JANUARY IN MY AREA
by
Alan A Sandercott
       It’s 6:20 pm and from the comfort of my easy chair I watch BCTV’s Evening News on my widescreen TV. Tony Parsons is reporting on the extreme weather conditions worldwide: northern Europe battered by devastating storms with rivers flooding their banks, England deluged with wind and rain resulting in flooded villages, extreme drought throughout arid regions of the world, wild fires in southern Australia, California experiencing record rainfalls and flooding from a year’s water in ten days, massive snow storms in the mountains, our Canadian prairies suffering bitter cold, our east coast bracing for yet another colder than normal winter, our west coast’s lotus land buried in snow drifts, thousands of homes left in the dark without power and water . . .

       Safely at home I snuggle deeper into my chair and adjust the blanket covering my feet, pondering the question, “What the hell is the world coming to?” Seems each year I’m able to remark on how the winters locally are becoming milder and milder, thanks in part to the good ‘ol Pineapple Express blowing our way from Hawaii, but currently lost at sea.

       It’s easy to blank out abnormal weather patterns around the world when you’re not personally experiencing them. However, there’s more than the speculation of global warming at work outside my window.

       Here on beautiful Francois Lake in central British Columbia we have another ace up our sleeves, a lake that doesn’t freeze. The open water out front has a positive affect on our local temperatures. At this time of year we are constantly 10 to 15 °C warmer than surrounding communities. During the night fog rises from the lake to blot out the stars and provide a blanket of protective warmth. Each morning the sun burns away the fog and further warms the water, at least that’s what we tell outsiders.

       What really keeps Francois Lake from freezing are migratory birds and local initiative. Each year large flocks of trumpeter swans, canada geese and all sorts of ducks pause to rest and feed on our lake on their way south. And each year large numbers of swans are caught and their flight feathers carefully plucked, halting their migration. Being birds of a feather, the ducks and geese remain behind with the swans. Nothing deters ice better than large flocks of swimming birds plying the waters of Francois Lake creating waves and warming the water with their bodies.
       To ensure the feathered flotillas keep swimming, feeding stations have been established up and down the lake. Following a strict schedule, residents along the lake scatter the tons of food donated by wildlife agencies over the surface of the water. The constant procession of swimming flocks from feeding station to feeding station is enough to keep the lake surface agitated and free of ice.

       A secondary benefit, one not originally planned on, was the ducks and their ability to dive. Any of the food that sinks to the bottom is quickly retrieved by the ducks. Each time they return to the surface they draw the warmer waters up with them, further enhancing the surface temperatures.

       The action of the ducks did not go unnoticed by the Inland Ferries Corporation. Their aging bubble systems used to prevent ice buildup around the two ferry docks was overly expensive to maintain. Following a few preliminary tests with tame ducks from a nearby farm, a pilot project was established with great success. However, due to budget cutbacks by the BC Government, the tame ducks had to be replaced with wild stocks. This unfortunately interfered with the numbers of ducks required to navigate the lake as intended.

       After considerable discussion between concerned lake residents and the Ferry Corporation it was agreed that the smaller fish ducks would be used at the docks while the mallard sized ducks with their larger displacement would remain part of the lake fleet. This worked well, especially for the Ferry Corporation because the smaller ducks ate less which was inline with the Corporation’s meager budget.

       A similar program was established on a nearby lake using beavers. During the summer large numbers of beavers were trapped live from other areas and transported to the lake. During the winter, residents would systematically cut down poplar trees along the beaches. The beavers would then dissect the trees and float the braches back to their lodges, thereby creating a constant wave action on the water and preventing ice formation. The program worked well for several years until the beavers managed to dam all the creeks and flood the lakeshore properties, contaminating everyone’s drinking water with beaver fever.

       Tomorrow morning as the sun burns through the fog, I’ll not only benefit from the warmer temperatures but also the beauty of swans, geese and a variety of ducks swimming our lake. And when I bundle up to go outside, it won’t be to shovel snow left from some freak blizzard. No, I will be taking my turn spreading free bird seed on the open water of Francois Lake. I like to think I’m doing my part to keep Mother Nature happy during January in my area. NOTE: This previously published work is covered by copyright.
No printing, copying or use by any means without written permission from the author.