SmokestackLightnin

Our Labradoodle just turned 12 and she has been the best dog we have ever owned. Her mother was a Chocolate Lab and her dad a Standard Poodle. She is loyal, safe around kids, loves the water and we think she's pretty smart for a dog. We have bells on our doors and she rings them when she wants out. Would be very hard to get another dog after this one. She is definitely now showing her age and I know that she likely doesn't have too many good years left. No illnesses to treat.

Very sorry for your loss. I always enjoyed looking at the photos she took.

Can't help with the question but welcome back.

Did mine on the 6th with no issues

I think she's acting more like a lame duck Premier. She'll take the blame for the electricity problem, back out of the next election and then the party runs on the platform that they will fix the problem.

If you get a chance go to the Reef which is just past Windjammer resort set back from the beach. Best roti in St Lucia, the Pitons were ice cold as well.

I have a bunkie at my cottage and I heat it with a Coleman oil burning space heater that I burn diesel fuel but you could also use kerosene if you wanted. Diesel fuel is a whole lot cheaper. The one I have is similar to the one in the picture.

According to that link Premium Plus is not OK for Optimax. Only the DFI Outboard Oil is OK for Optimax and I would recommend only using DFI Outboard Oil in Optimax motors.

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. Conservation Authority is another word for a whole bunch of people attempting to protect their cushy jobs so they make life miserable for some. And it's your job to try and prove their theories and opinions wrong while their committee makes any required decision. I guess you can be judge and jury at the same time. I have had the pleasure of dealing first hand with the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority. Sorry to hear of this issue, good luck.

I have a water access property as well. Up until this year I parked my boat at a drive-to resort. They had 1 reserved parking spot for me and 1 reserved dock slip for my boat. I show-up, park my car, get in my boat and go to the cottage (repeat if necessary). The cost was $500/season. Season ran from May to end of October. Now seeing this resort has a limited season and it is in my best interest that the resort stays in business I need to support the resort. So, for any vehicle other them my truck or my wife's car we paid. Even if I had guests staying at the cottage and I was not there and my parking spot stayed opened I made sure the first option is the guests paid. I mean it was like $20 - $30 for a week parking, in a resort where there was always people there and never an issue with a break-in or vandalism. Now, to be fair, I am in my fifties and most of friends are there too, so $20 - $30 is not an issue. On occasion, younger relatives or friends of our kids would show up and all it took was a conversation with the resort owner to ask if it was OK for them to use my spot. He never said no.

It's not been a good year for musicians.

I use a felt cone filter, I purchase a new one every year at Atkinson's. I think I will try a bucket filter next year as the cone filter does clog up, but it's efficient. Also line it with 2 layers of pre-filters. Does a decent job but I also filter it when it's hot so I get the sugar sand at the bottom of the jar. Adds character is what I say, you know it's not commercially made then.

Running like crazy here too.

This place is very pet friendly: http://www.pinegroveresort.com/

This weekend was a boomer. Overrun with sap now, boiled like crazy till the rains came. One more boil this week to make 4 for the season which is more then enough. Won't store anymore sap, just empty the pails. Hopefully it slows down soon.

Sounds like it may be a blown speaker, aka alarm device. Had the issue with a 150 hp Black Max. Not sure what the price for Opti but as I remember the Black Max one was fairly reasonable. It was basically a small speaker inside a grey plastic housing.

This year I put out 40 taps and they have stopped flowing here as well. So far I have done 2 boils of around 450 litres of sap and bottled almost 15 litres of syrup. I use a propane fueled 3 burner camp stove. I have a 300 litre stainless steel evaporator and a shelf right below for the propane burner. I finish on a single burner and a large stainless steel pot. Couple of notes regarding this year, first quite a bit of sediment in the sap. I filtered twice and still had small amounts of sugar sand in each jar of syrup. Good news is that it has settle to the bottom of the jar and is not affecting the syrup. Second, a nice amber syrup so far this year, great flavor and as always really sweet. It makes it all worth it when you taste the final product. Hopefully 1 more run for me so that I can get some darker syrup that I use in marinades, sauces and brine for smoking. Good luck to those doing syrup this year.

I am not familiar with Cushnie's, I think it may be in Dollars Lake. Navigating the system is not too treacherous, most of the shoals are well marked. The only tricky shoal in Dollars that I have come across is the one out from Whip-Poor-Will Lodge (now called Dollars Island Resort). It's marked but does extend past some of the markings just go wide. If you head down the river to Kawigamog just stay in the middle, same with navigating the entire system. There lots to see and when travelling on the river between the lakes stay in the middle, sorry if I am stating the obvious. The fish will be heading to their summer patterns at the end of June so look for weed beds close to deep water, there are lots of them. One thing about the system is the amount of bait, there are minnow schools everywhere so if the weed bed you are fishing does not have minnows then find another one. If you find one or two with fish on it during the day, come back at dusk. Enjoy your stay, there is lots of water to explore.

I own a cottage on the system. Where are you staying? And when in June?

For those who were prepared the first run of sap happened this past weekend. Some of the major players in my area were ready and have already boiled off their first run, earliest they have ever done that. The long range weather looks like things will be stopped for a while, but you can still get your taps in as the next run will likely be longer and provide syrup of similar quality. As mentioned by Sinker, the first runs of sap produce the best syrup. I also suggest you not add sap to your boil. A friend of mine who also produces at home was doing this and there was a noticeable difference in the taste of his syrup compared to the syrup I produced. I would suggest pouring it off and filtering it into another pot for a finishing boil. Depending on your volume you can boil off a number of batches to the almost syrup stage and then do a finishing boil with the number of batches. That should not affect the taste or quality. Welcome to the fraternity and good luck fisher in your efforts. Keep us posted of your efforts.

Are you guys talking about beer or dances?

Usually guys showing pictures of fishing Georgian Bay have fish in the pictures. Any luck?

If came back from the hunt camp with those symptoms I wouldn't know if I had Tularemia or a hangover.

Yes, from a government run by Harper. Not sure if he retired or jumped from a sinking ship seeing that all of the east coast is now red. I think we will see him return.

Peter McKay