Tuesday was the nicest day we have had in quite some time. It remained sunny and mostly calm until late afternoon. Clouds moved in around the dinner hour, and a steady rain started during the night. No thunderstorms in this neighborhood so far. Just under 1/2 inch of rain has fallen as of daybreak. Enough that the lake level actually went up a little. The rainwater must be warm as the lake water temperature also went up a few degrees. They say the rain will end in the early afternoon and become a 40% chance of showers for the rest of today and all day Thursday. There is a slight chance of rain Friday and Saturday. Sunday now looks to be the nicest day of the holiday weekend. Temperatures are forecast to finally get back to normal and even a bit above normal. Most days for the last 3 weeks have been well below normal.
There was another hopefully positive development on the Dixon Creek access issue on May 1st, and a further update on May 12th. First, we learned that it is not a creek or river. The waterway does not fall enough meters per kilometer to be considered a creek or river. It is officially a "waterway." 2nd is that taking identifiable photos of anyone on a waterway without their permission is illegal. The Municipality is working behind the scenes (with the assistance of numerous cottagers) on both short term, and long-term solutions to ensure continued motorboat access to Dixon Lake for years to come.
Transport Canada is digging into our pocketbooks this year. Most of us now have to renew the registration of our boats every 5 years. (finally found my registration paperwork that expires in 2035 and have a copy of it in the boat) 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 season and your registration is not up to date.
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 (the 5G signal is some 15 dB stronger this spring that it was last year, so there have been some technical improvements) 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 am now into my 3rd season of using the service and grade it an A-. If the service keeps working through power outages in the future I will up their grade to A+.
Summer burning rules came into effect on April 1. Fires are permitted 7PM to 7AM only through October 31st. Check the municipal website for information regarding total fire bans during the summer should that become necessary. There is also information there on how to apply for a permit for a legal daytime fire through the summer months. (conditions allowing)
The dump is now on summer hours through August 31. It is open Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and holiday Mondays from 11AM to 6:00PM. (Note those are changed hours as of late 2025. It used to be 1PM to 8PM on Wednesday and Sunday) The Roads Department that oversees the landfill is doing a great job of keeping it neat and organized.
Half-load restrictions on township dirt roads were lifted on May 5.
The 2026 fishing regulations are on-line.
https://lwra.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2026-fishing-regulations-summary-en-2025-12-08.pdf
The fishing 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 started 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.
