4/11/09 – I had a wonderful lake ski this morning. The lakes are quite smooth and hard, as if they have been paved with sparkly white pavement. As the sun starts working on the snow it softens just enough to get a ski edge in for a good skating stride. The sky was flawlessly blue with just a whisper of a southerly breeze.
I skied up Sawbill, Alton and Kelso to Lujenida Lake. The large fen between Kelso and Lujenida was firm enough to hold me up, so I explored some large open areas to the east along the Kelso River that are inaccessible by canoe.
I saw fresh tracks of wolf, moose and otter. The only sign of humans were some old ski and toboggan tracks. When these old tracks remain after some serious freeze and thaw cycles, they end up creating a raised track about 3″ high and 24″ wide. For skate skiing, it provides a serious advantage. You can lift each ski to the top and let it glide down the sides, giving the illusion that you are constantly skiing slightly down hill. – Bill

4/9/2009 – On our way home last night, Cindy and I were delighted to come upon two moose standing in the Sawbill Trail. As we coasted to a stop, another moose popped out of the woods – then another and another. Five moose in a single group! The moose population has declined in the last few years and we have been seeing fewer moose on the road, so it was fun to see so many at once. They all looked healthy and alert.

This hastily snapped photo from a moving car documents five moose in a herd or a family of sasquatch.
We were still talking about the moose as we crested the last hill before arriving at Sawbill. We saw an animal emerge from the west side of the road and saunter across into our driveway. We were surprised to see that it was a beautiful lynx!
When we got in the house, we peered out the window, trying to see the lynx again. No sign of the lynx, but there was a large pine marten on the bird feeder.
Lake Superior was nearly frozen over for awhile this winter. The satellite photo below shows that most of the lake is now ice free. High winds have compressed and concentrated the ice which now travels around depending on wind direction. The photo also nicely shows the edge of the snow pack. We still have 21″ on the ground here. – Bill

Can you spot Sawbill Lake?

4/6/09 – Winter is still in full force here at Sawbill. Several days ago we had another big snowfall. Hard to say how much it was, because the winds were so high that measuring wasn’t very accurate. Probably 16″ of more though, from the look of it. Don’t be alarmed about early season canoeing. This can all melt fast if the temperatures go up. -Bill

This is the picnic table in front of the store that we use as our unofficial snow depth indicator. We’re calling it “buried” right now. the official snow depth gauge is reading 26″.

Last week’s ice storm left a notable icicle on the store building.

Homer climbs out of a hole created by a air vent.

The little dogs can stay on top of the crusted snow, which is making the red squirrels nervous. Lake skiing should be good while the temperatures are going well below freezing at night.

Sawbill Outfitters, buried in April.

Our snowman either has a drinking problem or is feeling the effects of the spring sun.

3/28/09 – Our phones are working again. Many thanks to the crews down in Lutsen who worked to get everyone back to normal after the ice storm.

3/25/09 – Our phones are still out and may be out for awhile yet. Lake Superior’s north shore, where our radio telephone base stations are located, was hard hit be the ice storm and high winds. There are many power outages, which causes our radios to stop working. We have our name on the list for service, but between all the power outages, continuing bad weather and the pending flooding in northwestern Minnesota, the repair crews are pretty stressed.
Our internet service is working fine, so send us an email if you want to get in touch.

3/24/09 – Ice storm! It has been raining for the last 24 hours in northeastern Minnesota while the temperatures have been hovering right around freezing. We’ve been relatively lucky here at Sawbill with only about a half inch of ice on everything. Some nearby communities are struggling with fallen trees and power lines.
By the way, our phone service is out today, due to widespread power outages on the North Shore where our radio phone base stations are located. Our internet service, which is via satellite dish, is still working, so for the next day or so send us an email if you need to get in touch. – Bill

Every twig, branch and blade of grass is coated with ice. There is a constant, musical sound outside as the wind tosses the ice covered tree tops.

One of our solar power arrays shows off its new ice jacket.

The headlight on the snowplow.

We are using ski poles just to get around the property safely!

3/22/09 – After a week of warm daytime temperatures and freezing nights, the lakes are gradually getting in shape for ski skating. – Bill

Alton Lake just before sunset.

Casting a long shadow on the Sawbill side of the Alton/Sawbill portage.

This cool little sign appeared awhile ago on the bulletin board at the Sawbill canoe landing. It is the Ojibwe language and my wild guess at the translation is “Yes, we are here again! (signed) Bird.” I could be completely wrong, of course. I didn’t disturb it, but I assume the little red satchel is the traditional tobacco offering.

3/14/09 – The Forest Service has been working this week to haul heavy planks deep into the wilderness. They are using dog teams to deliver the planks to portages that need boardwalks to protect wet sections of trail. The dog team is contracted from a local musher who was busy on the famous Iditarod trail at time last year. The musher told me that she had delivered a load of planks to the portage between Kelly and Jack Lakes. – Bill

Tired dogs looking forward to getting into their cozy boxes after a beautiful day on the trail.

3/13/09 – Ed’s poem below spurred Jim Clayton, from Iowa City, to send this interesting web link: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html. We are enjoying what may well be the last day of true winter for this season before an extended warm spell sets in. There is not a cloud in the blue sky with 36″ of fluffy white snow on the ground. A crisp west wind bites the face and the chickadees are swarming the bird feeder. Hummingbirds would not like it here right now. But, they are on their way – no doubt! – Bill

3/12/09 – Here is the latest from Sawbill’s poet laureate, Ed Dallas:
snow covered backyard
somewhere a hummingbird
begins the journey