AD: Cottage for Sale (Royal LePage)

1093 Rignalls Rd, Bracebridge, ON, P1L 1X1

Now and then a truly unique property comes on the market before being scooped up like a treasure by the lucky finder! Sunny Harbor is one of these properties with masses to offer. The original cottage was built in 1913 and in 2000 this footprint was used to build an attractive board and batten sided cottage just 40’ from the naturally landscaped shoreline.

The open plan main level is finished in post & beam with a pine cathedral ceiling and towering windows letting in natural light and framing Muskoka’s beauty. The loft acts as a third bedroom and a full unfinished basement with double door walkout is ready to be converted into additional finished living space if desired.

There is 550’ of deck from which to savor the heart stirring lake views. This 1.3 acre, private property is on the south shore of Wood Lake, has over 200’ of frontage and boasts a beautiful safe sandy beach and a newly installed dock.

OPEN HOUSE: Sat June 28th – 11am-1pm

Asking: $679,000

MLS listing ID: 480560036

For further information contact:

Lester Johnstone

Sales Representative with Royal LePage

Mobile: 705.783.5332

email: lester@lesterjohnstone.com

Aug 30th Monarch Butterfly Workshop

The WLCA Board is pleased to announce that we will be holding another wildlife workshop this summer! Have you heard about the decline of the Monarch butterfly? Recently it was reported that the number of Monarchs wintering in Mexico fell to its lowest numbers since 1993. This iconic species is in serious trouble, but not from habitat loss in Mexico.... The Monarch feeds exclusively on Milkweed plants, and these plants  have declined by 20% across North America due to the application of herbicides on farm fields and roadsides. It is estimated that the Monarch could go extinct within the next century unless we BRING BACK THE MILKWEED!

French TV series seeks most unique cottages

Slalom Productions are currently developing a new series for TV5, a major French language broadcaster, that will showcase some of Ontario’s most breathtaking, most avant-garde, most cutting-edge, and coziest of cottages. This series is meant to be an escape, to inspire their viewers, and to discover some of Ontario’s cottage country’s best hidden gems. Since this series will be presented “en français”, they are looking for francophone and/or francophile cottage owners. If you are interested please contact Fabienne L'Abbé at 416-617-8680.

October 2014 Bracebridge Elections

Click here to see the list of people who have filed nomination papers for the upcoming 2014 Bracebridge Election as of May 28, 2014. 

FOCA May 2014 Elert

You can find the May 2014 FOCA electronic newsletter here.

Sea Doo cushion lost

Right at the end of last season Jeff Majcenic lost the middle cushion for a Sea Doo boat. It is beige colour with snaps.

Reconstruction has begun on Conway Crescent

Reconstruction has begun on Conway Crescent. They are currently replacing culverts. Delays may be expected for the next couple of weeks so please be patient.

Red kayak and paddles lost

On Saturday one of the renters at Caribou Lodge capsized a small red kayak and it submerged and floated away along with a kayak paddle and a canoe paddle.  If anyone finds the kayak or the paddles, please return them to Caribou Lodge or call Brian Middleton at 705-645-5634.

Bracebridge District Councillor Scott Young not running for re-election

A four-term District Councillor for Bracebridge says he’s not going to run for re-election according to Moose FM Muskoka 99.5.

Floating dock found

This 20 plus foot floating dock has washed up on the shoreline at Andrew Grant's cottage. He has secured it with rope and hopes that the owners can pick it up.   His location is:

1572 Milne Rd.
North west end of Wood Lake

Floating raft found

Garry Smith found a floating raft with 2 white chairs on it floating in their bay.  They are at 1221 Rignalls Road East next to the Bennett's.

2014 Wildlife Workshop

Watch for the 2014 Spring/Summer Wildlife Workshop hosted by the WLCA board.  The date is TBD, but likely will be the weekend before Canada Day (June 28th 2014).

On July 6th in 2013 the WLCA board held the first ‘Muskoka Wildlife Day’ for Wood Lake cottagers, and it was a great success! About 60 people attended the live animal presentation from the Muskoka Wildlife Centre. The presentation included 5 wildlife species native to Ontario- a turkey vulture named "Barf", a snapping turtle named "Sam", a great horned owl named "Dr.Who", a porcupine named "Quilber", and a skunk named "Petunia".  Click here to check out the photos.

Found an Injured Turtle?

IT'S NESTING SEASON AND TURTLES ARE EVERYWHERE!

Turtles are most frequently observed in June, during the height of their nesting season. Females are often found crossing roads to reach traditional nesting sites or laying eggs in the gravel along roads. Seven of the eight species of turtle in Ontario have been designated as “species at risk”.

Roads have been built through several of the remaining wetlands, and as a result road mortality is now a major threat to turtles. The majority of the turtles killed by cars are adult females on their way to or from nesting sites, which means that fewer eggs are laid every year and there is an even smaller chance that those killed by cars will be replaced in the future. (Except from the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre website).

Please watch for turtles attempting to cross the road, or along roadsides!

If you have found an injured turtle CALL the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre (KTTC) at 705-741-5000.

If a turtle is NOT injured, please remember:

• DO NOT remove a turtle from their area – it reduces their chances of survival. If you find an uninjured turtle in the middle of a road simply help it across the road in the direction it is moving.

• DO NOT dig up nests to protect the eggs – you may damage the eggs AND it is against the law. Tips on how you can help nesting turtles here.

• KTTC is primarily volunteer-run, we do not have a pick-up service.

• The centre accepts injured native turtles only – NOT unwanted pets.

2013 Water Quality Report for Wood Lake

Water quality testing (clarity and temperature) was conducted between May and November, including the annual spring phosphorus test, and results were submitted to the Ministry of the Environment Dorset Centre for analysis. This information allows for the early detection of changes in the nutrient status and/or the water clarity of the lake due to the impacts of shoreline development, climate change and other stresses.

Wood Lake is an odd year lake so phosphorus tests are done in odd-numbered years, i.e. 2009, 2011, 2013 etc. A sample is taken in May because this is when the water will be most representative of the phosphorus levels in the lake from the spring turnover. Unfortunately, in 2011 we experienced a set back when Wood Lake was found to have ‘over-the-threshold’ phosphorus levels. The threshold phosphorus level for Wood Lake is 7.1 ug/L. The District Municipality of Muskoka and MOE determine this number as being the natural background level of phosphorus concentrations (e.g. if no development was present) plus 50%. If Wood Lake is below the acceptable phosphorus level for 3 consecutive test years then the lake will be removed from the ‘over-the-threshold’ list.

Luckily, the water test for 2013 came in under the threshold at approximately 6 ug/L! This is great news, and hopefully we can all keep up the responsible cottaging for the next test years (2015 and 2017) to get Wood Lake removed from the ‘over-the-threshold’ list. See the “Wood Lake Guardian” tip sheet here.

For the report see www.muskokawaterweb.ca/images/lds/Wood.pdf

Muskoka Conservancy Native Plant Sale

While it may feel like winter will never end, spring really isn't that far off.  The best way to make it come more quickly is to start thinking about the great native species you can get planted in your garden.

This year's Native Plant Sale will be held on Saturday, May 10th from 9am - 12pm, with pick up locations in Bracebridge and Huntsville.

New this year, we are featuring an online order form that can be completed online.  This will reserve the plants (as the paper form has in past years) and you will be able to pay for your plants when you pick them up. 

If you prefer a paper form, you can pick one up at the Muskoka Conservancy office (47 Quebec Street, Bracebridge) or print off this PDF.  Paper forms can be dropped off at the office, sent in by fax (705-645-7888) or emailed to info@muskokaconservancy.org. 

ORDERING DEADLINE: Monday, May 5th, 2014.

If you have any questions or would like to place an order by phone, please call Christina at 705-645-7393 x200

Availability of species may change without notice.