Just when we thought that spring was just around the corner Mother Nature showed her crabby side and dumped some snow on us last night. Now not enough to get excited and load up the sleds but snow all the same.

It was starting to get so nice.

The good weather has brought out the ATV's and a nice weekend should get people up to the cottages this weekend. The lake was nicely breaking up when it got so cold on Thursday and Friday that it froze over again. It should start melting again now because it is only about 2 -3 degrees.

The Porterville Diner had it's 15 minutes of fame in the Toronto Sun last Friday. Mark Bonokoski did an article about us and Jane Seary, a lady with a fabulous voice that sings with two friends often on Saturday night. It was a great story that can be found at torontosun.com/colums. Click on Mark's column. In my little world that was pretty exciting.

Other than that it's still pretty quiet here. I will be away for 10 days starting this Friday so there will be no witty banter during that time on the blog.

I hope you all have a nice Easter or Passover and get to do just what you want to.

Don't forget the ATV Mud Run on May 1.

Cheers
Nancy

Spring must be just around the corner because the March Break is over. It was pretty quiet. Not much snow left so there weren't many cottagers around. Great weather though.

The snow is almost gone. Lots in the shady areas and where the plow left banks. A few buds have started and some unidentified stuff is sprouting out of the "garden".

We didn't get the big dump of freezing rain and snow predicted for yesterday. Once again the weather person gets paid for being totally off base.

It's nice to see some of the summer people heading back up north. The ice is still on the lakes but if the great weather keeps up it won't be long going.

The good news is no bugs yet. There are a few moose roaming around the village this month.

The Algonquin Lodge property finally sold. It closes this week. It will become a private residence with the cabins still being rented out. Another chapter in the book closed.

Other than that nothing new or earth shattering to report.

Don't forget the ATV Mud Run on May 1st at the diner. It's always a good day.

I'll be back next week with all the news that's fit to print.

Cheers
Nancy

Well this weekend may have been the last. There is still good snow in the bush and for the most part the rail bed is good. The problem is getting to the trail. The side roads are as clear as the highway is.

The beautiful days have really taken the snow down. On Friday you couldn't see the parking lot for snow. By Sunday we are down to the pavement on most of it.

The stakes were taken on Lake St. Peter and Baptiste Lake this week, so the lake crossing is closed officially.

We had a few sledders in yesterday but none today.

One last sad and touching story. Brian, Jim and a buddy went on their annual trip up north. Jim had all the bus routes planned out so that when the inevitable happened he would be ready. Well you guessed it he blew up his sled AGAIN, this time between Cochrane and Smooth Rock Falls. A 50 mile tow to civilization ended in not a bus ride the the train back to New Liskard for the truck to pick up the dead sled. Now he was warned a few weeks ago to take his wife's sled as a back up. But did he NOOOOO!!!!! I think that this might be the last straw. Towed in four times in the last six or eight weeks on top of all of last years repairs. He may just retire to Skidoo and switch brands.

Not to worry Jim. It's almost time to get the ATV out you have so much better luck with that. Brian even sent me a picture of the dreaded tow to insert. If I was more computer savey I would share it with you but alas I just know enough to get myself in trouble.

The impending rain promised for the weekend may be the end of another sledding year. I will be back next week unless something earth shattering happens.

I started this on Tuesday and it is now Wednesday morning so I guess I'm finished. Thank goodness this stuff just saves itself so that I can find it later even when others have used the computer. Life is good.

If you are doing the St Paddys Day thing this weekend have a blast. If you are on the way to the cottage for March Break we will be here.

Back Monday.
Cheers
Nancy

Spring Riding At It's Best

This week has been great riding. Cool sunny days and cold nights.

On my way home from Pembroke last night I saw the groomer coming out of Barrys Bay heading into the bush to who knows where. The trail following beside Hwy 62 had been groomed the night before and there were not tracks on it yet. There were one or two bare spots on the trail to Barry's Bay but you would have no trouble going around them off the trail. There was lots of room.

I walked across the road this morning to check out the rail bed. It was freshly groomed well frozen and not a track on it.

This weekend may be rough on the trails but I don't think that we are through with snow yet.

Check in on Monday for and update after the weekend traffic. Let's hope it holds up.

We will see you if you are by.

Cheers
Nancy

The last two days have been second to none for sledding. Beautiful sunny days, cold nights to keep things frozen and well groomed trails.

It is hard to say what the weekend will bring with the warm sunny days ahead.

I just spoke to a rider that went from Lake St. Peter yesterday down as far as the Paudash Club House. He said the trails were great but some muddy spots are starting closer to Paudash.

Even though it is sunny today it is still quite cold.

The local club will continue grooming through the March Break (for those of us without school age kids that is til the 21) as long as the snow holds out. After that they will continue if it still snows.

It's still early today to know how the weekend will be, so if you need further information on conditions call us on the Hooterville Hot line at 613-338-3043. I may not get a chance to update tomorrow morning.

Let's hope things hold out for the weekend because it sure has been great this week.

Drop by if you are in the neighbourhood.

Cheers
Nancy

Another great sledding weekend up here in the wilds of Lake St. Peter. We had a substantial dumping of snow late last week that was well needed. I think that some of the locals have put a hit out on me for doing the successful snow dance. Some folks are getting tired of the snow. I am way too happy about it.

It would be nice to keep the snow through March at least the March break if we could. I must admit it was nice to see the sun out for a while today.

It is to get quite mild during the day this week but go below zero every evening. The rail bed was all groomed up nicely last night. It was well frozen before any traffic was on it.

It is pretty quiet today so conditions will stay mint. Mid week riding should be great this week.

There were a lot of long distance riders out this weekend. We had two guys that had ridden over from Gravenhurst among other places. Lots are riding from Dorset and there are many groups doing the RAP tour. You can tell that it is getting late in the season. The groups are getting smaller mostly twos and fours. Not so many large groups.

My touching story is about the guy a week ago that had just left the diner and the OPP were waiting for him on the other side of the trail. His sled was in the shop for repairs and a new windshield. He was given a new demo sled from the dealership to try out for the weekend. Sadly it didn't have a permit on it. He had all the paperwork from his own sled even the green paper from his permit. The cocky one was going to charge him with everything from trespassing to no permit and anything else in between. The final tally was reduced to $200.00. He was not too pleased. I know you should have a permit and all that. Who's responsibility should it have been, the dealer or the rider? Maybe he should have purchased a 3 day, if you can find one now. They are pretty hard to come by sometimes. None the less it was an unfortunate incident. Makes people angry at the police for possibly over reacting. Makes sledding too expensive for most people with extra expenses like that.

Well that's all the news that is fit to print. Back later in the week with the weather report.

Cheers
Nancy

Rewind Play---I think I'm starting to sound like a broken record.

It's still snowing, they are still grooming, trails are good, roads are bare, side roads are snow covered, life is good.

It's been light snow, a short period of drizzle and more snow all week. The daytime temps are about zero or just above every day. More snow is expected today and tomorrow.

Lots of long distance riders. My group from Harcourt Park went to Pembroke Tuesday and back Wednesday. Fairly good conditions all the way. More snow here than there but if they are getting the same downfall we are this should improve. Lots of riders in this week had done the Dorset run and said all was good the whole way.

The general store has just received his second load of fuel in one week. Does this mean that he will still have fuel past noon Saturday?? Who knows.

No earth shattering news to report. After all it's only been two days. Things in Lake St. Peter aren't that exciting. No ranting or whining today either. What is wrong with me!

I'd better get back to work. There are hungry sledders in here to feed.

Hope we see you on the weekend.

Cheers
Nancy

I waited until Tuesday to update to see what the weather would do. Well I kept letting a black dog outside and letting a white dog in so I guess it snowed quite a bit overnight.



After watching Kevin from Breakfast Television get his weather hysteria turned on I figured we might be in for some flurries.



Can't say how much fell but I wished that I had worn my boots home last night so that I had them for this morning. It is still snowing now with no signs of stopping any time soon. The temperature is staying below zero so nothing is melting. We are to have snow for the next few days, making the weekend sledding great.



The groomers were out Sunday and Monday so the trails were in pretty good shape yesterday. We had quite a few sledders in on Monday that said conditions were fine but more snow was needed and now we have it.



Here is a shout out to Nancy from Pennsylvania. Bruce was here on the weekend. He behaved very well and was having a great time. He should come back. Thanks for reading the blog.



Bone head play of the week goes to Jim M. Brian had to squeal on him. They always run the ripples on Baptiste Lake. Well this past week they had taken the toboggan with them because they had packed a picnic lunch for the group. Jim thought that he would run the ripples with the toboggan still attached, after all it has skis on it just like the sled does so what could go wrong. Apparently the toboggan acts somewhat like an anchor. It flipped over, some stuff, not all, fell out and he just barley made it to the other side without sinking like the Titanic. So note to self, when running the ripples remove all towed objects first. I love it when someone does something more stupid than me. Kind of makes you feel like the only one without the hangover after the party.



We just had some riders in this morning heading from Harcourt Park to Pembroke. They found the trails to be in good shape.



Congrats to the MLSS club on another successful poker run. They had over 300 entries. It was a great day and a good fundraiser for the club. Perfect weather for having fun.



Well that's it for now. I'll keep up later in the week.



Cheers

Nancy

Some snow is better than no snow

I was all ready to get excited yesterday when I woke up and it was snowing. It snowed most of the day and night. But it was just light flurries. It was enough to cover the ground well, a couple of inches. It is starting again but still light. The bright side is it isn't rain.

Riders in today were very pleased with the trails for the most part. The trail to Madawaska was just groomed today and is in great shape. A group is in now that just came across the hydro line from Haliburton. They said that it was choppy. I thought that was how you described the lake on a windy day, but what do I know.

The temperature is still mild but cold enough that the snow won't melt. Great sledding weather.

Bullwinkle the cat continues to amuse the guests by cruising the parking lot for the sled of his choice for a sit down.

My amusing story for the day is a guy in last night was wet from the seat of his sled. He asked if I had a hair dryer to dry his butt. I got the one from the house and he started to dry his pants. He has on those stretchy tight thingies. Probably the latest in fancy pants. A few minutes later he came over to show me that he had melted a very large hole in the butt of his pants. I am glad he thought it was funny. I'm sure the washing instructions said tumble dry low and don't use a blow dryer.

My whiny story for the day is I just burnt the crap out of a huge pot of chili that I was cooking. The burner was on too high, I got busy and forgot about it. I put pot and all out in a snowbank until tomorrow. I don't feel like dealing with it tonight. Besides there is no cook in now and I would have to wash the pot. Therefore that will be a tomorrow job. So no chili this weekend.

The snow has stopped now but the sky is really dark so it may start again.

Sorry the news isn't better but it could be a lot worse. I guess we will just have to make the best of it and go sledding anyway.

Hope to see you this weekend.
Cheers
Nancy

The gate must be up again.

It was a great long weekend for riders and the diner. Lots of people around. Good weather and good trail conditions. It was really busy everywhere.

Now that it is Tuesday it feels like someone put a gate up at Bancroft and is not letting anyone through. It is very quiet today. A great day for riding if you don't have to work. The groomers were out and few sledders are out. You would have the trails all to yourself.

We still need a little snow to improve things. Only snow flurries are predicted for this week. But who knows that can change in a heart beat. The temperature is not to go above plus 1 or 2 all week so we should be keeping the snow we have. The highway road crossings are looking a little slushy and dirty.

I'll get started on the snow dance so things get better for the weekend.

I had booming gas sales on the weekend which is a sad thing all the same. 19 jugs on Sunday alone. I may have big muscles by the end of the season lifting all those gas cans. Thanks to all the folks that are really good about only being able to get a small amount and still come back to Lake St. Peter.

And now a new pet peeve. This one is not mine, I am taking requests now. So don't be thinking that I just sit around thinking of things to bitch about.

A couple in this weekend that sled all the time are getting annoyed at all the oncoming riders that don't signal that there are riders behind them or when they are the last rider in the pack. This is a great help on the weekends when the trails are so busy. It is nice to know when someone will be coming around the corner. Even if you are going light speed you can take one hand off the handle bar for a second and give a quick signal. Remember people safety never takes a vacation.

Any further pet peeves may be delivered to me in person for publication on the blog.

They lady next door to me came over on Monday to ask that sledders do not jump the snow bank over the split rail fence into her back yard. I told here it wouldn't happen again. Don't disappoint me now.

There was one lucky sledder last week. I had given directions for gas in Maynooth. Apparently my directions were not all that good. They ended up going down the Peterson trail However all was not lost (or maybe it was). They came across a trail of stuff, wallet, camera, bathroom stuff and clothes. The three of them collected everything up and found two riders looking frantically for the lost articles. The guy was quite surprised when the new comers new the mans name without even having met him before. All items were returned however the cash was missing from the wallet and tossed off to the side. Now these folks were curious. There were T-shirts, socks and other stuff but no undies!!! hmmmm

Well that's it for today. No bone head stunts this weekend to report, no whining, no snow.

I'll be back Thursday unless something exciting happens.

DON'T FORGET THE MLSS POKER RUN THIS WEEKEND.

See you soon
Cheers
Nancy