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The blueberries are so plentiful, even a blind person could pick them. The ones that we would go crazy for in the last few years, we would ignore and go for the real big ones this year.

The water level is vey high now, we cannot get our dock in or boat out.
Our pet woodchuck is having a ball this year. I have been waging a battle with him, trying to keep him from eating my flowers and garden. We say him literally charge the fence to get in, then he backed up and ran into it trying to push it out of the way. Perhaps, if he wasn't so fat, he could have squeezed in. Clever little guy.

The lake levels are pretty much back to normal now, after the extremely high water, caused when the beaver dam broke a couple of weeks ago. Lots of people out picking berries so there must be pretty good picking.

Star Lake poker derby and picnic is this Saturday (August 2) so I imagine lots of peole will be out for the weekend.

It has been a quite summer, probably due to the cool weather and so much rain. We had quite large hail July 9th and two days later it hailed again, twice, about an hour apart. Everything is so lush and green, and so far there aren't many mosquitoes, and no worms.

Saturday the 12th, it poured all day, and very high winds. On #44, and just past the Lily Pond, cars were stopped, as a huge tree had fallen across the road. It is a good thing that we had our 4 x 4 truck and a tow rope. Travelling on hwy #44 is a nightmare, the road is in such bad shape.

Our pet black fox is still coming around. If we are working outside, he will stay with us for a couple of hours. Seems like he enjoys the company.

Looked hard for blueberries, there didn't seem to be a lot of berries, as
the ones we did manage to find were fully ripe. May have been too cool too
long this spring? Plus the black cloud of mosquitos hovering over us scared
us off sooner than we would have liked. For the last week or so our
Mosquito Magnet has been more than half full every day. I am going to
hazard a guess as it being about a thousand mosquitos per day we are
catching. At dark the Magnet is actually covered in them. Since we have
had a lot of windy days, maybe it kept them in the bush, but with the calm
rain of the last few days they are ferocious!
Perch fishing has been decent, which is surprising with the fish flies out
in full force. The fish we do end up catching are FAT. I am surprised
anything would bite a hook with the abundance of natural food around right
now. Haven't caught too much else.
I have no complaints about the lake level. Seems to be good.
Lots of deer around, lots of near misses on the highway. Have seen some
bambis with their mommas. Very cute, they are all leg. The youngish deer,
which I suppose are last year's babies are very visible near the road all
the time, maybe they haven't learned to be wary of the highway yet. Lots
with fuzzy little horns growing. Very nice to see.
Patiently waiting for some more hot weather to dry up those mosquitos!

The weather has been horrible, Rain, Rain, Rain....It is already the 12th and we have only seeen 4 or 5 days of sun. Big Whiteshell Lake appears to be fairly quiet ths year (maybe it's the weather??) I have scouted the blueberry patches and it looks to be a good 2 weeks delay for picking. Again we really need the sun to shine. I haven't heard much about the fishing. Good friends of ours (die-hard fishermen) were on the lake for an hour and came over because the rain and wind was so bad! My husband and son are off to Crow Duck for some fishing on Monday. I hope the sun will be shining then! Another friend reported seeing a wolf on the road to Horseshoe Lake behind the store on the north shore. Others have also sighted wolves at various times. A few bears have been sighted as well. I guess they are also looking the blueberry patches over. Logging trucks continue to haul out trees and roads are still very bumpy. Safe driving is a must!

I am sure that there are lots of crafts happening in cottages (knitting, stain glass, painting...etc.) and lots of cozying up with a good book. Did you know that Whiteshell Lake Resort has a book exchange program? So if you are out of books..check it out.

Well summer has come and gone and with the fall weather setting in, the geese are making flight plans for southern locations. Flocks are seen flying back and forth daily as if getting in shape for the journey ahead. Neighbours have started to put their boats away and firewood is being split and stored. The chipmunks and the squirrels are seen hoarding the last of the nuts and seeds and the red fruit of the mountain ash is all that remains visible in the yard.

It is a different fall season for the wife and I as we prepare to shut down for the winter the place that has been a year around home for us for the past fifteen years. We are greatly going to miss the peace and solitude, the birds at the feeders, the scavenging of the fox and the raven, the colour against the snow of the bluejay, pine and evening grosbeak, downy, hairy and pileated woodpeckers and the cheerful call of the chickadee. The "who who" of the owl will go unanswered and the rabbit will miss his salad greens and carrot sticks. The daily flight of the bald eagle overhead will go unnoticed and the deer will no longer need a path through the yard. Alas, life goes on, and all creatures, including us, must make changes and adapt to the change in surroundings of one's current enviroment.

But fall in all of its splendor is yet to come so we shall enjoy the present and await the brilliant colours that Mother Nature will paint before the snow begins to cover the ground for another winter.

The water quality at Barren is good this year, water level a little lower than normal. Water temperature this weekend was a balmy 71 degrees F, just right for a dip.

There does not appear to be any worms this year, at least not enough to mention as the trees have all their leaves and showing no signs of the little critters.

There are very few mosquitoes, as compared to that of Winnipeg. Actually, one can sit outside in the evening without getting eaten alive.

Coming out to the lake however, we saw lots of bees stuck on our vehicle. No sightings of bears in our area, however we do see three loons swimming around. No chicks, just the adult birds. A blue heron has been sighted on several occasions, picking through the water for their lunch. The blueberry crop does not look good this year, as we haven't noticed any berries on the plants.

Fishing has been good so far, with a few days that we can actually brag about. There has been a fair number of boats out on the water, and from all accounts, nobody is getting skunked.

We have had a fair amount of rain so far, and everything is still green, but then this is Barren Lake.

Blueberries look like they will be very plentiful and are delayed about two weeks from the normal.
The Barren Lake road was dust proofed to the gravel pit entrance on Tuesday July 8th.
The Annual Barren Lake Cottagers Picnic will be held on Sunday, August 3rd.
Marcel Wozney

Lots of delicious blue berries and wild raspberries but no associated bear problems to date. We also have nesting eagles at the lake and we have followed their progress over the last several weeks. They are currently teaching the "baby" eagles to fly by standing on the edge fo the nest and flapping their wings. We have also witnessed their first attempt at tearing food apart after the mother has brought them a fish.

A farewell party was held for Hart & Carolyn Schmidt on Saturday, June 21. Cottagers and friends from White and surrounding lakes enjoyed a wonderful evening of fun and stories. Hart and Carolyn had a significant, positive impact on the lives of many people in the area and they will be missed.

We have organized our block 4 tree cutting project. There will be approx. 30 cottagers from Block 4 helping to clean up our access road the weekend of Sept 5th.

We are getting rain at the right time and the forest is lush and healthy as it has been in the last 50 years. Although the "blow down" in June 2007 was not welcomed, it may have been a blessing in disguise. The new trees that have been planted at Betula, the Big Whiteshell and White Lake are growing like weeds and the forest fire danger is very low.

The patching on Hwy 307 is on-going and has been for years. Not withstanding the extra attention and $ being thrown at it from the Province, it needs to be completely resurfaced after the lumber trucks finish the "blow down" clearing in 2009.

In spite of the weather vacationing and enjoyment of summer is in full swing. Many people are out there having a great time. They tell me that fishing is great.

I have no new time line for the water pump at Nutimik to be completed. Should anyone want to know call the Seven Sisters office.

Another year at Nutimik with high water. It would seem that we have had our share of high water and more so in the last 10 years. Water levels are slowly declining and I hope this will continue. What a year!

1964 ====907.7 ft.
1966 ====907.3 ft.
1970 ====906.4 ft.
1971 ====906.3 ft.
1974 ====908.2 ft.
1985 ====907.0 ft.
1992 ====908.0 ft.
1997 ====907.1 ft.
2001 ===== 906.9 ft
2002 ===== 907.5 ft.
2003 ===== low water
2004 ===== 906.1 ft
2005 ==== 907.3
2006 ==== low water
2007 ==== 905.3 late fall
2008 ====907. 6 ??/

Just remembered that I neglected to let everyone know that your block representative from our snow clearing committee will soon be coming around to visit you and collect for our snow clearing effort for the 2008-2009 season.

We are holding a meeting this coming Saturday to review our previous years’ statements and to decide what amount we will be collecting again this season.
I feel sure that we will be collecting $20.00 from seasonal cottagers and will increase the amount collected from residents.
Also, if you are not around when we do our door-to-door solicitation, please feel free to send your dollars to one of the following addresses with cheques or money orders payable to “Betula Lake Snow Clearing”.
Tom Cutts or myself will be happy to accept your money and see that a receipt is issued to you.
Tom Cutt’s address is 389 Lynbrook, Winnipeg, MB., R3R 0T2

Thank you and we hope that we can depend on you to support this effort once again.

It has been a while since I last wrote. We are well into summer and we will soon be entering our Fall season.

Not much has been going on around the Lake except that our Resort owners have opened up their beer store and ice cream parlor and both seem to be getting a lot of customers. The weather hasn’t really been the greatest for ice cream, but it sure seems to be a popular spot in the evening. I think most of us are going to their establishment for our dessert after dinner. Doreen and Steve, we all wish you the best in your endeavors.

Some of the logging trucks have been doing a bit of hauling, but it hasn’t been anything like we experienced last fall and winter. However, once the summer season is over, the traffic with regards to the timber hauling, could increase. Time will tell.

It has been a quiet summer. There doesn’t seem to be the amount of people out at their cottages for long stretches. We are seeing a few of them come out for a bit and then heading back to the city or wherever. Again, the weather has been unpredictable and maybe the price of gas has something to do with it. We have been hard pressed to get 2 or 3 days in a row of hot weather. Our gardens all seem to be at least 2 weeks later than normal to produce and our tomatoes need the sun to ripen. The evenings are really cool (which is nice for sleeping) but not good for growing veggies. Oh well!!! I am sure that we will all survive the season and start over again come next spring.

There has been quite a change in ownership of cottages at most of our Lakes. It seems as though we are in a cycle once again (which seems to happen periodically) where Grandmas and Grandpas are unable to continue with the upkeep of their places and the family members are not interested or can’t afford to maintain the cottages. It is really a sad time for some of these people who have put a lot of effort into their properties. On the upside, we get to meet new people and new families.

There also seems to be a building boom within the Park. Guest cottages going up, new cottages being built and a lot of nice garages also being built. This could be an indication that our retirement population will grow in the next few years.

Our Betula Lake Association held another successful Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, August 3^rd at the cook shack. We served approximately 275 breakfasts – some of which were people that returned with their plates for seconds. We say “Thank You” to our convenor, Jack Kelly of Block 4 and his ‘Kelly Klan’ (Kathy, Sandy and Patrick Kelly, Nicholas and Mia Schofield, Sean Flemming, Joe Hebert and Samantha and Kelly Schneider). Also, our ‘Thanks’ go out to Gord Ledingham (seasonal campground) who manned the sausage griddle and to Eva and Tony Unger (Block 1) who took care of the syrup and butter refills at our breakfast tables. And, thank you to Manitoba Conservation (Seven Sisters office) for supplying us with the extra tables.

Our next event will be our Weiner/Corn Roast. We will post the information when we know we can get the corn. It will probably be some time in late August or early September. We will be taking a “silver collection” for this event once again. This usually is an event that is free to the members of our Association, however, we did not collect memberships this season and the collection would cover our expenses. Hopefully, we will be able to resume our full schedule of events next season – races, horseshoe tournament, canoe races, ski show, etc.

Manitoba Conservation has told me that they should be putting down some topsoil and grass seed at the ball diamond in the fall and that we should be good to go next year.

There was very exciting news that was published in the Winnipeg Free Press on August 3^rd about some of our Betula Lake Water Skiers. The Western Canadian Water Ski Championships were recently held (August 1^st) at Shirley Lake in Transcona. Taryn Grant of Block 4 swept the junior women’s events. She competed with a broken baby toe and twisted her knee during one of her jump attempts. We hope she is on the mend – take care Taryn. Taryn’s brother Cole also competed and won the slalom event and finished 2^nd in jumps to take the overall junior men’s title and Sean Vielhaber of Block 7 placed 4^th in slalom, 3^rd in tricks and 3^rd in jumps for an overall 3^rd place finish in junior men’s. The Nationals will take place in mid-August in Toronto and we hope that all of you will be able to compete. CONGRATULATIONS to all of you – we are very proud of you.

Congratulations go out to Evelyn and Dave Willison (Block 7) who celebrated their 50^th Wedding Anniversary with family and friends on the long weekend complete with dinner and all the trimmings. Their actual date is August 5^th and it is also Evelyn’s birthday. Dave has no excuse for not remembering either event – good planning Evelyn.

Also on August 5^th, Art Hildebrand (Block 7) celebrated his 60^th Birthday. Art, we hope that you enjoyed a wonderful day.

Block 7 was a busy place this past weekend with all of the festivities and celebrations.

And in Block 2, Dave Bell hosted the 17^th Annual Block Party on August 3^rd. Everyone enjoyed hotdogs, refreshments, friendship and conversation. We hope everyone enjoyed themselves and had a safe “walk” home.

Well folks, the days are getting shorter and the seasons are moving along all too quickly. It will soon be time for our Snow Clearing Committee to start soliciting money for our this winter. We haven’t had our meeting yet, but I feel comfortable in saying that we will probably collect $20.00 per cabin from the seasonal cottagers and our residents will pay their fair share. Thank You.

On the same note, our 11^th season for the Citizens on Patrol Program will be starting up in October and continuing through the winter until the end of April. We will accept any and all donations – these monies help to defer some of the patrol members’ gas expense.

If you would like to make a donation (any amount will be accepted), please drop the $’s off at Pat’s place (Block 1 Lot 15) and a receipt will be provided. If this does not work for you, you can forward your donation to “North Whiteshell 300 Group – COPP,

Box 157, Seven Sisters Falls, MB., R0E 1Y0”. If paying by cheque, please make cheques payable to North Whiteshell 300 Group – COPP. Thank you – any and all dollars help.

As you may have read in the last edition of the Whiteshell Echo, we did our highway clean-up in early June. We would hope to get a few more people involved in this clean-up next season or whenever we decide to do it again. Please help us out however you can – even if it means picking up a piece of paper on your block road. We don’t have to wait for a major clean-up date to keep our Lake tidy.

We ask everyone, to “PLEASE” don’t throw your empty water bottles, drink cans or plastic/paper items, etc. out of your vehicles.

The biggest offenders are people traveling to the Transfer Station with loads not properly tied down or tarped. We ask that you at least tie a rope around a loose load before taking off down the highway.

I will close for now with ‘greetings’ and ‘best wishes’ to everyone and we hope that you enjoy a safe and happy remaining 2008.



		WCC-Falcon


Aug 23-24	WCC Co-ed Slow Pitch Tournament (tent)	Falcon Lake
Aug 30	Music at the Ridge Snow Club Fundraiser	Falcon Ridge
Aug 31	Downtown West Hawk Sidewalk Sale	West Hawk Lake
Aug 31	WCC Social	WCC Falcon
2008	FALL
Sept 6-7	Falcon Yacht Club Fall Open Regatta	Faloma
*Sept 27	Swamp Donkey-Adventure Racing	Falcon Ridge
*Oct 4	WCC-SW Trail-----FALL SUPPER	WCC Falcon
2009	WINTER
*Feb 13-15	Beaver Days-Winter Carnival	South Whiteshell
*March	4^th Annual Ice Fishing Derby	Falcon Lake
	Biathlon Cup Race	Falcon Ridge
February	WCC Ladies Bonspiel	WCC Falcon
March	WCC Men’s Bonspiel	WCC Falcon