PLPA PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

It's April 11th, and so far, Spring has not seen fit to show up at Peck's Lake. The only indication that Spring is coming is a forlorn robin looking for something to eat in a two-foot bare patch near the base of a tree. Also, out in the bay is an otter, not in the water but on top of the ice. He (?) has a hole in the ice, much like a seal, and every once in a while he comes up with a fish.

Winter was great -- people skied through the second weekend in April. Stu Smith reported that we had 153 inches of snow this winter, including 66 inches in March! We added a new event this winter -- PLPA Day at Lapland Lake. Twenty plus skiers enjoyed the variety of trails, the discount, and the tailgate lunch!

Severe weather did cause postponement of the Winter Festival from February 10th to the following day. Special thanks go to all the people who made the extra effort to make the event a success in very cold and windy weather.

Looking at the lake -- or should I say, the ice and snow on the lake -- it appears that "ice-out" will be much later than usual due to the severely low water level coupled with the cold Spring weather.

Check the PLPA calendar for our Spring and Summer events and call the volunteer chairperson if you plan to attend.

Dave Pratt, President

CANOE AND KAYAK CLINIC -- Saturday, June 23, 2001
Mark your calendars! Dave Pratt and Bob Ireland will again offer canoe safety and paddling instruction. We have also enlisted the aid of a kayak instructor for this event. If you are interested, PLEASE sign up with Dave (725-6460) by June 11th. Children aged 10 and older are welcome with an adult participant. (Rain Date, June 24th)

NEIGHBORHOOD GARAGE & LAWN SALE

Feel the urge to get out of the house now that spring is finally peeking around the corner, and to leave those spring cleaning chores for a later date? Then you are in luck! You have time to gather up all those unwanted items filling space that you have a much better use for and join your neighbors for a community wide yard sale.

In order to entice buyers for those special items you might have for sale, for a reasonable cost you may "add-on" to the advertisement to be placed in the Leader-Herald by the PLPA. Please call Nancy Allen at 725-5347 with the wording by July 25th and it will be submitted for publication as a joint ad. Once the final cost is tabulated for your ad, you will be notified prior to submission for final revision.

Not enough "stuff" for your own sale? Join up with a few neighbors and friends for a group sale. We encourage participants to place balloons by the driveway to make it easy for the buyers to beat a path to your door.

Please call Nancy if you are interested so that we will have a general idea of the number of participants. Oh. . .and pray for good weather this year!

SPRING CLEAN-UP

Hal Neal passed away in early February, 2001. The PLPA offers condolences to his wife Esther P. Neal, their children and families. Hal was President of the PLPA from 1983 to 1985. He and Esther have been lake residents for the last 19 plus years, participating in many activities. (Esther writes "Country Living" for our newsletter.)

PECK'S PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Alice Peck fractured her hip this past Winter. More than ever, the Historical Society needs your assistance this year. Volunteers are needed to prepare and show the school, conduct nature trail walks, and welcome guests this season. Four school classes have registered for May. If you can help, please contact Alice at 725-6236.

Maps, Guidebooks and Directories for sale for $3 each. Contact Larry Doubleday at 725-6680.

The average depth of the worlds oceans is12,450 feet. In contrast the average elevation of the earth's land is only 2756 feet.

BACK BAY ANNUAL MID-WINTER BANQUET HELD

The Peck's Lake "Back Bay" held it's third annual Mid-winter Banquet on February 11, 2001, at the Raindancer Restaurant in Amsterdam. The "Back Bay" group of seasonal campers is located in what some refer to as the "East Bay" in a heavily shaded area next to the lake. Approximately 32 people, including PLPA Affiliate Members, friends and family, attended this year’s event. After a very delicious dinner, Warren Decker served as emcee and then turned the meeting over to the Mayor, Harold Weaver. Harold roasted each of the campers with lots of good spirited humor from the year 2000 camping season. Following Harold's roasts, Warren roasted Mayor Weaver and the First Lady, Betty Weaver. The roasts brought back pleasant memories of events that were funny and/or humorous during the previous camping season. "A wonderful time was had by all, as we reminisced, laughed and began making plans for another fun filled camping season at beautiful Peck's Lake," reports Mr. Decker.

CANOE REGULATION CHANGES

The Peck Family, after carefully weighing the safety versus convenience issues, has revised the Peck's Lake Canoe Regulations. It is hoped that these changes will enhance enjoyment of the sport, while preserving our good safety record. Canoers are urged to continue to take personal responsibility for observing appropriate safety precautions at all times.

CANOE REGULATIONS (Revised April 1, 2001)
Paddleboats & kayaks users must adhere to canoe rules 2 through 11.

Any canoe launched upon the waters of Peck’s Lake shall:
1.  Be a minimum of 14 feet in length.
2.  Be constructed of wood, aluminum, fiberglass, or Kevlar.
3.  Be constructed with flotation to support the canoe and its occupants in the event of capsizing.
4.  Not be loaded with persons or property to exceed the manufacturer’s rated carrying capacity or in any event with more than 3 persons. Not to be used when occupants are standing.
5.  Not have any motor attached to it.
6.  Not be used or operated at a greater distance from the shoreline than 200 feet, except in calm water conditions.
7.  Be registered with the Pecks, and have affixed to both sides of the bow the owner’s original subdivision lot number (not the 911 address), prefixed by the letter L. Letter and numbers must be not less than 3 inches in height and in a contrasting color to the canoe. The canoe must be owned by the property owner only.
8.  Only be used when all New York State regulations regarding the use of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) are observed. Current State law requires that a PFD be on board for each occupant, and that all children under the age of 12 wear a PFD at all times.
9.  Not to be operated by youths under 14 years of age, unless accompanied by an experienced canoer 14 years old or over.
10.  Not contain any occupants who engage in horseplay or any other reckless activity.
11.  Be equipped with lights if used after dark.

The Pecks established the following penalties for violations:

First Offense	Warning
Second Offense	Canoeing Privileges Suspended for Two Weeks
Third Offense	Canoeing Privileges Suspended for the Remainder of the Season

Tournament Assistant Needed  A volunteer is needed to be a "Starter" for our annual PLPA Golf Tournament, Saturday, July 28th. Duties include:

Be at Nick Stoner's 1st tee by 7:25 a.m. until last golfer is off, probably 9:30-10:00 a.m.
See that foursomes are ready and tee off on time (schedule provided).
Pass out golf balls (if we get some this year).
Collect money (tournament and optional "mulligan" fees).
Hand out "Tournament Flyer" explaining competition and special holes.

PLPA WEB SITE  Check out the new PLPA Web Site. The site has received many favorable comments. Look for Paul Nestork's additions in the coming months. The PLPA has approved the publishing of the PLPA directory with eMail addresses on the website to provide current information to Peck's Lake property owners. If you don't want your information included on the web site please notify Paul.

SPECIAL THANKS  Winter always brings headaches, and consistent mail delivery is one of them. We missed several days' delivery during (and after) some of the heavy snows. Mail will not be delivered if the mail person considers the area in front of the boxes to be unsafe.
Special thanks go to all of the anonymous individuals who voluntarily shoveled out the boxes so all of us could receive our mail.

Newsletter Deadlines: Please provide Kathy Henry your articles and other items for future newsletters by the following dates:

February Newsletter - January 15
Spring Newsletter - March 15
Summer Newsletter - June 1
Winter Newsletter - November 15

LAKE TIPS: To prevent damage by beavers -- wrap tree trunks with chicken wire. Low shoreline fencing or a rocky shoreline discourages geese grazing on waterfront lawns. And please remember, don't feed the waterfowl and wildlife!

COUNTRY LIVING by Esther P. Neal

It is time to see the early arrivals at the lake again. Some Mergansers, Mallards, Scaup and other ducks are patrolling the open water along the shore. A Great Blue Heron has flown by and one person has seen a Hummingbird. Get your feeders out for them immediately! Among the early birds are the Blackbirds and Grackles (hopefully most will move on), a Kingfisher and Fox and White-crowned Sparrows.

It was interesting to look through an old nature diary of mine started in 1983 to see the dates of arrivals and the variety of birds we used to get in the months of April and May. One day in April 1985, there was a flock of 35-40 Scaup out in front of our place. On May 3rd of the same year, I saw 3 Scarlet Tanagers at once. This is a sight I have not been fortunate to see again. The Scarlet Tanager is one of the birds that is fast disappearing due to the cutting back and fragmenting of the forests in South America and the Adirondacks. Leaving more open spaces cut by roads allows Cowbirds and others that usually next on edges of forests to go farther in and so, drive out the desirable songbirds. Among others disappearing are the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and several Warblers. In May of 1985, I was thrilled to see a Yellow-rumped Warbler, formerly called Myrtle Warbler. It is rather amusing to note the changes in bird names as the years go by. Pigeon Hawks are Merlin, Sparrow Hawks are Kestrel, and the Slate Colored Junco is now the Dark-eyed Junco (I thought they were all dark eyed) and the Baltimore Oriole is now the Northern Oriole. Does this help you in any bird identification? I doubt it.

On Tuesday, April 16, 1985, the ice went out of the lake. Quite a change from this year when it will be late. In 1986 and 87, the ice went out on the 11th of April. In 1990, it was gone April 26, and in 1994, April 27th. It has gone out as late as May and this year may be one of those years. We shall see.

On Friday, May 23, 1986, the water flowed over the spillway!! How exciting! It usually averages somewhere between April 11th and 16th when the ice is all gone. The official date is after Wellington Peck checks out the upper part of the lake and finds the ice is gone completely.

In the middle of February 1995, I made an interesting note. I had been walking with my dog Tara down on the flat area just before the big curve on the North Shore Road. It was very slippery and I watched where I was stepping. Looking up suddenly I was only about 15 feet from 7 deer coming towards me. We all looked at each other at the same time. We all stopped and even the dog and just stared. Then with one silent command, all 7 deer made a sharp left hand turn and bounded across the road and into the swamp and into the woods. Going back up the road in the car later, I found the tracks where they had cut across the North Shore Road and went on towards the Hohler Road. What a memorable sight!! Please remember to drive the shore roads slowly as deer will be coming down to the lake with fawn before you know it. June is deer month. Keep dogs tied a month before, as doe are heavy with fawn.

So much for a little memorabilia. If you drive slowly and look into the woods as you come along the roads, you may spot Fox or Coyote pups sitting nearby. It happened on the South Shore about two years ago. To my observation, it was a Coyote pup. It was gray, had a skinny tail and looked somewhat like a German Shepherd pup. Others said it was red with a bushy tail. Perhaps there were two of them. Keep a sharp lookout.

P.S. Ice is going over the spillway today, April 24, 2001!

ARTICLES WANTED! Articles are wanted for publication in the upcoming newsletter and later on the Web Site. Submit your article, saved as a simple text file to Kathy Henry, Newsletter Editor.

Copyright © 2004 Peck Lake Protective Assoc.   Last Update 03-14-04