soon. They have asked to temporarily stop bringing empties as access to their storage shed is blocked.
A little website and technology news. We are going to attempt to leave a number of webcams on this winter to provide a live view of the lake from several angles. The dozen or so cameras that I had maintained at the Lodge were quite popular in the winter, so we are going to give it a try from here. In addition, the outside air temperature on the weather page should be live too. Some winters we were successful, some winters the power from Hydro One was so bad the equipment would crash, and the stream would stop. Analytics on this website show as many at 55,000 hits a month at popular times of the year.
A subject I have mentioned in the past is now open: Public Consultation on Mandatory PFD use:
Transport Canada has opened a public consultation on the question of mandatory personal flotation device (PFD) wear for recreational boaters, a topic FOCA has been discussing with members over the past two years. We encourage you to learn more and share your comments by November 4, 2024. You can find a link in the "Latest News" section of our webpage: https://foca.on.ca/boating/.
Please take time to provide input or we will all be wearing PFDs every time we get in the boat.
Highway 62 remains closed through Madoc. There is a small bridge on Russell St. that is in need of repair. As of Monday afternoon the concrete deck has finally been poured. My guess is it may open by December 1. The detour is to take St. Lawrence St. either east or west out to #7 and then go back to 62. The small residential streets around the closure are closed to through traffic and being randomly patrolled by the OPP.
Summer fire regulations are in effect through October 31. There is a possibility that that date could be extended if the current dry spell continues. Check the municipal website for the status. Nighttime fires are to be kept under 2 meters by 2 meters in size. (That is 6 X 6 to me) No day burning.
The dump is on winter hours. It is open Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and holiday Mondays from 11AM to 4:30PM.
The Limerick chain of lakes is in fisheries zone 15. 2024 regulations start on page 102 of the MNRF regulations book. Bass season opened on June 22 and closes November 30. If the regulations remain the same, bass will open on June 28, 2025. Lake trout season is now closed until January 1. The Limerick chain of lakes has a "slot size" for lake trout that MUST be returned to the lake if caught. It is roughly 16 to 22 inches. It is also a "one line" lake when ice fishing.