This fall, there have been several sightings of a black bear along Boultbee Road. One visitor to our neighbour’s house recently found herself trapped by a bear as she soaked in the outdoor hot tub. Despite the advise of experts, to "make yourself appear bigger" during an encounter, she didn’t feel this was very appropriate while wearing only a bathing suit. This was a very curious black bear, bold enough to walk onto the deck and inspect the barbeque and a patio door. Our neighbour followed her instincts and got as low in the tub as possible, hoping the bear wasn’t attracted to the steam from the warm water or her glass of wine, waiting for either the bear to leave or her husband to return from his fishing excursion. As luck would have it, their dog appeared first and the startled bear climbed up the nearest tree, the one that stands between the hot tub and the house. She was trapped in the tub by the bear and the bear was trapped in the tree by the dog – a classic "no win" situation. Eventually, the husband returned from fishing, and managed to help his wife out of the hot tub and escape, with the dog and the glass of wine, into the safety of the house. It took the bear about an hour to climb down the tree and return to the woods. According to the owner, the only damage was the loss of a bird feeder from the tree.
Heed signs
Private Property – No Hunting. This is the message on the new signs erected on the Cottage Country Estate Road, north of Highway 24, near the rest stop. Owners of the lots contemplated installing a locked gate on the road, but have settled on no gate at this time. The owners want the public to know that in addition to the lots being privately owned, the road is strata-titled and any repair cost from misuse comes out of their pockets. They hope the travelers on their road will heed their signs and use the road responsibly.
Busy road
There is considerable activity up the Wavey Lake Forestry Road, just north of Lac des Roches (LdR). In addition to installation of a new bridge and an entirely new road built northeast of "cow camp", beetle kill logging has begun just east of Wavey Lake. Sledders will have to use caution this winter when using the road to access snowmobile trails. There is little doubt that the logs will be hauled down Wavey Lake Road to Highway 24 and to do this in the winter means plowing the snow off the road. Although plowing is undesirable for sledding, it is the hazard of the limited width and the snow banks created on either side of the road which will require more caution from the sledders.
Fall is cleanup time
Yard cleanup is in full swing throughout the area although the heavy smoke drifting over the lake since the beginning of October is from burning logging slash piles Burning is taking place in the mountains on the east side of the North Thompson River and near the McDonald Summit on Highway 24. When it comes to backyard burning, in addition to the Ministry of Forest’s guidelines, I don’t usually light our burn pile unless it is raining or everything is covered with snow. Imagine my surprise when, in mid-October, we had snow covering everything? So, my burn pile is gone but since the snow is gone too, I am back outside, cleaning up the yard and building another burn pile, waiting for the next storm!
Friends monitor water
Friends of Lac des Roches and Birch Lake met on Oct. 24 and although there is no change in the "under review" status of the residential development proposal at the east end of LdR, the group remains diligent on their monitoring of water quality and wildlife habitat in this sensitive watershed. The Ministry of Environment is scheduled to perform an extensive water analysis in the first week of November, as part of their program of monitoring LdR. Friends are holding a special land-use workshop on Nov. 21. All members are invited to attend. Call Bill at 593-9305 for meeting details.