4/16/13 – After 57 years of looking at Sawbill bird feeders, it is pretty rare to see something surprising. Yesterday, for the first time that I can remember, we had yellow rumped warblers at our feeders. Wikipedia tells me that it’s not unusual for these little passerines to visit feeders, especially if they arrive in the north before the insects that they usually eat are available.

Yellow rumped warbler feeding on the woodpecker feeder.

4/13/13 – Here are some recent pictures. – Bill

This isn’t a scene that you see too often in mid-April. The skiing is excellent here right now.

An otter’s track parallel to the ski track.

4/10/13 – The long break since the last entry is explained by the annual Hansen family vacation. In the past, we’ve posted from where ever we were staying, but given the long winter this year, we felt like it would be cruel to post from the Caribbean.
Thanks to Karl Hansen, who watched the business, the dogs and the complicated energy system while we relaxed on the beach.
We returned to the classic bad news, good news scenario. The bad news was the passing of Sawbill icon, Larry Wilbers. Larry was a favorite customer and friend for many, many years. We first bonded with Larry when he flew his small private plane from his home in Ohio to the airport in Grand Marais. He asked us to pick him up and when we arrived, he offered to take us for an airplane ride. The airplane ride became an annual tradition and great fun for the whole Hansen family.
Larry, his son Steve, and many of Larry’s friends and family enjoyed Sawbill canoe trips over the years. This family tradition was lovingly documented in Steve’s books, “A Boundary Waters History: Canoeing Across Time” and “Canoeing the Boundary Waters Wilderness: A Sawbill Log.”
Larry’s granddaughter, Meg Simon, is a current Sawbill crew member.

Larry and Cindy in August of 2010 during his last Sawbill visit.
The good news was the birth of Mia Rose Casper. Mia is the daughter of Lida (Storch) Casper, former Sawbill crew member, who now teaches in rural Alaska.
The two events remind us, of course, how the wheel of life keeps turning. Just like spending time in the wilderness, the big life events remind us to keep an eye on the big picture and remember what is important in life. – Bill

Welcome to Mia Rose Casper! She is planning her first camping trip in the Sawbill Campground this summer.

3/27/13 – We just can’t get enough of these wolf pictures from a Cook County trail cam. – Bill

Even wolves have to relax sometime.

We had some feedback that most of the wolf pics were of the back ends of the wolves. Here they are head-on.

3/22/13 – I’d like to share this wonderful video about North House Folk School. The producer and photographer is long-time Sawbill friend, Layne Kennedy. I served on the North House board of directors in its formative years and Sawbill’s own Cindy Hansen works there part time in the summer. – Bill

3/21/13 – The trail cam just keeps on snapping cool pictures. – Bill

Three wolves stroll by a Cook County trail cam.
Here is this week’s edition of the Cook County West End News from WTIP, North Shore Community Radio.

3/18/13 – Here is another lovely picture from a Cook County trail cam. Although there is no way to tell for sure, the size of the cat and the length of its legs would indicate that it is a lynx, not a bobcat. – Bill

Note the -14F temperature at 2:18 am the night before last!
Here is the latest edition of the Cook County West End News from WTIP, North Shore Community Radio.

3/9/13 – The federal dog team was back today and we got some pictures. – Bill

Phoebe and Roy, Chief and Deputy of Outfitter Security, attempt to volunteer as sled dogs.

The dogs are excited for the first trip of the day.

The driver’s point of view.

3/8/13 – The Forest Service is busy ferrying latrines, fire grates and boardwalk materials into the wilderness by dog team. They stash the items in strategic locations so the summer crews won’t have to carry the heavy items so far when they need them. With very few exceptions, the Forest Service wilderness crews respect all the same regulations that canoeists are required to follow, so instead of using snowmobiles to move heavy materials into the wilderness, they use a dog team. I’ll try to get some pictures of the dogs in action. – Bill

Heavy materials staged in our canoe yard for the Forest Service dog team.
Here is this week’s edition of the Cook County West End News from WTIP, North Shore Community Radio.

2/28/13 – Cindy recently found a dead otter on Sawbill Lake. It was near a hole in the ice that otters maintain through the winter. The snow was tromped down all around the carcass, but a light snow had obscured the tracks. We’ll never know what happened, I guess, but it was likely killed by either a wolf or lynx. – Bill

The sad end of a drama on Sawbill Lake. Notice the raven wing prints in the snow.

This is the hole that the otters use for lake access, about 20′ from the body.
Here is this week’s edition of the Cook County West End News from WTIP, North Shore Community Radio.