Another cool, cloudy, and breezy day on Thursday. The mercury only climbed to 48F. Well below the 68F that is the statistical normal for the day. I drove through a few miles of heavy rain mixed with sleet and snowflakes just south of Peterborough on the 115. Now to the holiday weekend. One forecast has a fairly high chance of showers on Saturday and again Monday. The EC forecast says there will be some clouds those two days, but no chance of rain until early Tuesday. All of the forecasts agree that it will finally warm up. Some showing the upper 70s, others the low 80s. Sounds great, but we know that will finally awaken the cursed black flies. The cooler than normal recent weather has made them late to appear.
The rain this week has raised the lake level almost 2 inches. We are on track to be back to right on "normal" in the next few days.
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.
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.
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.
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.
