4/18/21 – The ice on Sawbill is officially out. We consider the ice out when the lake is 90% open water, and with the recent warm windy days the lake was ice free as of April 17th. Certainly, this is an early date for ice out. Typically we expect there to be ice on the lake until the first week of May. Dan did a little research into our archives to find some of the earliest ice out dates and came up with the following:

• April 21, 2017
• April 12, 2000
• April 4, 2010
• March 27, 2012

True to tradition, the Sawbill crew marked the occasion by “opening the beach club.” Resident swim enthusiast, Huckleberry the dog, says that this is his favorite holiday.

Meanwhile, we are busily preparing Sawbill for the season. With an early spring and some warmer days we are tackling many outdoor projects. The most important of which is working to firewise the property. Early spring coupled with a minimal snowpack can portend dry conditions. In an effort to be prepared, we have fixed a broken line in our robust sprinkler system and are now working to rake and trim a perimeter around all of our buildings. Living in the forest as we do, it’s important to realize that it’s not if, but when, a fire will burn through the area. Thinning out the brush and keeping the pine needles at bay can go a long ways toward protecting our infrastructure in the event of a fire.

There’s more snow in the forecast so we haven’t pulled the canoes out of storage just yet. If you’re itching to get an early season trip in though, give us a call and we can get you set up! We’re excited to start welcoming folks back to the wilderness.

-Clare

4/15/21 – Today we finally have blue skies and open water in front of the landing (see progress report below), although it appears there’s still a good amount of rotten ice hanging on further up the lake. -Jessica

4/13/21 – Official ice report; enough to support an otter. -Jessica

4/11/2021 – A sure sign the ice is making moves toward sinking into the watery abyss happened on Friday when the lake rose substantially topping the edge of the canoe landing (the recent steady rain is probably contributing a little as well). Each day it’s risen slightly and the ice is really looking dark toward the north.

While walking on the lake path the other day I ran into one of the neighborhood snowshoe hares. They informed me that last seasons styles were on the way out. Skinny jeans and side parts are now a thing of the past. -Jessica

4/8/21 – Another sure sign of the approaching paddling season is the return of the Sawbill Crew! To celebrate his return for a third season, we let Sawyer do the ice measuring honors today. With the aid of the ever trusty Alumacraft he shimmied his way out onto the ice, demonstrated perfect auguring form, and measured 13″ of fairly porous ice. -Jessica

4/7/21 – The weather this past week has been perfect for ice melting with highs in the 40s, 50s, and 60s with rain off and on yesterday and today. Two nights ago the humidity really ratchetted up, resulting in a rolling thunderstorm that spent several hours passing us by. This past weekend some winter campers reported 19″ of ice on Alton, but when Clare ventured out in front of the canoe landing, yesterday afternoon, she found a very rotten 14″ of ice. -Jessica

3/29/21 – Since my last post we really haven’t seen any melting weather. In fact, we actually added a few inches of prime snowman making snow into the mix. Kit and Sig took advantage making the artistic masterpiece you see below.

Also of note; the backyard birds have been keeping things exciting as well. Last Wednesday Kit spotted a Black-billed Magpie, which is a rare find in these parts. Apparently magpies sometimes migrate as far east as Minnesota in the winter months, but typically take up residents on the western half of the US and Canada.

But wait, there’s more; on Thursday Clare snapped a picture of a mighty Northern Shrike! This little songbird doesn’t look like much, but don’t let that fool you, it’s a ruthless killing machine. According to The Sibley Guide to Birds, shrikes lye in wait from a high perch such as; fences, wires, and treetops. After they spot their prey (mostly insect, but sometimes small mammals and birds) they dive into action knocking their prey unconscious with their strong hooked bill. Captured prey is occasionally impaled on thorns for fast food later on. -Jessica

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3/24/21 – Things have really started melting in earnest this past week. As a result, Clare and Dan did another ice depth check to see how things are progressing. They reported 20″ of ice from top to bottom, with the top 11″ hard compacted slush/rotten and the bottom 9″ clear. -Jessica

3/10/21 – A sure sign that spring is on the horizon is the arrival of our first batch of new canoes. Not long ago Northstar dropped off these beauties. Unfortunately we won’t be able to christen them for a while. Clare and Kit drilled the inaugural hole through the ice yesterday and found 20″ of very solid clear ice. -Jessica

2/26/21 – Sawbill Canoe Outfitters is a family business now managed by third generation owners, Clare and Dan Shirley. The following photos were taken of Clare’s parents, Bill and Cindy Hansen, shortly after they took over operations in the early 80s from Bill’s parents, Frank and Mary Alice. Copies of these images may still be hiding out on brochures tucked away in the deepest recesses of your home filing cabinet. -Jessica