12/27/05-

Bill, Carl, Clare and Homer Hansen snowshoe across Sawbill Lake in a single file line.
Ruthie here with an update on everything that’s been going on at Sawbill since I arrived here from college in Chicago on Christmas eve: The whole Hansen family gathered together to celebrate Christmas, with the notable exception of Adam, who is spending his winter break from law school traveling in Europe with Sawbill crew member Lida Storch. The traditional Hansen Christmas celebration entails hills of delicious food rivaled in size only by the mountains of gifts piled up under the tree. Any time not spent eating and opening presents is spent enjoying unique winter pastimes: snowshoeing, skiing (both downhill and cross-country), snowboarding (Clare, Carl and Bill shred up the hill at Lutsen on a regular basis), ice fishing (traditionally we catch no fish, and this year has been no exception), saunaing (followed by rolling in the snow if you’re brave, like Bill), and driving golf balls onto the lake and then hunting for them in the snow. Summertime visitors to Sawbill frequently ask what it is we do up here all winter long– so now you know! There’s some work to do, too, but not at Christmastime.

Carl, Ruthie, Clare and Homer Hansen pose near the Sawbill Creek. Ignore the goofy look on Homer’s face.
Now that Christmas has passed, we’re looking forward to New Year’s Eve. A number of Sawbill crew members past and present will be traveling to Sawbill to celebrate a very snowy New Years Eve at Sawbill. I promise to take lots of pictures and keep the newsletter well updated with every turn of events over the next week. My dad says that too many pictures of the snow and the Golden Retrievers gets repetitive, but I know that as a frequent Sawbill Newsletter reader how much I enjoy seeing pictures of the dogs and the lake and the trees and the snow. I guess by living here full-time one gets accustomed to the astonishing beauty that surrounds us here at Sawbill. Now that I live in Chicago most of the time, I’m thrilled to run around outside and investigate every icicle, pine needle and animal track. What an incredible, cold, snow-covered world.