Chandos Ice In Date 2012

I may have jumped the gun with the Chandos Lake ice in date yesterday. 

This morning the north end of the lake has significant open water.  The south end of the lake is frozen well past Buck Island as you look north.  About a mile north of Buck Island there is a large amount of open water.

Please do not even think about heading out on the ice at this point.

The actual ice in date was January 4, 2013 this year.

Chandos Lake Ice In/Ice Out Dates 2007 - 2012

The ice in and ice out dates have fluctuated somewhat since I started recording the dates after we purchased our place on Chandos Lake in the spring of 2007.

Chandos Lake Ice In/Ice Out Dates 2007 - 2012

                                  Ice Out                              Ice In

2007                                                                    December 10, 2007
2008                         April 21, 2008                    December  8, 2008
2009                         April 16, 2009                    January 4, 2010
2010                         April 3, 2010                      December 21, 2010
2011                         April 20, 2011                    January 15, 2012
2012                         March 23, 2012                  December 29, 2012

At this point the ice is far from safe for travel.  The forecast calls for well below zero Celsius temperatures right through the first week of 2013 with very little snow so the ice should build quickly.

Be extremely careful travelling the lake even after the ice has frozen sufficiently to permit travel across it.   

Chandos Lake 2012 Ice in Date December 29

The ice is in on Chandos Lake this morning.  Yesterday afternoon there was ice starting to form in the bays of the lake but the main north south section of the lake remained open and disturbed slightly by the wind from the north.

This morning after another night of minus 15 Celsius temperatures and very calm winds the lake is frozen.

Buck Island, Chandos Lake, December 29, 2012

Merry Christmas from Clark Breuls Re/Max in Apsley ON

Merry Christmas to all from Re/Max Country Classics in Apsley ON.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best for a prosperous, safe and happy 2013!!

2012 Apsley ON Christmas Tree

This years tree in the centre of town is decorated and is lit up each night with many coloured lights.

Here is a little bit of Christmas from downtown Apsley!!

2012 North Kawartha Cottages Holiday Newsletter

                                                                                               

Happy Holidays to all from Clark Breuls, at Re/Max Country Classics Ltd. in Apsley, ON. This is my first holiday newsletter since joining Re/Max and I thought it would be good to reflect on what has occurred in, and around, our beautiful cottage area town over the course of this year.

In January, there was the installation of brand new Ministry of Transportation signs for Apsley on both northbound and southbound Highway 28.  This is a nice improvement and will provide more recognition for the village of Apsley, by those travelling on Highway 28.

On Saturday, February 4^th, the Apsley Tyke hockey team participated in the Campbellford Colts 2012 Senior Tyke Tournament.  Apsley entered the tournament with a record of 4 wins, 13 losses and 2 ties.  Against all odds, Apsley won all three of their games and clinched the championship title, the “Crosby Award”.  Also in February, another excellent Apsley Winter Carnival took place with events sponsored by the Apsley Lions and Apsley Legion.  On the Friday night, there was a Casino and Wing Night and on Saturday, there were all of the outdoor activities including Dog Sled races, ski-joring, snow sculpture contests and other games.  On Sunday, brunch was offered and from what I hear, no one left hungry.

March brought the 36^th Annual Trappers Carnival and the North Kawartha Skating Carnival to the ice surface at the community centre.  There were excellent performances by all of the skaters including a special performance by Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, the 2012 Canadian National Bronze Medalists.  We saw the ice officially out on Chandos Lake on March 23, 2012, which was the earliest “ice out” date recorded in several decades.

April brought warm spring weather to Apsley and our area lakes.  The weather was beautiful on Easter Weekend and I launched our boat and floated our dock back into position with the help of Darryl Sanderson of Cottage Docks for the upcoming season.  This was also the earliest we have been able to do this since buying our cottage in 2007.  On April 13^th, the Apsley Gymnastics Club held a gymnastics show and tumbled to a “Springtime in the Kawartha’s” theme and the event had a great turnout for all who participated.

In May, the Lions held their annual Mother’s Day brunch at the community centre.  The annual Walk for Guide Dogs was held on May 27^th and this walk is held to raise funds for the Lions supported school in Oakville ON.  It is absolutely amazing to see how these very special animals can be trained to perform seizure response, guide for the blind, dog for the deaf and special needs dogs for children with autism and other medical conditions.  It costs about $20,000 to train just one dog so these fundraisers are extremely important to the program.

June weekends saw the Apsley Market in full swing, with local vendors offering their products in the centre of Apsley.   The Township of North Kawartha Council approved switching their legal business to the firm of Ewart O’Dwyer.  The decision was made because the new legal firm’s rate, to process shoreline road allowance purchases will be significantly less than the previous legal firm.

July was welcomed in with more beautiful summer weather.  The Lions ran another excellent Canada Day Parade in Apsley which was followed by children’s games and other festivities at Lions Park.  The day ended with a tremendous fireworks display to fully celebrate the July 1^st birthday of Canada.

In August, we continued with great summer weather.  The Apsley Legion held a very successful Horseshoe Tournament with 62 players participating in the event.  Council gave its support to a proposed solar panel project that is in its early stages and if approved, the project would consist of 2200 to 2400 ground mounted solar panels, generating a total of about 500KW.  The panels would be located on the south side of Jeff Road, East of Hwy 28. The project will have to meet strict setback requirements so that there is no visual impact to area properties.

September saw a very successful CIBC Run for the Cure in Apsley and our local group of participants had a goal of raising at least $15,000.  They successfully raised a total amount of $17,100.00.  An outstanding job to a very committed group!  After a very dry summer, September brought some much needed rain to our area, and even though the weather was not the best, the autumn Apsley Studio Tour, saw another successful year.

The dry weather throughout the summer had many people predicting that there would be a very poor display of fall colours this year, but they were wrong.  In fact,  it appears the substantial amount of rain we had throughout the month of September,  helped to produce one of the most stunning fall colour displays in years for the area.  October saw a major personal change for me when I made the decision to join Re/Max in Apsley.

November brought colder temperatures and we saw the tail end of hurricane Sandy.  Fortunately for us all, we were spared any extensive damage from the significant storm that wreaked havoc in the eastern U.S.  On November 10^th, my wife Debbie, and I, along with a group of very committed volunteers, held our 22^nd Annual Children’s Wish Car Rally.  This is an event that Debbie started and this year was record breaking in both attendees and donations.  We had 278 attendees and raised in excess of $35,000.00.  In addition, we had another surprise donation of $90,000.00 that came through a co-executor that contacted Debbie because the money had to go a Children’s charity.  We are so grateful for all the donations and grant some very special wishes.

Now some interesting Real Estate statistics for 2012, where we had the following MLS sales on our area lakes:

Lake             Sales    Average Price    Median Price    Percentage of List

Anstruther         6          $293,667           $224,000                   92.6%           

Chandos           25          $493,320           $398,000                   95.1%

Eel’s                   2          $263,500           $263,500                   95.8%

Jack                   6           $338,750           $321,250                  93.9%

Paudash              3         $238,500            $225,000                  94.3%                      

Wolf Lake          1          $295,000           $295,000                  98.6%

After a long hard winter, there is nothing better than thoughts of another beautiful summer at the cottage, and the first step is the spring Cottage Life Show.  Nothing gets you back in the mood faster than being able to enjoy a day of new cottage toys, or even boring stuff, like new plumbing options or animal control products.

I'd like to invite you to the 2013 Spring Cottage Life Show where we can chat about what North Kawartha has to offer you, your family or even your friends. Whether it’s on Jack, Chandos, Anstruther, or other lakes in our area, we can help you find something that will fit your lifestyle and budget.

If you are thinking of buying or selling, please call me for a free, no obligation opinion of value. The 2013 Cottage Selling Season begins with the Spring Cottage Life Show from April 5-7, 2013. Property listings will be extensively promoted at the show.

I look forward to what 2013 will bring to the town of Apsley and am very happy to be part of the community. From my family, to yours, have a happy and safe holiday season and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Sincerely,

Clark Breuls

Re/Max in Apsley, ON
clark@northkawarthacottages.com
www.northkawarthacottages.com
705-656-1044 Direct

Winter Arrives in Apsley ON

Winter has definitely arrived in Apsley!  Yesterday there was a considerable amount of freezing rain in the morning which made a number of roads including Balmer Road and Antelope Trail very slippery to travel on.

Through out the day the temperature warmed up and the freezing rain turned to rain and then stopped.  By late afternoon the weather was clearing and a high pressure system was moving in.  Overnight temperatures feel to minus 14 Celsius on the shores of Chandos Lake.

Tuesday is a bright sunny winter's day in Apsley.  Several more days of sunny weather are forecast before we receive some snow on the weekend.