Mill hill

Mill hill has been graded and A gravel added up to Tusk.  Just in time for long weekend.

Knitters and spinners

Time to take your old material and put them outside for the birds.  They love it and the colours make for great nests-and warm too!

More bear info

A large dead moose was found on Ralph Woodcock's property, which is on the south side of Tusk Road, west side of the mousetrap.  Lane has a fire hydrant at the entrance.  Bears were feeding on it, and yesterday about 1/2 of the moose was eaten.

Please be aware that there are active bears in the area and they can roam over large areas.  Ralph's shed and cabin have been broken into by bears looking for apples picked by Ralph.  One swing of their arm knocks the door off the hinges.

Remember to wear bells in the bush.  We'll check bear scat for bells.

Road Phone number

If you have a problem with the road maintained by the municipality, which extends to Tusk Trail, the number is 705-457-1830.  It might be an answering number after hours.
      East Bay community has phoned in the fact that the mill hill is heavily washed out and should be graded before the long weekend.
      The Elephant Lake Cottagers Association only maintains the road north of Tusk.

Bear alert

Bear tracks seen today on Africa Trail between Clarke Road and Guest Trail.
      People going into the bush should wear bells.  This helps others know that someone is missing if bells are found in bear scat.

Forgot trilliums

Mosquitoes, blackflies and first day of red trilliums flowering all on the same day, May 7.

Double Yuk

So, on May 7, mosquitoes and blackflies arrive on the same day!  Can the deerflies be far behind? 

Sheep shearing

On Saturday June 14 starting at 10 am there will be a sheep shearing of approximately 60 sheep at Crowhill Farms.  The farm is north of Lindsay off hwy 35.  Go to Cameron and turn right onto Long Beach Road (just past general store).  It is the 2nd road on the left, 35 Ranchers road.
  
     You can drop in and view, or stay and be part of a potluck.  It is a great opportunity for children to see the operation, touch sheep, carry the fleece to a screening table, view differences in fleece, etc.

     If you are interested, you can just drop in and view the process, but if you are staying for potluck you should let Leslie and Craig know so they are prepared.  crowhillcorriedales@gmail.com.

     Leslie also has an alpaca which will usually be in the barn.  They seem to protect the sheep when in the fields.  The sheering is done in the barn.

     The fleece is put into large bags, about 500 pounds and shipped to a mill in Ontario.

    

Found boat

A 14 foot red aluminum boat was found drifting on the lake.  It has been brought to shore in East Bay. Contact someone or visit the neat community and ask around if you think you know the owner.

To FOCA

                                Case Study for FOCA: Small Claims Court

 

Background:

 

 Our cottage association, comprised of approximately 20 cottages, is responsible for  keeping up a non-maintained municipal road for approximately 8 kilometres.  Several of the cottagers use this road to access their cottage but refuse to participate in meetings or to contribute to a general fund established by our cottagers’ association.   Thus, non-participating cottagers are “unjustly enriched” by the efforts of others in the association.  Numerous attempts had been made to bring them into our association, but they refused.  Use of a collection agency had not worked due to the fact that they would not accept our registered letters or they had used an excuse that they do contribute to maintaining the road through work with other contractors.    Non-payers also believed that contributing to road maintenance  was voluntary and they could make the decision to use the road without any contribution.

 

Finally our association decided to take the issue to small claims court and contact was made with FOCA to determine if a data base of information existed about other associations that pursued this route.  We were referred to one case:  Point Abino Association v. Lee (http://www.foca.on.ca/case-law).  This case was very similar to our situation and used the concept of “unjust enrichment” to win their court case.  This article will be a more detailed outline of the process of using the small claims court which may assist other associations in their efforts.

 

The process of small claims court and all the forms required are available through the internet (http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca).  Going into the Small Claims section will give you all the information that you will need to continue your case. 

 

The first form required is the Plaintiffs Claim, Form 7A.  You will need the name and address of the defendant (non-payer).  But you have to be very careful.  The name that you are claiming to be the defendant  may not be the same person on the municipal role as paying the taxes.  In two of our cases we got surprises when we found one property was actually an estate and the other property was not listed under the person we were requesting payment for our association.  After checking the municipal role, you will find the address of the defendant.  You might also go to the Land Registry Office and use a credit card to operate their computerized system for PIN (property identification number).  You can check personal names, and  property lot numbers.  This lead to another surpise.  The property that was an estate, was still listed under the name of  a person who had died over 10 years ago.  It seems that the property ownership  is an active court issue.  You might also check the Book of Wills.  If property is owned in your jurisdiction and the person dies, this book will record when the deed is changed over to new owners.  You can also check to see if there are any writs against the property or owners.  The staff at our Land Registry Office was very supportive in giving directions for finding information

 

In the Plaintiff’s Claim you need to give the Reasons for Claim and Details.  Basically we mentioned: 1) length of road maintained by our association, 2) number of cottagers along road, 3) lack of municipal maintenance, 4) number of culverts, washouts and beaver dams, 5) past accidents and insurance coverage and court summons,6) efforts of volunteers for clearing of trees, dragging the road,  7) total amount of fees owed to our association by the defendant.

 

We numbered and indexed all our submissions .    Give a statement of all the outstanding invoices and Balance Owing by the defendant.  BUT, remember you can only go back TWO years!  This is critical, since if you miss this deadline for submitting your claim you will be quickly ushered away from the judge.  No sympathy for late filing.

 

Our submission package included ALL past invoices incurred by the association, correspondence, Insurance liability payments, annual meeting agenda and minutes, bank statements, etc.  Put everything about your association that you have on file.  It may not be read by the judge, but it shows the organizational skills of your association and a nice historical record.

 

We also included submissions pertaining to “unjust enrichment”: Point Abino Association V Lee (Ontario Court of Justice) 1996.  In this  Port Abino case, reference was made to several other cases involving the concept of “unjust enrichment”:  Rathwell v.Rathwell [1978] 2 S.C.R. 436,  and Pettkus v. Becker, [1978] O.R. 105 Ontario Court of Appeal (http://canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/1978/1978canlii50/1978canlii50.html).  Also mentioned  is the Supreme Court of Canada Murdoch v. Murdoch, [1975] 1 S.C.R. 423 (http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1973/1973canlii193/1973canlii193.html).  Although we included these articles in our Plaintiffs Claim, it is not really necessary, actually it is ‘overkill’, but actually interesting reading.

 

The clerk at the small claims office will stamp the Plaintiff’s Claim form with a red seal. The Plaintiff’s Claim must be presented to the defendant and you require an affidavit of proof that this occurred.  Since our non-compliant cottagers refused to accept registered mail from our association, or simply dismissed them, a process server was engaged to serve the paperwork.    A website was found for the address area of a process server nearest  the cottager’s permanent residence.  There is an upfront credit card fee and the company will refund any unused amount.  .  For this we used Canadian Process Servers. http://www.canadianprocesserving.com  You need to send them two copies of your submission.  One copy can be presented directly to the defendant, or if not able to contact the defendant, it can be left with an adult at the residence and the second copy should be mailed the next day.  The process server will phone you with results and send you an affidavit for use at future court cases.  Judges like to see process servers involved since it is specified that the defendant was served;  they do not want to hear “well I told the defendant about it”.   But don’t expect the process service agency to give you advice on your litigation.

 

After 20 days, you can check with the small claims office to see if the defendant is contesting the claim; you have lots of time to check this out.  The office will also contact you and send you a copy of the defendant’s defense if the plaintiff’s claim is disputed.  This will come in a Notice of Settlement Conference, a given date and location and a blank proposed list of witnesses  form that both plaintiffs and defendants must file to each other and the court in adequate time before the case is heard.

 

The settlement conference is held before a judge and the entire court room is cleared except for witnesses and the opposing parties.  The judge asks both parties to state their case and each party can question each other.  If it is clear that the parties cannot agree on a settlement, the judge will ask the parties about how many witness they might call for a trial.  The judge will guess at the length in hours of a trial and suggest a date.  BUT, the judge really wants this to be settled and suggested a meeting room in the court house for the parties to settle.  In our case, our association proposed complete payment but we would exclude expenses incurred as part of the filing fees.   The defendant agreed to this concession.  This was immediately reported  and an Endorsement Record/Order of the Court was signed by the judge.

 

If the defendant does not contest the plaintiff’s claim after 20 days, you must go to the clerk of small claims, show them proof that the defendant was served with the Plaintiff’s Claim.   This is made easy with a process server’s Affidavit of Service.  The defendant is now in default.  You must fill out a Request to Clerk (form 9B) and ask for an Assessment Hearing before a Judge.

 

              The clerk will assign a  date to appear before a judge.  The defendant is NOT notified since this person is now in default.  You must state your case in summary form under oath before a judge.  The judge will check the 2 year limit and your invoice  of fees requested and if the judge agrees with your argument, the judge will write up an Endorsement Record for the amount the defendant must pay including  expenses and interest.  This is a court order.  This requires the association to have the document served on the defendant with an affidavit  showing  the person was served.   We sent a regular post letter to the defendant s with a copy of the judge’s decision and waited a length of time before considering using  a process server.  It is always best to let the defendant have time to make a decision and perhaps pay the required amount rather than continuing the process.   This resulted in 2 defendants paying the full amount and avoiding further litigation.   

 

 

Now comes a difficult case.  All the proceedings described above occurred in the jurisdiction of the cottage property and association.  But, if the defendant  still avoids paying, the next step is to take the defendant to an Examination Hearing.  But, you must contact a small claims court in the defendant’s permanent residence location.  This might be several hundred kilometers away.  The reason for leaving the cottage property’s jurisdiction is if the defendant does not show up for an Examination Hearing after being notified by a process server, the defendant will be in contempt of court and can be picked up by local police, thus not forcing police to travel out of their area.  In addition, the government form states that a person in contempt of court can be jailed up to 40 days.

 

Since the defendant ‘s residence is outside the territorial jurisdiction of the cottage location, it was required that a Certificate of Judgement, and Affidavit  for Jurisdiction  (Form 11A), Affidavit for Enforcement Request (form 20P) be forwarded  to the new small claims court.  Basically, the new court wants documents showing you worked through the process in your area and want to continue in a new jurisdictional area. You can submit these to the court in the mail and they will forward an Examination Date.  Obtaining the phone number of the new small claims court can also assist you in finding filing costs and checking to see if your forms have been received.

 

Once you have a date for an Examination Hearing,  the defendant   must be served directly.  But as you might guess, the defendant may be hard to find and serve.  Although the municipality can give you an address for the defendant, the person may never answer the door to a process server.  This was a problem for us.  The process server could not make contact with the defendant in our case. 

 

The next step is to fill out a form for Substituted Service and ask for a date before a judge.  If you explain about your problem  contacting the defendant, the judge can sign off on a mailing to the address that you have.  This will be suitable notification by the court.    If the defendant still refuses to comply after receiving the judge’s form, the person is in contempt of court and can be picked up by the police and taken before a judge if the defendant does not show up at the Hearing.

 

For the Examination Hearing, the defendant must fill out an onerous financial information sheet and present it to the plaintiff before the hearing.  This includes bank information, employer information, rent, other assets, etc

 

Wanting to end this process before we hired another process server, our association sent a regular post letter to the defendant stating that our next step would be a Substituted Service hearing before a judge and the defendant would be compelled to attend and present a detailed financial disclosure form at an Examination Hearing.   We gave the defendant one more chance to pay.  Showing that we were serious, we received payment from the defendant.  Case closed.

 

Before starting the small claims process, you must weigh the costs in time and filing fees.  “Unjust enrichment” is well established in law and your association will certainly come out on the winning  side if you have the courage to push the issue to the end.  The process is well laid out in the small claims regulations. You may find that the judges also own  cottages and are familiar with people who try to avoid paying cottage associations fees.   Sending  regular post letters to inform the defendant of your next step and asking them for payment to terminate the process is certainly easier than pushing process servers on them.

 

There are set fees that the judge can assign to cover the association’s expenses, but it certainly will not cover all the costs.   If you persist, you will win with every cottage owner  contributing to the association and have more money to maintain the cottage road.

 

  You do not have to be a lawyer to work through the small claims process, although with the limit at $25,000, there will certainly be lawyers in court.  Our association found that the amount of time and forms to be completed show that lawyers earn their fees.  Lawyers are usually first on the docket since their time is valuable.  This is a benefit since you can observe other cases.

 

You might sit in on small claims court to get a feel for the process.  We were surprised to see a person brought into the court in handcuffs because this person was in contempt of court.  Another case was dismissed quickly for missing the two year deadline.  Another person showed up for an Examination Hearing without having the financial information sheet filled out and the judge sent the person and his representative into the back room.   Another case could not present an affidavit showing a defendant had been notified.  Judges expect you to be prepared.

 

It took us two years to get payment from four cottagers.  Hopefully we will not repeat this two years from now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

             

               

               

               

Lake free winner

April 29 is the first day that the lake is completely ice free.  The winner of this prediction can collect their $1000 prize by presenting their signed and certified certificate.  Congratulations to the winner(s).

Municipal culvert

This culvert has eroded the road on several occasions.  When beavers and ice plug the west side of the culvert, the water streams across and removes the gravel; as can be seen on the left side of the picture.  The road could becomes impassable.

Moving slowly

Maybe the last area of the lake with ice.  No wind, docks are safe.

Moving quickly

Causeway bay slowly melting away.

But most of the lake is ice free, opening during the nite.  Only small slivers of ice remaining.  Swimming is possible.

Slowly melting

Strange winter/spring transition.  Incredible amount of snow, but nature slowly allowed the snow to melt and runoff in measured amounts.  Any bets on lake free ice day?

Spot it?

Little change

Swimming class still cancelled.

Lots of ice

Last year, April 24, 2013, the lake was 100 % free of ice.  But much slower this year.

Blackflies

"Black flies now reach peak numbers in late April or early May.  In the 1960's, peak numbers were not until mid- to late May.  Quite often the Victoria Day Weekend was the worst."

Above from column of Drew Monkman, Our Changing Seasons, The Examiner, April 3, 2014.

It is doubtful that blackflies will be early in 2014, unless they use snowshoes! and become snowflies.

Lake

The muskies must be wondering how long until we have open water for spawning.  Good snowmobiling on the lake still, but icy in the early morning.

Finish this...

Roses are red
The Leafs are blue
....
....

правда

Eh!

Leafology, Leafology,

One part is fact, but mostly mythology
Lots of games they should have won
Review the stats, it ain’t no fun
Papers replete with complaints unending
Always outshot, little defending
Blame the goalies, that’s very easy
It used to be Ballard, he was certainly sleezy
Start the season at 11 and 2
Can you tell me that this was true
Take off your sweater and put it away
Have a beer to calm your dismay
Shrug your shoulders and shake your head
Pull up the sheets, the Leafs are in bed
Cherry was wrong, he seldom is
But most experts know the Leafs will fizz
Hockey is Canada, strong and true
Only one team in, my life is blue.
Leafology, Leafology,
Don’t you owe us a genuine apology

 

Appropriate poetry

The lake is a pretty place,
Surrounded by the trees,
But when the April showers come,
There's mud up to your knees.

Living in the bush

     The most difficult part about living 'in the bush' is transportation.  The next three weeks is a fight between using a snowmobile or an ATV for travelling the roads.  Melting snow and exposed gravel is difficult for tracked machines.  But soft snow and hills, OMG hills, that's a killer.  How do you climb those ice walls with either a skidoo or Honda ATV.
     But, what about a machine that doesn't want to run.  For instance what if you have a skidoo that needs to be heated with propane in order to start, when it is cold.  It runs for a bit, sputters and dies.  But instantly starts up again, but only runs a few feet before stalling.  You 'ain't goin' anywhere.
    So, go to www.snowmobileforum.com and post a question.  What a great site.  Within a day several authorities are giving reasons.  Download an online manual and look for a solution.  Everything seems to focus on an ignition coil, difficult, or impossible to test, since many times it functions a low rpm, but fails at high rpm.  It's a guess.  But an expensive one.
    Okay, take it out of the machine.  Take it to a dealer and order another.  When it comes in, cross your fingers, since you have just paid $480 for a part that might not be the source of the problem.
    Well sometimes you have to get lucky. 
    Was it mentioned that living in the bush was not easy?

    

Sugar sand

Sugar sand is a sediment which is present in maple syrup being made.  It is an organic acid of calcium and magnesium.  Its crystalline appearance gives it the name of 'sand'.  It settles to the bottom of the syrup.  The clear top liquid can be tapped off leaving the sand behind.  Or it can be put through a pressure filter.  Or, just leave it there.  It does not cause any problems.
    Some people use the clear syrup on pancakes and when the bottle is near the sand, it is used for baking purposes.  Actually, most people don't even notice the sand on the bottom.
    The scientific name is malic acid.

Bottling

Directly from the pot to the bottles.  Some years the 'maple sand' will be greater than normal.  This will settle to the bottom of the bottle.  It is not a problem unless you want the complete bottle to be 'sand' free.  More on this later.

Foaming

You really don't need a hydrometer.  Close to the end of the process, the small bubbles will form and gradually climb up the pot.  Let it climb several times and it at the correct level for maple syrup.  It can be put directly into bottles.

Propane finishing

Once the main  water has been removed from the evaporator, transfer over to a pot on a propane heater.  when small bubbles start to form and rise up, the correct specific gravity has been reached.

GO PETES GO

Amazing!

Sugaring off

The second day of collecting sap from 55 taps has produced 35 gallons sap.  Thus in 3 days 47.5 gallon of sap collected.  Snow depth in the bush is CRAZY.  One producer has stated that there is a lack of foam to skim off the surface, but not in this evaporator, lots of foam produced.
    Hydro power out at 11:30 am restored 2:10 pm.

Crown

A poor crown on a maple tree due to overcrowding is not a good source of maple sap.  But excellent for firewood!

Filtering

Day 4, first gathering of sap. 12.5 gallons (47 litres) from 55 taps.  Some trees producing very little.  Filter out any spiders, moths, detritus before starting to boil.  No dripping at 10:30 am.

Time to uncover the firewood, which is under several feet of snow.

Day 3 of maple sap

Two days of slight dripping has resulted in an average of 1 litre of sap per pail.  Fifty-five pails in all.  Not enough sap to start boiling.  At noon and +2 deg C no dripping. 

Maple syrup, small production

For the next few days, specifics of making maple syrup will be shown.  Today is day zero.  No sap has started to run. 

Make sure evaporator is clean.  Use sulfamic acid, which is used for stainless steel.  It comes in a powder and is available from Camp Can Aqua, a source for all maple syrup making supplies.

This evaporator holds 11 gallons of sap.

 

 

Walter Kidd

The following taken from Valerie Smith's 'History of Wilberforce Elementary School and Surrounding Communities.'

Kidd's Corners
Fact or Fiction? Haliburton County's Robin Hood

Everyone knows the legend of Robin Hood and his hiding out in Sherwood Forest from the authorities.  Well, Cardiff Township had such a character (or so it was said) and his name was Walter Kidd.  Kidd was trained to be a lawyer back in merry-Old England, but chose to live in the backwoods of Haliburton County instead.  He settled along the Burleigh Road at a spot later called Kidd's Corners.  His first mission was to build a school so his family and neighbours could enjoy the higher path of learning.  Kidd's School still exists today, in Highland Gove as a museum to pioneer times.

         (more on the 1890's, deer hunting regulations, enforcement and the fugitive Kidd later)

Community Announcement

Come out to a Musical Afternoon on Sunday April 6, from 2 to 4 pm.

Location: Highland Grove Community Center (Library)

                                             Refreshments served

More Local History

Valerie Smith has produced a second publication about the local history of our area. "History of Wilberforce Elementary School and Surrounding Communities".  This publication is located in the public library in Highland Grove.
     The following descriptions of Cardiff and Highland Grove are given by Valerie.

Communities of Today

     Cardiff is a former mining community; the mines opened in 1956 and closed several years later.  The chief mineral being mined in Cardiff was uranium.  Cardiff is located on Highway 118 between the towns of Bancroft and Haliburton.  The Cardiff Elementary School is a small school.  The community also has a Municipal Office/Public Library, Post Office, Fire Hall, General Store/Liquor Outlet/Restaurant, Royal Canadian Legion Hall, a Catholic and United Church, as well as an outdoor pool which is popular during the summer.  It has over 200 homes and it is the only hamlet in Highlands East with full municipal water and sewer.  The entrance to the town site off Highway 118 is marked with a large metal sculpture of a dragonfly.

     Highland Grove was once a thriving community that  supported three stores, a cheese factory, a blacksmith shop, two schools and two churches.  Beginning in 1890 the IB&O railway served the transportation, supply and communication needs of Highland Grove's residents and businesses (the hamlet's first telephone was installed at the railway station).  A Post Office first opened in 1897.  Elmer Hughley, one of the earlier postmasters explained that Highland Grove was so named because it boasted the highest point of elevation in the County.  On one side of a nearby hill, water flows in the direction of Haliburton and on the other towards Bancroft's York River.

Snowmobile accident in Harcourt Park

Quintenews, reports, Monday March 24, just before 7 am Sunday, a snowmachine hit a tree near Allen Lake in Harcourt Park.   One male driver is dead and a female was flown to hospital with life threatening injuries.

Some editorials regarding Armatec initiative

Four letters to the editor in the Tuesday, March 18, 2014 Haliburton County Echo  were headed:
a) Let Cooler Heads Prevail
b) Louder things than Armatec
c) Armatec environmentally friendly?
d) Armatec in best interest of country

                   Some of the 'Armatec in best interests of country' are included below.

To the editor,
     It became abundantly clear, at least to me, after Monday night's zoning committee meeting at the Haliburton Legion, that the present Dysart township council in not the least bit interested in three things for sure: (1) Job creation for the benefit of township taxpayers, (2) Doing everything they can to help save the lives of Canadian soldiers in combat (3) A significant increase in tax revenue for municipal coffers.
     I'm having trouble getting my head around this.  The zoning committee had a chance to accommodate Armatec's request.
     Armatec guaranteed at the meeting five to 15 jobs for the area's local population (how many jobs were lost in Harcourt when Martin's Mill shut down?)  not including construction jobs and spin-offs (hotel, meals, supplies, etc) once underway.  Dysart's planning committee voted (unanimously) to recommend to full council that council not approve this zoning change thus killing these five to 15 jobs locally, possibly saving some lives and I guess they don't need the tax revenue either.
     In latter conversation with one of these planning committee members (and councillor) he indicated there was some 1500 people opposed (99 per cent not even local and only a handful in favour).  How many go to a meeting to oppose something they are in favour of?
     The people oposed to this lost any shred of their credibility  after their rude, ignorant, juvenile and holligan behaviour at the information meeting held in Harcourt last week.  They used every tactic they could, including lies, gross exaggerations and worse in an attempt to bully the town council into turning this down when in fact, they haven't a clue, really, what they are talking about."

                                    (9 more paragraphs finish the letter to editor)


                         It sounds like a great 'hair on fire meeting'.  So unCanadian!

Local History

     The publication by Valerie Smith, 'Harcourt's Sons and Daughters', 2003, which is available from the library in Highland Grove, offers insights into how families survived in this area in its early days of development.  This information would be great for teenagers to see how their grandparents, and great grandparents survived! 

     A few paragraphs when Valerie interviewed her mother Doreen (Townsend) Oakes are given below.

"Our meat consisted of chicken and pork as we had own chickens and pigs.  There was of course venison and fresh fish, which Dad put on the table.  We had a butcher that came around from which we could get beef.  The butchers had insulated trucks in which there was a big supply of meat.  We would usually purchase a quarter of a cow at a time, as we had no place to keep it frozen.  In the fall when the venison was brought into the home Mom would preserve it.  She did the same process as when she did down the berries.  She would sterilize the jars on top of the wood stove in the canning pan.  She would cut the venison up into small pieces, pack the venison into jars and season with salt and pepper.  Most of the time the venison would make its own juice, however, if it did not come right up to the top she would put in a little bit of water.  The jars were sealed and put in a boiling water bath on top of the stove and they remained there for about three hours boiling.  She would take the jars off the stove, take them out of the boiling pan of water and tightened down the tops securely.  The jars were cooled and then once again the had to be carried down the ladder to the fruit cellar below the house.  The wood stove was kept stoked up during the caning process in order to keep the water boiling.  Boiling water, hot jars and heat from the wood stove made for a very exhausting job when doing preserves.

At our local store, which was about a mile and half from our place in Harcourt, we would get sugar, cereal, flour, tea, coffee, salt, dried prunes, apples and raisons and all the things you would in a Christmas cake.  The flour and sugar came in 100-pound bags and often Dad would buy cases of raisins and prunes.  When Dad went to town he would also buy large pieces of bologna, peanut butter and margarine.  All this he would carry home.

Our own butter we made.  We had our own cows from which we had our milk.  The milk was put through the separator, the cream came to the top.  We took the cream and put into a church and churned it until the butter broke away from the milk.  The remaining milk was known as buttermilk.  The butter was scooped and you had to mix it until all the waer and everything was mixed out of it and put into pints which made a pound of butter.

Mom made our own soap.  She would collect the tallow (fat) from the pigs and cows.  She would render it out and then she would put lye wiith it.  She would heat it up and she would put it into a square pan.  Once this cooled she would proceed it cut it into bars.  The soap that whe made was which we washed our clothes and use for our personal care as well.  The smell was terrible."

      There is much more good reading in this publication.

    

Brief History of Harcourt Park

The Highland Grove library has a great book on the history and development of Harcourt Park, called, 'Harcourt Park, Fifty Years of Stewardship and Beyond' written by Alan Wargo and contributions from numerous people.

A few of the interesting facts:

-privately owned, 6900 acres mostly in Township of Dysart
-544 individuals or familes own or lease cottages
-all cottages on lakes
-community centre, tennis court, playground, marina/store
-established 1960's
-self governing
-some of the responsibilities of the board of directors include: fish managment, newsletter, treasurer, roads, fire marshall, recreation, aesthetics, resources, security, environmental quality, website, municipal regulations.

Struggles:

"Maintaining privacy in the face of increased ATV and snowmobile useage and unauthorized fishing by non-members is an ongoing struggle."

This book really celebrates the many volunteers with pictures and names who have established a very unique Park. 

Armatec vs Benoir Lake: round 2

The above heading was taken from the front page of The Bancroft Times, Thursday March 6, 2014 with the article by Barry Hendry.
    A few of the paragraphs are given below to capture the feelings of the meeting.


     There was applause from the packed crowd at the Branch 129 Royal Canadian Legion in Haliburton when Dysart et al Planning Committee Chairman Steven Pogue announced, "We are prepared to recommend to council that it refuse the (application) OP Amendment."

     Then he added "Council can ignore our recommendation or ask for more studies.  We are not council."

     Councillor Pogue addressed the crowd after two hours of open debate on the request for an Official Plan Amendment from the owners of the 2,300 acres above Benoir Lake.  With an amendment the owners would accept an offer from Armatec Survivability so the company can conduct tests that include exploding charges, in the 85.8 decidel range, near armoured vehicles and driving said vehicles on a test track.

     Pogue gave his reasoning for the recommendation saying.  "We've heard your concerns and our concern is the OP is a high level document that sets priorities.  I've spoken to the other councillors (on this committee).

      Pogue added, "The Benoir Lake residents have said it's not compatable with their neighbourhood.


(this blog will add more information as it becomes known)

A cottager's comment

A concerned cottager forwarded the following comment  to the appropriate  officials at the municipality regarding the possibility of a military testing facility in the Elephant Lake-Benoir area. 

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Subject: Public planning meeting

Please be advised that we strongly object to any land usage of military nature in the Elephant/Benoir lakes area. In the future these meetings should be scheduled at a time of year more convenient for persons of seasonal residence(those most affected by such usage) ie.May-Nov.

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The blog welcomes all comments concerning this issue.

Lots of interest

The following message came into the blog concerning the possible establishment of a military evaluation enterprise on property in the Elephant Lake and Benoir Lake area.  This has raised lots of concern to residents.

In keeping with the blog's principles of not including names and/or personal identification, the following is provided as very newsworthy, but without recognition of the sender.  Thanks to the sender.  Much appreciated.
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"Let's get as many people out to the Council meeting on March 3rd as possible. I strongly oppose Armatec coming into this area. It is not suitable for them to be here and most locals do not want them in this area.
Notice Of Change of Location for Planning Public Meeting- March 3rd, 2014 - 5:00 p.m.

Royal Canadian Legion
Haliburton Branch 129
719 Mountain Street

I think the Council got the idea a large crowd could show up so they moved to a larger venue to accommodate the crowd. Let's fill the Legion!"
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First sign of spring

Well, it hit plus 4 degrees C today and the first chipmunk pushed its head through 2 feet of snow and greeted the sun.  Maybe a month earlier than previous years.  Who needs groundhogs!

Beaver fever

Beavers for the past 2 weeks have been extremely active, moving into new areas, chopping down trees and preparing for spring runoff.

Interesting

The following information was forwarded to this blog.  Thanks for the detailed information. 

 

 

http://haliburtonhighlander.ca/2014/01/30/military-test-site-proposed-for-harcourt/

The company that is planning proposed test site in Dysart et al ( Harcourt Township) on approx. 2000 acres of property fronting on Elephant Lake Road and Benoir Lake Road has scheduled Saturday Feb 22nd 2014 at 11am in Harcourt at Community Centre. Armatec develops and manufactures composite materials for the Canadian and US military.

Armatec website: http://www.armateconline.com/

 Official Plan ammendment Dysart et al: https://haliburton.civicweb.net/FileStorage/0B3B930BA0F14F3AA2C6AF025254442D-Official%20Plan%20Amendment%20No.%2010.pdf

Armatec Proposal: Company will be presenting their proposal Feb 22nd 2014 Harcourt Community Centre. They plan to test armoured vehicles by planting explosive devices under them to determine damage. The more people there to show we do not want this the better. 90 explosions per year to start.

Hank predicts Seattle in overtime

Hank says that Seattle Seahawks will win in OT, having picked the blackberries, representing the darker uniforms.
      Also, Hank the hen says that no maple sap will be flowing in the Harcourt area until well after March 7, 2014.  This is signified by no egg production for the last 5 days, meaning that winter is still well established and too cold for egg laying. 
       Thanks Hank.

Deep drifts

Spring, please come soon.

Hank predicts tied game

Hank the chicken has gone out on a limb and predicted a tied game in the Super Bowl.  First Hank went to sample a single Seattle blackberry.  Then she walked around and ate many more red/orange berries from Denver, before returning to blackberries.   This alteration continued. This can only be seen as a tied game with each side being equal.
     Perhaps Hank is waiting for an injury report on Sunday.  Stay tuned for a final decision by Hank the 'eggsalent' predicter before the game.

Causeway drifting

The brush and trees along the causeway make for a great snow fence, if you like deep snow on the causeway.

Cracking

-36 degrees this morning and the forest is cracking constantly, in competition with the lake.

Winter attraction

This is the biggest winter attraction on the lake.  Located on the east side, between East Bay and the causeway.

East Bay to North Elephant Island

Basically no snow on the lake.   But deep on the land!

Lake

Snow has been blown away from the lake except from near the shoreline.  Ice is very hard, no signs of slush.  It can be walked across, but skis won't help.

Watch out below

This is why metal roofs don't have eavestroughs.

Power outage

Power out at 11:50 am, restored at 12:25 pm.  Unplanned outage.

Roofs: metal or asphalt

Snow is very deep on all the roofs.  With the rain, the weight is increasing on roofs.
      Metal roofs behave quite differently than shingles for a roof.  Snow does not adhere well to metal and with a bit of warmth, a large avalanche of snow can completely clear snow from the roof.  This is dangerous if a person is near this fall of ice and snow.  Also, a deck attached to a building can be completely detached with the heavy weight. 
      Shingles tend to hold onto the snow and the snow and water can remain on the roof for a long time.  Hopefully the roof strength holds until the snow starts to be removed with warmth and rain.
     

Power out

      Yesterday power went out before 3 pm.  It was phoned in to Hydro 800-434-1235.  They did not know about the problem.  By 5 pm a hydro worker showed up to say the power was solved.  A tree fell over the line on the 3rd pole from the transformer on the lake.  The hydro workers came across the lake to solve the problem.
      Drifts on the causeway are high.  Can not be walked across and need a snowmachine to reach the mainland.