Sad News

We were greatly saddened to learn of the passing of Maxine Ronald, after a brief illness, on February 5. She was in her 91st year.

We used to walk the dog by her cottage and she was often to be found gardening with a daughter; enjoying her offspring and theirs; or sitting quietly in her favourite spot in her porch, looking over the lake. 

She will be missed.

Water Testing

Our Water-Testing Grand Poobah Jerome Rousseau informs me that this year's water testing will take place on Saturday, August 8.

Please consider this a pre-announcement aimed at those who wish to pencil it into their agendas. This information, with more details, will be published again closer to the actual taps-on date.

Bird News from Stephanie

Did anyone else see the two Snow Geese on Presqu-ile (Land Island) this past weekend? I am pretty sure that's what they were because of their black wing tips.

The "regular" spring migrating warbler denizens are back at the lake, including the relatively easy-to-identify (by their songs): black-and-white warbler, black-throated green warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, the Blackburnian warbler and the ovenbird. There are probably lots of others too but I find these five species are relatively common and their songs easy to remember. 

Of course, they are joined by the birds that will likely stay the summer instead of heading up to James Bay and farther, such as the hummingbirds, purple finches, nuthatches, white-crowned sparrows, blue jays, chickadees, veerys, and even a few robins among others.

There is a lovely Wood Thrush that can be heard singing in the woods by the Lake Anne east gate too.

--Stephanie (Hunt) Foster

All about the bass

LAKE ANNE, MAY 5, 2015 -- This post isn't strictly all about the bass, as trout feature in it as well. It's really all about fishing.

But first: actual green buds all over the trees, another bald eagle sighted on the drive to Lachute (my, they are big birds), and a little info on the blue jay thing.

It seems blue jays migrate. Sometimes. Some of them. Their migration remains a mystery. It's not just the young ones, nor just the old ones who migrate. And, usually, some don't bother. However, this was a brutally cold winter. Perhaps, our jays just felt a need to get outta Dodge.

My mother-in-law is a poet. She remembers (at 91, that's an achievement all on its own) her first published poem contained the line "...and what do blue jays want with winter?" Good question.

And now, all about the bass and other fishies.

*****

Fishing

Lake Anne is in Zone 9 for purposes of Quebec fishing regulations.

The prinicpal fishing fish in Lake Anne are bass, splake, and lake (or gray) and speckled trout .

Trout can be fished from April 24 to September 13, limit 5 - 10 per day, depending on species.
Bass can be fished from June 19 to November 30, limit 6 per day.

Limits include any fish caught and consumed during the course of the day.

Fishing permits can be purchased at Dagenais in St-Sauveur. Children can fish provided they are accompanied by an adult with a permit.

Much more information can be had from Le Guide du Pecheur, available at Dagenais for the princely sum of $2.99.

*****

Fishing for Kids: On Saturday, May 23, there will be a Riviere-a-Simon Fishing Day in Lummis Park (Morin-Heights), from 0800 to 1500. The event is intended to introduce children to trout fishing. Each child must have fishing gear and be accompanied by an adult with a fishing permit. This event is made possible by the Association de Chasse et Peche des Laurentides.

About those not ladybugs

LAKE ANNE, MAY 4, 2015 -- For the past few years, swarms of ladybirds or ladybugs have gathered on warm days in October. They appear to have a mission: get into a house where they can shelter during the winter. They are very dedicated to and skilled at this mission. Walking around the house, you can look up into ceiling corners and see them clustered in their dozens and hundreds, settling in.

In the spring, they reverse this trend and head for the great out-of-doors. They aren't quite so clever at getting out as they are at getting in, so small heaps of bugs (dead and alive) and bits of bug line the walls by windows and doors.

These are not our beloved ladybirds of yesteryear--the native, nine-spotted ladybird--which has been largely eliminated by two invaders, the Asian lady beetle and the seven-spotted. The Asian lady beetle arrived in Quebec about 10 or 15 years ago and has found the place very much to its liking.

They aren't very nice, these beetles. Apart from their swarming, if you squash them, they create a dark orange stain which can be difficult to remove. They bite, not horribly but unpleasantly, if you mess with them. And they smell extremely nasty.

Sadly, there is little to be done. I talked to an exterminator last year. He shrugged, said the only answer is to vacuum them up and dispose of them out of doors.

So, each day, I do my lady beetle clean up. Each day new lady beetles arrive. Still, ever the optimist, I think I'm winning.

Ecocentres

LAKE ANNE, MAY 4, 2015 -- The geese are arriving and departing in cacophonous skeins. A blue jay at the feeder yesterday, as well as the inevitable red squirrels and chickadees. The ladybugs have decided they'd prefer to be outdoors and are dying in drifts by all the sunny windows. A deer stepped off the road as I drove in the other day.

*****

Ecocentres

We have two. 

The Ecocentre at St-Sauveur is free for residents of that town and of Morin-Heights. It is located at 2125 ch. Jean-Adam (route 364), just after the SQ station on the outskirts of St-Sauveur. Between April 1 and November 30, it is open Monday to Sunday, 0730 to 1600.

The second Ecocentre is at 40 ch. Sideline in Gore. It offers free service to residents of Wentworth, Gore and Mille-Isles. It is open every Saturday and Sunday from 0900 to 1700 all year. From mid-May (long weekend) to mid-October (Thanksgiving), it is also open on Wednesdays from 0900 to 1700.

The St-Sauveur Ecocentre accepts:

• carpet
• furniture
• outdoor furniture
• plastic toys
• demolition debris (windows, mirrors)
• tires without rims
• asphalt shingles
• metals
• water heaters
• mattresses
• home appliances
• small appliances
• electronic equipment (TV, computer)
• sports equipment
• bath tubs, toilets
• printer cartridges
• car batteries
• oil, paint, varnish
• compact fluorescent bulbs
• branches
• green clippings other than branches
• Christmas trees
• propane tanks
• batteries

The Jean Coutu in St-Sauveur also has a receptacle for small batteries, in the passageway as you leave the store. Medications can be taken to any pharmacy for disposal.

The following items cannot be taken to the Ecocentre nor can they be recycled, and they should be placed in the regular garbage:

• table scraps
• kitchenware (glass, porcelain, crystal)
• plastic toys (if you aren't taking them to the Ecocentre)
• sports equipment (if you aren't taking them to the Ecocentre)
• incandescent bulbs
• hoses
• CD, DVD
• clothing that cannot be reused

*****

The Gore Ecocentre accepts:

Electronic devices

• small electronic equipment
• VHS, CD, DVD
• copiers, printers, fax machines, scanners
• TVs
• computers
• telephones, answering machines, cell phones, pagers
• computer peripherals
• screens and monitors
• radios
• video games and consoles
• cameras, video cameras

Construction and renovation materials

• cabinets and counters
• baths, showers, sinks
• construction wood and wood materials
• toilets
• plumbing, hardware
• doors and windows, glass
• ceramic tiles
• asphalt shingles
• cardboard and plastic mixed with construction materials
• aggregates (asphalt, concrete, cement bricks)
• gypsum

Household hazardous waste

• aerosols
• compact fluorescent bulbs
• fluorescent tubes
• batteries (all kinds)
• propane tanks
• anti-freeze
• motor oil
• oil filtres
• empty containers of motor oil
• paints, stains and sealants (all types)

• barbecues
• regular tires with or without rims

Various objects in good condition

• furniture
• household appliances
• household objects
• recreational equipment
• tools
• electrical devices
• books
• games, toys

Metals:

• ferrous metals (steel, iron, appliance scrap, etc.)
• non-ferrous metals (stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, lead, etc.)

The Gore Ecocentre will not accept:

• logs, branches, leaves, grass, vegetation
• all putrescible (direct quote and, no, I don't know) plant waste
• insulating wool and styrofoam
• stones and stone dust
• contaminated waste
• huge tires and bicycle tires
• acids and bases
• glues
• solvants
• pesticides and herbicides
• biomedical waste
• explosives and munitions
• gas or mixed fuel
• incandescent bulbs
• materials that can go in municipal recycling (paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, glass)

- kmh

Nature Watch from Bob Gaudreau

LAKE ANNE, MAY 2--We had a bald eagle at the lake this morning, on a dead pine between Blachford's and Wood's Bay point. First sighting of a bald eagle at the lake in my 37 years!  

Three loons were cruising off the Presqu'Ile, and several common mergansers flying around squawking.  

Note, no blue jays.  Have seen none since last October.  In mentioning it to Morin Hts neighbours and others, they confirmed the same.  Wondering!

-bg