As mentioned by my colleagues in many of the columns for the surrounding Cariboo communities, our transition to spring seems to be marked mainly by the ice off the lakes and the returning song birds and waterfowl. Lac des Roches is no exception and, within a week of open water along the shoreline in early May, the loons had returned. Their distinctive call one early morning was enough to stop me in my tracks and trigger a number of emails and phone calls between the many local bird enthusiasts. My personal favourite, the hummingbirds, also returned last week. With a few cold nights still in the forecast, thank goodness the high sugar content of the nectar mixture will prevent the many feeders in our yard from freezing.
Exiting ice
We never tire of watching the ice leave the lake in the spring as it seems that no two years are ever alike. This year, the fierce wind storms in early May broke the ice up earlier than most people were expecting. With the “rotten” ice covering most of the lake’s surface, there was little chance of damage to docks and shorelines as we have seen in the years where the ice moved around the lake in one or two solid sheets. Once the ice starts to move around the lake with the shifting winds, it is usually only a few days before the ice disappears into the water. The ice left Little Lac des Roches on May 5. In all likelihood, the ice on the big lake would follow in five to seven days following (after the deadline for this column). Unlike last year, the many visitors to the lake on the upcoming May long weekend will be able to enjoy some ice-free water play and fishing.
Lakes watching
Wendy Marshall has confirmed that several resident volunteers will be monitoring the lake quality this season at all four major lakes in the watershed. Under the direction and guidelines of the BC Lake Stewardship Society and the Ministry of Environment out of Kamloops, information will once again be collected for Little Lac des Roches, Lac des Roches, Birch and Phinetta lakes. This year, the Canadian Lakes Loon Survey work for Bird Studies Canada will be expanded to include the nesting loons at Phinetta Lake. The breeding success of loons is an indicator of the health of freshwater lakes and has been in place in Canada since its initiation in Ontario in 1981.
This area rocks!
“Which of you kids planted rock seeds last fall?” That was the question posed to a friend growing up on a farm in northern BC by her father, and it applies to newly cleared land everywhere. As the frost comes out of the ground every year, it will push rocks from just under the surface, upward, and expose them. In the warm weather of spring, these rocks seem to “grow” over night. Year after year, land owners will be in their fields, prying out these sprouting rocks, previously hidden under the surface. This is an annual task on our southern slope as we keep the natural grass mowed for fire prevention and pest control. Since we have been at this for four years now, I wonder if we have more than our fair share of growing rocks since we live at Lac des Roches, translated as Lake of Rocks!