12/29/21 – Blue skies, snow blanketed trees, and looooong shadows. Yep, that pretty much sums up the day. -Jessica
12/21/21 – The tiniest of snow flakes have been falling all morning long welcoming the official first day of winter. I’ll be celebrating the shortest day of the year by taking a moment to wrap up in my most colorful quilt (also known as my only quilt) and knitting my brightest yarn. -Jessica
12/15/21 – A wise person once said, “an evergreen cordial is to winter, as pumpkin spice latte is to fall.”
All you need to make this tasty concoction is…
First you tromp around the woods gathering your evergreen tips of choice (I can vouch for both cedar and black spruce). Next, make a simple syrup by gently heating the sugar and water in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Place the chopped evergreen tips in a quart mason jar along with the simple syrup and vodka or brandy. Shake well to combine and let infuse for two weeks. Keep out of direct sunlight, shake often, and dream about how delicious it’s going to be drizzled over ice cream. Once the two weeks is up; strain the liquid into fresh glass jars with lids, discard the plant matter, and enjoy! (Recipe from Traditional Medicinals)
Easy as that! -Jessica
12/6/21 – Yesterday, in less than 24 hours, we received a boatload of snow…Final total as of this morning came in at 15.5″. -Jessica
12/4/21 – As the days get shorter and shorter I’m always excited to bring a piece of the outdoors in. Around mid September I begin eyeing up each balsam I pass trying to determine if it meets specs. When the day finally comes to go get my tree however, they really aren’t in short supply. It’s hard to go wrong with the unique character of wild cut balsams.
A couple days ago I set off on my quest. A very pleasant jaunt through the woods followed, and eventually the clouds parted and a beam of sun shown down on the perfect tree. Once back to the house the customary dance of squeezing the tree in and out of the front door commenced, but eventually (after measuring once, cutting three times) the tree fit perfectly in a place of prominence.
If you find yourself in the area of the Superior National Forest these next couple weeks and want to bring yourself home one of these beauties, tree cutting permits are available online through www.recreation.gov for just $5. Happy tree hunting! -Jessica
11/19/21 – The holiday shopping season is upon us! Tomorrow only, check out our Instagram page beginning at 9am for details on how to purchase some sweet Sawbill swag with free shipping. If you aren’t on social media, but still want to shop, we also have a number of goodies available on our online store. -Jessica
11/16/21 – We have ice! Unfortunately the freeze up is happening on a relatively windy day which doesn’t bode well for early season ice conditions. As of 3pm ice covers much of what we can see from the south end of the lake, but a number of open water patches persist. -Jessica
11/11/21 – If you were trying to reach us in the past 24 hours you may have noticed our phone lines were down (along with our internet). We continue to work on a permanent fix, but are now able to receive emails and phone calls. Tragically our backup option does not have the capacity to stream online videos or music…Oh the horror! In the meantime I’m feeling lucky to have a good book, old fashioned radio, and a DVD player. -Jessica
11/1/21 – It’s been a while since our last post. The month of October flew by as we were busy wrapping up loose ends in preparation for winter’s arrival. Some of the highlights included wood stacking, stacking wood, tucking the canoes into our pole building, stacking wood, painting picnic tables, winterizing the store, and more stacking of wood. -Jessica
10/3/21 – We received notice late Friday afternoon that the Forest Service has lifted the BWCA closure area, effective immediately. The Whelp and John Ek fires have not shown any smoke for a couple of weeks, and we’ve received a more normal amount of rainfall over the last month. Shorter days and cooler temperatures are also contributing to the lessening fire activity and fire danger. This means that the Kelso Loop, Louse River, and Lady Chain routes are now open for travel.
The Whelp fire never grew beyond 50 acres, and burned entirely in the remote wooded area north of Phoebe and Grace Lakes. The fire never reached any campsites or portages, so anyone travelling in the area this fall or in the coming seasons won’t see any evidence of this relatively small fire .
Grouse season is in full swing up here, with several Sawbill crew members partaking this year. It’s been a productive endeavor and we’re looking forward to some grouse dumplings soon!
The more typical fall weather has also led to an explosion of fungi in the northwoods. It’s easy to get distracted by the brilliant fall colors, but the variety of mushrooms poking up from the ground and on the tree trunks and stumps really demand some attention.
As of October 1st, the quota permit season in the BWCA has come to a close. From now until May, you only need a free self-issue permit to enter the BWCA, whether it’s a day trip or an overnight trip. These permits are found in boxes at entry point lakes, or at Ranger Stations. Here at Sawbill, we’ll be open regular hours until October 7th. After that, we’ll be here working on our fall wind down projects, likely with a note on the door that says find us if you need a canoe!
-Clare
