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It has been made very obvious to us here at Arbour B&B that Dutch Elm Disease and the Emerald Ash Bore are real and deadly.
For many years we have watched our elms mature to a point and then fall victim to Dutch Elm Disease. It is a fungal disease that is spread by a beetle. The tree tries to stop the spread of the fungus by plugging its own xylem tissue. The xylem delivers water and nutrients to the rest of the plant, these plugs prevent nutrients from traveling up the trunk of the tree and this eventually kills it. Within one season you can see them die as they choke themselves trying to prevent the funus from spreading.
Now we are watching the Emerald Ash Bore kill our ash big and small. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency states …
“The emerald ash borer (EAB) is a highly destructive insect that attacks and kills ash trees. Native to eastern Asia, EAB was first discovered in Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan in 2002.
The EAB has killed millions of ash trees in Southwestern Ontario, Michigan and surrounding states, and poses a major economic and environmental threat to urban and forested areas in both countries.”
It’s one thing to read about it and quite another to see it destroy a large number of beautiful trees on your property. One of the great characteristics of our property is the beautiful treed areas. This week we have had to remove 9 trees because of the Ash Bore and Dutch Elm disease leaving some large hole.
There are many more ash effected and we can see that they will not last long. The bore does just that, bores into the tree leaving a D shaped hole. You can tell the ash bore is in the tree because the woodpeckers have scared the entire tree digging in to get the insects. I imagine by the end of the summer we will need to take down several more, including, sadly, the mother of all the rest a beautiful Pumpkin Ash that shades our deck.
Thanks to diversity we still have maple, spruce, white pine, chestnut, birch and a few others that will welcome the new room and more light so they can thrive. We just have to hope that there are no other disease lurking to destroy any of the species left.
Retention time is one of the most fascinating bits of information about lakes. Retention time is the average time that water or some other substance spends in a lake. Scientist calculate retention time using the volume of water that the lakes hold as well as the flow rate of the water. Some lakes retain the water, on average, for a few hours or a few days. Lake St. Claire between Lake Huron and Lake Erie keeps its water, on average, 7 days. The rest of the Great Lakes…
Lake Erie 2.6 years
Lake Ontario 6 years
Lake Huron 22 years
Lake Michigan 99 years
Lake Superior 199 years
Imagine some of the water presently in Lake Superior was there during Confederation, when Canada became a country and even before that.
Elgin County has miles of beautiful Lake Erie shoreline to offer visitors. So, I thought I would outline some interesting information about our lake.
Lake Erie, compared to the other four Great Lakes, is the tiny guy on the block when it comes to the volume of water that it contains. However, it is the fourth largest when looking at surface area, the amount of space it covers. Even though we think about it as small it is still one of the largest lakes in the world coming in 11th in size.
Erie also holds the distinction of being the shallowest of the lakes with an average depth of only 19 m. This is not a bad thing when you consider how the depth and surface area effect its temperature. Its shallow nature makes it warmer than the other Great Lakes and therefor far more biologically diverse. This gives Lake Erie its excellent fishing industry – perch paradise.
The lake got its name from a group of Native American’s called the Eriehonan by the Iroquois Nation. The name means long tails. They got that name from the large black panthers that populated the area at one time. When the French first arrived they called it Lac du Chat.
You have heard the phrase “Don’t give up the ship.” Well the quotation has been cited from different sources but the only documented sources has a direct tie to Lake Erie.
During the battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813 Oliver Hazard Perry used a blue signal flag on which was written Don’t give up the ship.”
You must visit Port Stanley when you are here with us. There are many facets to the Port. You can spend the day on the beach enjoying the sun, the surf and the sand and then enjoy an evening at one of the great local pubs or restaurants before you go off to the theatre.
If you are lucky enough to have contacts in the marina you can spend the day on the water. There are several boat tours that can get you out on Lake Erie to fish or to sight see. Water transport not to your liking then how about a ride on the Port Stanley Terminal Railway. The Port Stanley Railway has a long fascinating history that many local train buffs have kept alive. You can ride on the train everyday during the summer. My mom and dad travelled from London to Port Stanley on the train for their honeymoon and danced away their evenings at the Stork Club.
Shopping can’t be beat in Port Stanley, with its many craft, clothing and art stores. You can spend many an hour wandering from place to place. After awhile you’ll be ready to stop for a cool drink on the patio at Me and Susie’s, or on the deck at Mickey’s Boat house. Those are my two favourite restaurants in the Port.
Maybe ice cream sundaes, milk shakes or cones are what you crave, then, head over to Broderick’s on the main street across from Killer Desserts. I may have to stop for a minute as I am making myself hungry.
Take that ice cream to the park beside the bridge and wait for a sailboat to come out of the marina and watch the bridge open up for it to get through. The historical King George VI lift bridge, the oldest in Ontario, was built in 1939 and named for the ruling British Monarch of the day. It allows fishing boats and pleasure craft access to the inner harbour as well as allowing vehicle traffic an east west route close to the lake.
If you aren’t eating out tonight and can cook for yourself then you must visit Jackson’s Fish Market located right along the harbour. Their fishing boats bring in the catch every day so you can enjoy the freshest perch around. They have much more than perch but it is my favourite.
No question, you need to come and spend a few days just to enjoy the many facets of Port Stanley, but save a few more days for the rest of Elgin County.
Come visit!
View slide show of Port Stanley in Elgin county
 The crocuses are up!  Wildflower garden blooming
The crocuses are up. The spring flowers in the wildflower garden are showing and the watering cans have popped back up through the periwinkle. Well, the watering cans reappeared out of the snow. Spring really has arrived and we are now pretty sure that winter is gone for good. We have known snow on mother’s day, however, but we aren’t going to even think of that possibility. Instead, we are out starting spring clean up in the gardens, getting the stone off the lawns that the snowplough deposited during its frequent visits through the winter. I just love this time of year.
On top of all the excitement of spring we have our first guests of the season coming next weekend. We have a sign in the B&B “Enter as Strangers and Leave as Friends”. When we got the sign we didn’t know how prophetic it was. That has been the most exciting part of the inn keeping adventure for us.
It’s April and the flowers and the guests are arriving – great days are ahead.
Come visit!
 Watering cans in the periwinkle
 Arbour Bed and Breakfast/Guest House Welcome to Arbour Bed and Breakfast’s guide to Elgin County. Elgin County is situated in Southern Ontario, a long county with miles of Lake Erie shoreline, beautiful farm land, and inviting cities, towns and villages to explore. Arbour B&B will highlight the places and events that make Elgin County a fabulous destination to stay and explore.
We will feature places to visit- wineries, theatres, beaches, restaurants and much more as we help you to discover beautiful Elgin County.
Come visit!
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