Lot of trails showing "green" on the trails map. There have been winters when the conditions never got better than yellow the entire winter. The 950 Limerick Lake trail is open. Check the OFSC ITG for the latest status. No shortage of snow this winter, especially in areas closer to Lake Ontario. The pile in my front yard is getting close to 8 feet high. In the meantime I have been skiing on bare ice in California, Idaho, and Colorado. (skipped Utah it is so bad there)
Attended what was to be the first of three days of an OLT hearing into the status of the Limerick Estates project. Using a tactic they have used many times before, the developer changed legal counsel 3 days ago. This led to the new lawyer asking for a continuance (I think the term actually used was adjournment) for time to learn more about the case. Hastings County did not object, so the hearing was rescheduled for late March. The hope from the judge is that both sides can negotiate a settlement in the 7 weeks until then making a formal hearing un-necessary. The new lawyer for the developer made an interesting argument about jurisdiction. He claims that since the 2012 agreement was done through an OMB hearing, that only the OMB/OLT can modify the agreement. If that is really true, then all of the changes requested (and some granted by the municipality) since 2012 are not legal, and we ae back to dealing with the 2012 agreement as it was signed then. That would be good news. It would be nice to return to what was in writing back then. My written request to attend the hearing was entered into the formal record. Unfortunately, there was no heads up that would happen (I thought it was just a request to attend and why) or I would have been a bit more verbose in my application.
There was no January Limerick council meeting. I believe the next meeting is February 18th (Wednesday instead of Monday due to Family Day holiday)
Transport Canada is digging into our pocketbooks as of January 6, 2026. Most of us will now have to renew the registration of our boats every 5 years. Pretty much applies to every boat that has an engine of 10hp or more regardless of age. More information here:
https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/vessel-licensing-registration/licensing-pleasure-craft/apply-manage-pleasure-craft-licence-pcl/apply-manage-pleasure-craft-licence-pcl
There is a $250 fine if you get pulled over for a safety inspection this coming summer and your registration is not up to date.
On a related subject, I received notification from both OFAH and FOCA that 3rd party boat registration services have already popped up. Some have misleading names that lead you to believe you are dealing with Transport Canada but are not. I do not mean to imply that these 3rd party services do not provide the service promised, but instead of your registration costing $24, they charge between $50 and $150 for their assistance.
The Spring Cottage Life Show is March 26–29 at the International Centre, Mississauga. Get $5 off admission by using the code SPRINGSHOW at checkout.
AMO is running a series of on-line courses for those interested in running for local council. Some are aimed at first time candidates, others at those seeking re-election. Links to the registrations for the courses can be found here:
https://www.quintenews.com/2026/01/12/374710/
The Rogers / FOCA special pricing plan for internet service remains $60 per month. (unless you have a Rogers phone in which case it remains $50 per month) Even at the $60 price it is the best internet service for many of us on the lake. It appears they throttle the 5G connection to 40MBps down, and 10MBps up. That is plenty of bandwidth for any single-family use. I have used the service for two full seasons and grade it an A-. If the service keeps working through power outages in the future I will up their grade to A+.
We are now on winter burn rules. Fires are permitted 24/7. Some of the signs around the municipality have not been changed from "No Day Burning" so that can be confusing.
The dump is on Winter hours. It is open Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and holiday Mondays from 11AM to 4:30PM.
The 2026 fishing regulations are on-line. Copy and paste this URL into your browser to navigate to them:
https://lwra.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2026-fishing-regulations-summary-en-2025-12-08.pdf
The seasons and regulations for this area (zone 15) remain the same as 2025. They are on pages 104-114 of the regulations book. Bass starts June 27 and ends November 30. Trout starts January 1 and ends September 30 with the slot size of 16 to 21 inches to be returned to the lake. It is a one-line lake for ice fishing.
