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PLPA PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Summer is now here and the lake will be at its busiest during July and August. This is also a busy time for the PLPA. See the events listed below and be sure to mark your calendar!!
I'm sure everyone has seen the new buoys on the lake marking the rocks and shoals. They're a great improvement, and special thanks to Chuck LeMaitre and Emilo Muscolino! Chuck traveled to Cape Cod to purchase them and Emilo installed them. (NOTE: If any are found floating loose, please return them to Emilo or myself).
Safety on the lake is the responsibility of each boater, homeowner, camper and guest. I urge you to use caution when using your boat, canor or kayak, we have seen a colorful hatch of those lately). BOATERS: Canoes and Kayaks might be further out from shore than expected or previously experienced. Please keep an eye out for them! Your wake could capsize a canoe or kayak, so please slow down when approaching them. This is also a very good reason for wearing a PFD in these smaller boats.
I hope to see everyone at the upcoming events, and at the Annual Meeting. Have a great summer!!
Dave Pratt, President
INDEPENDENCE DAY FLARES -- Wednesday, July 4, 2001, 9 PM
So traditional we can't remember when it began. At dusk, anyone so inspired lights a standard road flare on their dock and shares the evening, albeit remotely, with friends and neighbors from around the lake.
BREAKFAST AT ROCK ISLAND -- Sunday, July 29, 2001, 10 AM
An impromptu repast on the waters near our most renowned geological feature. Bring a dish to share. An event all should experience. Contact Larry Doubleday at 725-6680 for more information.
NEIGHBORHOOD GARAGE & LAWN SALE -- Saturday, August 11, 2001
Clean out your Attic and garage and make some money at the sane time! This years, sales will be held at each individual participating home and advertised in the Leader-Herald as a group advertisement. To include your special items in the ad, please contact Nancy Allen at 725-5347 by July 25, 2001.
PLPA PICNIC & CONCERT -- Sunday, August 19, 2001
A day of activities with Bill Nitsche leading a morning hike along the shores of the indeveloped end of the lake with a local history lesson built-in. An afternoon, (3-6pm) picnic held at Peck's Meadow with good food, games for the kids as well as the adults, and an evening of music. Bring a dish to share. An excellent opportunity to greet and meet neighbors. Details? Contact Katie Bergmann at 725-2981.
PLPA ANNUAL MEETING -- Saturday, September 1, 2001
Our annual business meeting is held at 9:00am at Peck's Boat Barn. We review the "doings" of the association over the previous year. An opportunity to express your opinions in an open forum, learn about the issues that the association is facing and what's in store for our future. The meeting is held rain or shine; bring your own chair.
Maps, Guidebooks and Directories for sale for $3 each. Contact Larry Doubleday at 725-6680.
PECK'S PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY by Alice Peck
The first meeting of the year was held June 5th, at the home of Liz Pratt. Plans were made for the coming summer season. This year’s fundraiser will be an ice cream social.
Pat and Charlie Bennett will work with John Van Vranken to ready the nature trail. A drainpipe will be installed to facilitate the flow of water to the culvert beside the road. Some clean up of fallen trees and brush has already been cleared and identification signs have been placed beside trees and plants. If you can help, please contact the Bennetts.
Four school classes enjoyed visits to the schoolhouse and nature trail. John Mars, Pat and Charlie Bennett, Jane Heal, Liz Pratt, Elaine Hoye and Stanley De Val were hosts.
Some people have signed up to greet visitors at the school for Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1-4p.m.; however, more are needed and welcome. Please contact Alice Peck to schedule to help at the schoolhouse or the nature trail.
Meetings will be held on July 24th, August 28th and September 25the, the last Tuesdays of each month. Hope to see more people at the meetings! And please bring your friends and relatives to visit the schoolhouse and nature trail this summer!
SPECIAL THANKS
To Dave Pratt, Bob Ireland and guest instructor, Walt Bonilla (Appalachian Mountain Club) for running a successful CANOE AND KAYAK CLINIC Saturday, June 23, 2001. 17 souls braved the rainy cool day, and learned canoe / kayak safety and paddling instruction. (White Water, here we come!)
To Ron and Dorothy Holly for the donation of binding equipment for printed directories.
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
June has come upon us and is half gone! The heavy rains have brought the lake up. The water almost went over the spillway again; it lapped over but the gates were opened and kept the level down a few inches. The sights and sounds of summer will be gone all too quickly.
Driving slowly down the shore roads you may often see a doe, small as she must have been born last summer, and her tiny spotted fawn. She looks at you driving by her special woods. If you turn in the next driveway and go back to snap her picture, she will be gone. Fortunately she wandered up into the woods and not across the road. We need to remember to slow down at this time of year as fawn may cross the road without warning. Mother never told her that cars can kill. Hunting is prohibited here so they feel safe.
Just off the shore road on 29-A, a family of wild turkey with 8 tiny poults race out in front of my car. I put on the brakes and hope I have not hit any. Pulling ahead slowly I look back and see that all is well. They were clustered between the wheels of the car. Other cars approach from the east. Mother turkey is frantic on the side of the road. Everyone slows down; mama rushes over and escorts her brood to safety. All of us drive on smiling at our brush with wildlife.
With June's warm sunny days, the Yellow Swallowtail Butterflies have made their appearance. They flutter aimlessly in and out of the trees then back again to the flowers in the garden. These common butterflies of the north usually have two broods per summer. They can be found over fields and love puddles and moist, muddy areas.
Some early flowers have come and gone: Trillium, Mayflowers, and Coltsfoot to name a few. Others will be here shortly: wild Pinks already on the main road, Bluets, Goatsbeard, Hawkweed (which is here already) and Birdsfoot Trefoil are also present.
In late July and August we will find red Cardinal Flowers along the shore (protected - Do Not Pick!), and both yellow and orange Touch-me-not and Milkweed will brighten the roadsides. The lovely 3 foot tall shrub Steeplebush, which most of us have on our property, will open its fuzzy, pinkish blooms. The flowerets grow from the top down the spike. They are a beautiful hedge plant and don't need to be bought at a nursery. They grow in dry areas as well as close to the lake.
There are so many creatures that fly, crawl and swim in or on our lake and woodlands. It is a wonder to enjoy. Think about what it would be like without them? Yes, some can be annoying - but perhaps that is because we try to make our Adirondack yard like a piece of property in the city. Do we want the city up here? Do we want a lawn? Birds don't care for lawns. Do we want outside lights on all night? This can be an annoyance to your neighbor. We're quite safe up here at night even with no outside lights on.
Sometime just sit on your deck and enjoy the birdcalls -- or even the silence. It's magic. You can actually THINK! Slow down when you drive in and out. Look at the woods. Look into the woods. Allow the bird flying across in front of your car to reach its nest. You have done a small part for conservation!
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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.
