Christmas Morning

It's so quiet, peaceful, and beautiful this morning I can almost hear the angels singing "peace on earth, good will to men." I hope your Christmas - and everyone's - brings peace and goodwill! And, possibly, just possibly, just a little less snow? Say, for a day or two or three till we get dug out from the last few snowfalls?

Happy Holidays!

Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas from all of us at Rockwood!

It's been an interesting week, lots of snow flurries - missed the eclipse last night due to overcast sky, but the birds and the little furry critters are very active. The area Audubon Christmas bird count is just about over, I'd been wondering if it was just my feeder that the purple finches, redpolls and siskins were avoiding, but apparently they're all spending the holidays somewhere else, no one counting birds has seen them this week either. MercyCat is spending a lot of time in the window happily bird watching the ones we have!

We had a small "disaster" over the weekend - for some reason the passenger side window of the truck literally shattered into a few million pieces - surprise! No injury and the insurance company has already set up an appointment later this week to get it fixed, but what a nuisance. Guess we get one last chance for Christmas shopping!

Who says birdfeeders are for the birds?

Here's our newest winter guest -a gorgeous little snowshoe hare who's decided that sunflower seeds are his diet of choice. He's not a bit nervous of people - or jays - he chased a blue jay away a while ago. I felt sorry for him and took him out some lettuce scraps - nope, the seeds under the feeder are much more to his liking. The jay, however, enjoyed the lettuce!

Home again

It's wonderful to be home... three weeks plus in Iowa was a l...o...n...g time. However - I'm not sure I was ready for quite this much snow! While I was gone the lake froze (so did the house water line) and the snow kept falling... and falling... and falling - I gather Mike's had the snowblower out daily. I need to start feeding the birds (tomorrow?) but thought you might enjoy seeing just how much accumulated on TOP of the bird feeder. One thing - it's great weather for snowmobiling and cross country skiing!

Winter is getting here!

Well, like everyone else in Minnesota, we got snow this past week... and now we're getting ice on the lake too. Swamper Lake (the one by the Moose Viewing Trail) was pretty much iced over when we went to town Thursday, but this is the first day we seen much ice on Poplar. It's been too windy for ice to form, but despite last night's wind - well, 17 degrees means ice - wind or no! Gorgeous day today, we're trying to keep the house warm with solar gain through the front windows and it's working pretty well.

Still have a bit to do to close the resort, Mike reports that a kevlar canoe covered with ice weighs a lot more than you might think! He's got all but one undercover now. I've got most of the Christmas shopping done, just need to do some wrapping.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Getting closer

Winter's on its way and we're getting closer to being ready for it. The canoes we're keeping are "under cover" and we're making plans to haul the others away. I've got sheets over the windows in the lodge (keeps the sun off the canoes) and everything piled on the ends and edges to make room for canoes - amazing how much room a few 18-19 footers take! The bunkrooms and the apartment are also full of them... that's a lot of hauling for Mike.

The water tanks are almost drained (that last foot or so is a long process as trying to get a siphon going is a project and a half) but all the water mains and cabin water lines are dry. We had a bit of snow last week, but it didn't last long enough to count - when it counts, we'll be ready!

Winter's coming

It's been a busy, busy month around here. We've (finally) got the water system drained, the cabins closed, the canoes pretty much indoors for the winter... we've had a lot of October guests this year - canoe parties enjoying the unusual weather. It's been warm and dry most of October (well, warm for here!).

That pretty much came to a screeching whoa this week - we finally got some rain, over four inches! followed by some snow (not much) and the temperatures dropped below freezing. The lake actually came up so that the measuring stick is back in the water after spending three months sitting in dirt! What with the warm - above freezing anyway - weather and the dry conditions things are a little confused - we have pussy willows budding out up by the shop. On the other hand, I saw one of the snowshoe hares last night and he has pretty white feet and a white belly already!

Where's "Waldo"?

What an incredible October we're having! Mike had to stay up one night to keep the pipes open, otherwise it's been beautiful, warm, sunny... perfect weather. One of our canoe groups this past weekend even went swimming! When you remember that this time last year we had snow - lots of snow - this is hard to believe. We aren't pressing our luck, today we're closing the cabins for the winter; the apartment suite we'll keep open a while longer as it doesn't depend on above ground water lines.

Hunting season has been good too - lots of grouse around. Saturday morning I watched a male grouse displaying himself to two bemused females - neither of them were especially interested and I don't blame them - it is October after all! There are two grouse in this photo, hard to see among the leaves, aren't they! They were waiting for me at the lodge Sunday morning, not wanting a handout, just poking around in the rocks along the front wall. We're also seeing quite a few moose, snowshoe hares, foxes, and wolves along the trail. The leaves are pretty well fallen, but it's sure nice to be outdoors enjoying the Gunflint Trail and BWCA!

Saying goodbye

One of the hardest things about having a resort is making new friends and then saying goodbye. With our wonderful guests, of course, we can keep in contact and there's always next summer! With our student assistants... well, Chen left for home a couple weeks ago and yesterday we said goodbye to Winnie. Both are headed back to school for their final year and then... whatever.

We were blessed with good kids this year - and we'll miss them! Hopefully they'll have wonderful school years and go on to great careers in their home country - but saying goodbye wasn't easy.

Now... Mike's starting to drain cabins, I'm cleaning them for the final weekend... and then? Winter's coming!

Last duck of the season at Rockwood

Well, all of the smart ducks seem to have flown south for the winter, leaving poor "Quacker" behind. Quacker has no web between two of her toes, so maybe she got left out of the flock? Anyways, she's found a couple of bread toting duck feeders to keep her fed - here she is waiting patiently in front of the lodge for the next handout.

Things are quieting down a bit, lots of cabin guests but not as many canoe groups - enough to keep us busy, though! It's been chilly the last few mornings - no freeze yet, but some frost. Mike ordered insulation for water pipes and WinNe and I took all the flowers in yesterday, so we're getting ready for winter!

Gorgeous morning!

Happy Labor Day! Fall is arriving... this morning the lake was warmer than the air, which produced this incredible view of our lakeshore - lots of mist, lots of sunshine - perfect canoeing weather!

How many big moose?

First - THANKS to the guests - Paula, Cully, and Mark - who have made this FANTASTIC composite blog photo possible! August has been an incredible month for large moose sightings in our area (I haven't got a photo of the young bull yet!) After looking at these three big boys side by side - I think we have three of them around. All three are on different lakes/portages. What do you think?

Things are a bit quieter this week as we prepare for the holiday weekend. It's been windy and hot, but not as hot as further south and the lake breeze does cool things down a bit. It's still being a great summer!

FISH!

A nice mess of crappies for supper from the crappie pond!

Rockwood's Bunkhouse

We had some perfect painting weather this past week, so Mike and Chen got out Dad's old
paint sprayer and a five gallon bucket of stain and went to work on our bunkhouse. It looks GREAT - now it's as nice outside as it is inside!

So... today... they're taking a half day off and hauling a canoe over to the crappie pond on the other side of the lake. We've heard that the crappies are biting well - we're hoping for a fish dinner tonight!

Later: Rumor was right! Fish for supper!

Moose!...and crawdads

One of our canoeing guests (thanks, Mark) met up with this gorgeous bull moose on his canoe trip this past week. They don't get much bigger than this one! He seems to be enjoying relaxing in the lake, doesn't he?

In the meantime, back at the lodge, we had an interesting experience... washed an aluminum canoe, put it back on the rack... and a bit later, heard an odd "scritching" noise coming from the nose. Our lightweight aluminum canoes have a metal plate in the nose with just enough side cuts for water to flow in and out, and the noise was definitely coming from behind the plate. Hummmmm. Mike took the pressure hose and sprayed into the cut... pretty soon a good-sized crawdad swam out! It took most of the day, but eventually we removed an even dozen crawdads from the nose of that canoe - somebody had a leaky bait bag for sure!

It's been busy, hot, and gorgeous up here this week - great weather and great guests!

August fun at Rockwood

Well, it's being a really good month for canoeing at Rockwood. Here's the parking area in front of the lodge this morning - my car's there and Mike's truck is on the edge of the road, but there are nine canoe groups parked here - along with the four in the bunkhouse parking lot and the five or six up in the upper lot! The weather has been good, too, a little windy a couple days, but otherwise great for being out in the BWCA.

One of our cabin guests is enjoying bringing his coffee down to the outfitting building porch every morning and watching the organized confusion as the groups set off on their adventures. Today there were nine canoes - three groups - that left the beach before 8 a.m. - fun to watch and visit with people from all over the upper midwest! The cabins are full too, and most of them have been taking day trips into the BWCA, enjoying the nice weather. Mike and I are busy, but loving every minute of it.

Moose on Poplar Lake

Thought I'd share one of Don and Shari's great photos of their recent vacation at
Rockwood - they met one of our Poplar Lake moose! We had several of them wandering around earlier this month, now people are reporting seeing their tracks on the South Lake trail leading north from the resort, but not as many on the lake itself.

It's being a busy month around here - lots of canoes coming in and out, lots of BWCA adventures, lots of relaxing in cabins! Fishing has been uneven - typical for late July, I guess, but the evening bite off the cabin docks has been good and the ducks are growing fast. So are the snowshoe hares! There must be over a dozen of them hopping around the resort; not as many foxes around this year so I guess we have more hares?

Float plane at Rockwood

Lots of fun this week... one of our guests hired a float plane to pick them up at Rockwood and take them for a moose hunting/Gunflint Trail overview flight! They had a wonderful time and we enjoyed having the plane land and takeoff coming and going from Rockwood. The family has been very lucky in their moose viewing, the moose-that-lives-on Poplar Lake has turned up to pose for them twice this week, both times with her two young calves!

We had a heavy rain Wednesday and all the little critters scurried for cover. I came home last night to find a very excited small cat... and a very terrified small critter sitting on top of the curtain rod! Mike confined our cat to the bedroom, I ran for camera and landing net, and after posing for his picture, our little visitor was gently removed to the front deck. He didn't waste any time getting away from the house and cat!

Great week!

Well, the Poplar Lake moose with her two calves is still around - our Cabin 2 guests saw her yesterday morning over by the beaver huts. She seems to be moving from one island of our bay to the other and bringing her little ones along in tow. They're getting pretty good size!

One of our canoeing families had an interesting experience last week on Caribou. Mom and daughter started up to the "throne" and were attacked by a couple of BIG birds that looked a heck of a lot like wild turkeys! The birds were apparently nesting in the area and didn't want company around their nest - they made a determined effort to chase the newly arrived family away. Dad went up and managed to convince the birds that the two families could co-exist on the same campsite, but the birds waddled after and gobbled at him too. You never quite know WHAT you'll meet up with in the BWCA! And yes, the family checked their Birds of Minnesota book...

Moose!

I can't resist posting this absolutely delightful photo (taken by neighbor Ken Kloek on the Gunflint Trail at the entrance to our road...) I'm thinking of having a caption contest - any ideas? I rather like "Was it something I said?"

Mike's comment is that he thinks it explains why some people don't see moose around here and others see lots of them! It's all in where you're looking when you're looking, I guess.

Have a wonderful July 4th weekend!

Summer is here!

We've been having a great week... lots of old friends, lots of new friends... and plenty to keep us busy!

Here are some new AND old friends - most of the guys from Boy Scout Troop 505 from Houston, who canoed from Cross Bay to Rockwood last week... I gather they had a good time! We really enjoyed seeing them again.

Another old friend showed up this morning with her new family - I guess when I walk out on the dock and a mama duck does a u-turn and comes flying back to meet me that she remembers enjoying Rockwood hospitality the year before? She was willing to share her bread crumbs with the family, though!

Rockwood's Cabin Diaries

Each of our seven cabins has a diary for people to write about their experiences, recommend places to visit or restaurants, and just for fun.

We were looking through this year's entries yesterday and found this account (four pages of Chinese with one GREAT illustration) of one group of three's visit to Rockwood. According to our student assistants (also from China), the group had a wonderful time and hope to come back!

Busy week

Well, here we are in June... the fox down the road has had its kits (they seem to be playing IN the road, silly kits!)... our international students have arrived and are working hard and learning fast... and we've launched a lot of canoes the past few days! (Parking is getting a little tight :) ) The new fishing license machine and I are actually on speaking terms - most of the time. The new one doesn't like Mike any better than the old one did, but at least we can do licenses for our guests and neighbors!

We're actually getting some rain, too, on the way back from town Wednesday I was thrilled to see the "fire danger" sign at our nearby fire station read "Fire Danger LOW" - that's the first time it's dropped below "HIGH" since the ice went out in April! Now... if the rain would stick to falling at night? Nah, we're still glad to see it, anytime. Fishing has been pretty good, despite the rain!

Rockwood's New Wishing Bridge

Here are Mike Seim (construction) and Carl Madsen (designer/construction) on Rockwood's beautiful new "wishing bridge". Carl and Mike spent the past week here helping out (THANKS, guys!) and building our new bridge over the little "creeklet" between Cabins 3 and 4. It's a great addition to the place!

We're having a busy Memorial Day weekend - lots of canoe trips and cabin people around - and I think I've finally figured out the new touch-screen fishing license machine!

Lilacs in May

It's WARM around here! Usually my lilac bushes are in full bloom for the July 4 holiday - this year they're going to be gorgeous for Memorial Weekend! In the last day or two I've seen a wide assortment of summer butterflies - swallowtails, cabbage, sulphur, and even monarchs!

Mike's been painting the bunkhouse and I've been (early in the morning) working on the flower beds, which are growing fast... too fast for me to keep up. A little more rain and there'll be a lot of flowers there too!

In the meantime, our "angels", Carl and Mike, arrived yesterday and are helping out big time - bless them!

RAIN!

Finally - Rain! Nothing like what people down south have been getting, but Thursday brought us a glorious inch of the cold wet stuff... and whatever this flowering shrub is certainly loved it! It started blooming promptly on Friday morning! Smells great, too... I'm glad it's up near our house as a similar shrub turned into beaver food last spring.

We've had a great week. So far four groups of volunteers from the Border Route Trail Club have stayed in our bunkhouse and then gone off with their saws and cutters to work on the Border Route Trail just north of us. They've also hiked the South Lake Trail (which runs, roughly, from Rockwood Lodge to the Border Route Trail). So both trails should be in pretty good shape this year! Our last group will be here early next week. We really appreciate all the work these great volunteers do to help keep the wilderness accessible!

Snow in May

Compared to what our friends in Duluth tell us, this isn't much! We did, however, get over an inch of snow last night. Duluth apparently got something close to a foot, poor things! It has been a lot cooler (ok, colder) this past week; after getting used to the nice warm weather I'm feeling chilly.

We went down to check the canoe licenses this morning... and there were two sets of tracks - one big and one small coming up from the lake at Cabin 9 and walking up the soft edge of Rockwood Road into the woods. I think we had moose visitors last night!

We've got most of the cabins and bunkrooms spring cleaned and Mike's been taking down trees and generally working on things like the water system all week. Keeping busy, in other words!