My own travels on Tuesday had me miss 100% of the afternoon storms. Picked up family at Pearson at 5:20 and headed east on the 407/401. Never had a drop of rain. Hardly any clouds. The rain gauge here at the lake shows just under 4/10 inch of rain fell. There was a bit of wind damage visible along 62 in the Eldorado/Bannockburn area. The rest of the week looks to be nice, but back to chilly. Frost is forecast for this latitude both Wednesday night and Thursday night.
Attended Limerick Council on Wednesday afternoon. Pretty quick meeting. The insurance broker made a presentation on the municipal coverage. The good news was that the premium only went up 1.5% overall. (some parts went up, others went down for a net of 1.5% increase) After recent natural disasters, the municipal emergency control group is forming a "Vulnerable Persons List." The municipal website is being updated to have additional information. I asked about cottagers who tend to be here at times there are very few people on the lake. The Clerk and Fire Chief said it would be fine for such cottagers to add themselves to the database. More info on how to do that to come over the next few weeks. We have a new dump attendant after the previous one was promoted. The new person is Tyler Osmond from Ormsby. Nice to hire from within the municipality. And, finally, the staff is still ironing out some wrinkles in getting the active building permit list published on the website. They anticipate getting that done with the information that is legal to make public within the next month.
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 quietly working behind the scenes on a solution to ensure continued motorboat access to Dixon Lake for years to come. The Clerk recently published a synopsis of correspondence with Transport Canada (which was very encouraging) on the issue on their website.
Whether renewing or becoming a new member of the Limerick Waterways Ratepayers Association (LWRA), you can do it easily on their website at: lwra.ca. Dues are $50 per year per cottage. Please support the organization that works on many issues of importance to the lake community. The canoe races, AGM and picnic will be Saturday, August 1st. The traditional sailboat race will be Sunday, August 2, at 2:00PM.
The LWRA has been involved with the Lake Partner Program for some 40 years. Here is a link to a graph of water clarity testing results that covers the past 30 years. You can see from the dotted red trend line that there has been almost no change in water clarity in that time.
https://lwra.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Secchi-graph-2025.pdf
The Association is also a member of "Safe-Quiet Lakes." That organization did an in-depth survey of cottagers across eastern Ontario. The results of that survey are available here:
https://lwra.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Safe-Quiet-Lakes-2025-Survey-Report.pdf
Transport Canada is digging into our pocketbooks this year. Most of us 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 season and your registration is not up to date.
There have been several sightings of cormorants on the lake. Here is a link to the 2026 Ontario hunting regulations. We are in WMU 61. Check page 87 for hunting regulations for cormorants. (and if so inclined, please shoot them)
https://lwra.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Hunting-regulations-summary-2026.pdf
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 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.
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.
