12/13/10 – Occasionally, during the brief moments between hauling wood, stoking the fire, shoveling the decks, sweeping the solar panels, etc. I find myself wondering; is this really all we do in the winter??
The answer, thankfully, is no.

Amy and Dave Freeman, Jessa and Eric Frost, Sue and John Davies all helped us celebrate a belated Thanksgiving.

Cindy’s book club braved the arctic conditions for another festive party.

In addition to the albino chickadee, this pileated woodpecker has been a regular visitor.

It turns out that the recent subzero temperatures have been helpful! The slush on the lake is almost completely frozen through, making lake travel much easier and more enjoyable for people and dogs.
Between all the celebrating, cooking, laughing, skiing, etc. I find myself wondering; uh oh, did we remember to stoke the fire?? -Clare

12/9/10 – Garrison Keillor says of Lake Wobegon “The women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children above average.” Well, here at Sawbill the women are strong, the men are in Africa, and the only kids who are above average are the ones who get plowed out in time for school.

Speaking of strong women and plowing…. Clare and Cindy showing off their array of snow management tools.

We use the snowmobile to set a classic cross country ski track through the campground.

This curl of roof snow is on our workshop. Many of the roofs here are sporting these whimsical waves.
In other news, it is Carl Hansen’s birthday today! The youngest Hansen sibling is finally 21. He’ll be celebrating by “finishing off finals” out in Missoula, MT. -Clare

12/8/10 – We got the solar pumping system working at the new fish pond business that Adam is setting up with four friends in a very rural part of Kenya. We are staying on a subsistence farm with no electricity or running water. We’ve been walking a two mile path to the work site every day. It is pretty much done now, so after double checking on it tomorrow, we’re off to Uganda for some white water rafting on the Nile. It’s a little bit of a busman’s holiday for me. – Bill

We jerry rigged the solar panels and the pump to see how it would work.

The owners and work crew admire their handiwork. In a week or so, it will be ready for fish and in six months the profits will roll in (knock on wood). Quite a few curious neighbors showed up too. These fish farms are pretty common in Kenya, but this is the first in this area.

12/4/10 – Things are slow paced at Sawbill this time of year, so I’ve journeyed to Kenya to join my son Adam for a little travel adventure. I’ve been in Nairobi for a couple of days playing tourist and enjoying the warm hospitality of Joyce and Bonnie Mulinge.

Making new friends at the Giraffe Center.
Adam is helping some friends start a fish farming business up by the Ugandan border. We’re heading up there today with solar panels, a heavy duty pump and 17 – 18′ lengths of 2″ irrigation pipe. All this along with our camping gear and a guitar will be going on top of a local bus for an 18 hour overnight trip. I’ll post some better, non-tourist pictures the next time I have internet access. – Bill

11/22/10 – All kinds of activity here at Sawbill.

Sawbill Lake froze over on November 20th. This picture was taken on the 19th as the freezing was actually taking place. It snowed that night, so it doesn’t look good for ice skating this year.

Mary Alice Hansen, co-founder of Sawbill Canoe Outfitters, came up for lunch and a visit. She lives nearby in Grand Marais now and loves to come up and see what’s going on at Sawbill.

Mary Alice and Karl Hansen take a walk down to the lake to check on the freezing process.

Roy Wonder, Deputy of Outfitter Security, likes to sniff under the new snow during his morning patrol.

Our great friend and former Sawbill crew member, Dan Seemon, came up to mentor me in my very first deer hunting experience. As you can see, we took it very seriously. No deer were harmed. – Bill

11/20/10 – The most frequent question we get from Sawbill visitors is “What do you do in the winter?” For me, one part of the answer is “play music as often as possible.” My band, Unnamed Stream, was invited to play live on “The PlayList” at WDSE – 8 public TV in Duluth. – Bill
Season 2, Episode 7 of the PlayList
You can follow the band on Facebook.

11/11/10 – Dave Freeman and Amy Voytilla are former Sawbill crew members and guides who founded WildernessClassroom.com. They are in the middle of an 11,500 mile North American Odyssey – around and across North America by kayak, canoe and dog sled. They have returned from the trail with tales to tell about their epic journey.

Please join them for a pizza bake and slide show at North House Folk School on the harbor in Grand Marais on Friday, November 12th to celebrate their successes in wilderness travel and their outreach on behalf of wilderness to schools across the continent. The evening will be full of stories, photos, and fun.
So bring your favorite libations, and pizza toppings. The Wilderness Classroom will supply pizza dough, cheese, sauce, and stories.
Schedule of Events:
5:30 Pizza Prep/Happy Hour
6:00 Pizza Bake
7:00 Slide Show

11/7/2010 – Roy Wonder, our lovable deputy of outfitter security, turned three years old today. He celebrated by barking at squirrels all morning and going for a lovely canoe on Sawbill Lake this afternoon.

Roy Wonder, Deputy of Outfitter Security.

Cindy and Homer waiting on the landing for a lovely late season paddle.

Roy celebrates his third birthday on a 50+ degree, calm November 7th.

11/1/2010 – Bird migrations are in full swing as the season turns from fall to winter. Evening grosbeaks, pine grosbeaks, purple finches, snow buntings, and several other species have appeared recently.
A barred owl had taken to hanging around our house and has startled both of us by perching just outside the house and staring into the windows. Last night, the owl was staring at Cindy and as she moved, the owl’s head would move so he(she?) could keep eye contact with Cindy. A little later, Cindy was outside and spotted the owl in a nearby tree. She gave her best imitation of the barred owl’s call – “Who cooks for you?” The owl’s head would swivel around every time she did it.
I’ve been told that when owls exhibit strange behavior, it usually means that they are starving, but I haven’t noticed any shortage of owl prey around here. Rabbits and squirrels are everywhere and the mice seem to be waging an organized campaign to get into the house.
We’ve moved the camera over to the house now, so hopefully we’ll have a good barred owl picture posted here soon. – Bill

10/27/10 – Here are some better pictures of the rare albino chickadee.