5/11/06 – Congratulations to Carl Hansen! Wednesday evening he was officially accepted to study abroad in Norway for his Junior year beginning this fall. He will be living with a Norwegian speaking family who will hopefully take pity on a sweet little Swede from northern Minnesota who speaks fluent English, very little Spanish and absolutely no Norwegian. Uff-da. -Lida

Carl at his most recent band performance–see next month’s issue of Rolling Stone.

5/8/06 – Bill Walsh sent along a photo he took last week. It is an early morning view from the Sawbill Lake canoe landing. Thanks Bill.

5/5/06 –

Carl and Clare Hansen help their dad celebrate his birthday.
Happy Birthday to Bill! Yesterday Bill Hansen celebrated his 53rd birthday Cinco de Mayo style. While Bill inhaled his 16 oz. birthday steak, the rest of us feasted on steak fajitas and margaritas. Our favorite beer-brewing employee, Patrick Nash came for the celebration. He also lent a big trash and recycling hand and most importantly prepared “Nana Beans.” – Lida

Senor Carlos holds his padre’s Cinco de Mayo sombrero cake while proving that at least one Hansen male can grow facial hair.

Sawbill crewmember Pat Nash whips up his famous “Nana Beans” recipe.

5/5/06 – It is alway fun to wake up to a fresh snowfall at this time of year. Every twig and needle was coated with white, producing an instant fairyland. It even smelled like early winter. Happily, the winds switched to the southwest, the sun came out, and the snow was gone in a twinkling.

Snow covered canoes are not a good advertisement for spring wilderness travel, but soon after this picture was taken, the snow was gone and the sun shining brightly.

These small piles of snow are the last trace of the winter snow pack here at Sawbill.

5/2/06 – On the way to town today I saw the most pregnant cow moose I’ve ever seen. She must be carrying twins. She had a look on her face that said “Oooooh, my hooves are killing me!” She actually was having trouble walking because her hips and pelvis were coming unhinged. I would guess that she delivered today. – Bill

4/28/06 – Our first new crew member for the 2006 season has arrived. Corey Belt is from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. He has been traveling the world for the last eight years, visiting nearly forty countries. He has lived and worked in Japan, Chile, Mexico, and New Zealand. He speaks conversational Japanese and Spanish. He is a kayaker, hiker, sailor, scuba diver, and guitar player.

Corey bonds with Homer and the new canoes.

4/21/06 – Cindy and I returned from vacation to find Sawbill Lake free of ice. Last night, Cindy, Lida, Alison and I paddled over to check on the ice on Alton Lake. We had all four of us – and both dogs – in one canoe. As we started down the lake, we were greeted by the call of Sawbill Lake’s resident loon. Only the male was on hand (we guessed that his mate caught a later flight), and as always, he swam very close to us without concern. It is hard to imagine that he just flew all the way from the Gulf of Mexico. Alton Lake was indeed ice free. We enjoyed watching a nice sunset, then paddled home while the loon continued his mournful serenade. – Bill

Alison snapped this picture of (front to back): Homer, Izzy (her first canoe ride), Cindy, Bill and Lida.

Alton Lake at sunset on April 20th, 2006. Several ancient artifacts have been found at the spot where this picture was taken. It is humbling to think that people stood on this spot and enjoyed the same beauty thousands of years ago.

4/17/06 – Good news, the ice is out! Yesterday evening Mary Alice, Alison and I hiked down to the lake as part of our nightly routine to measure the progress of the ice out. At that time the only area in our line of vision that was not ice covered was the southern bay of Sawbill Lake, near the creek. It seemed that it would be at least a few days before we would be able to get a canoe in to paddle around the perimeter of the lake. Well, we were in for a surprise. This evening after dinner we made our nightly trek to the lake, as we strolled toward the landing and our view of the lake became more panoramic we saw only water. Somehow in less than 24 hours the ice has vanished, an amazing change that leaves me with a feeling of awe. It’s incredible to be here to witness such an astonishing transformation. – Lida

Sawbill Lake on April 18th, one day after the ice disappeared.

3/31/06 – Spring is arriving with a vengeance here at Sawbill. The last week has been very warm and finished with two days of pouring rain. Our snow went from nearly 20 inches on the ground to about 8 inches in just two fast days. At this point, it looks like we’re on track for an early ice out. That said, this is Minnesota, so the weather could turn and stay cold for several more weeks. – Bill

The warm sun has opened up some bare ground in a few spots.

Sawbill Lake is still covered with 20+ inches of ice and snow. Travel is safe now, but for how much longer?

Despite super-fast melting, we still have a way to go before the store can open for the season.

3/17/06 – Clare and I just returned from a quick visit to Missoula, Montana. Clare has been accepted to the University of Montana and we cashed in some frequent flyer miles to check it out. We spent one day touring the campus and discussing Clare’s upcoming journey of the mind. We spent the next day touring Snowbowl Ski Area on Big Sky Mountain by snowboard and shredding the gnarly terrain. If Clare doesn’t decide to attend the U of MT, I might! (joke) Missoula is a nice little city with more than 3 million acres of wilderness within a hundred mile radius. We found the people of Missoula to be uniformly friendly and helpful. – Bill

Clare posing with the famous U of Montana Grizzly.

Clare contemplates the 2600′ foot vertical drop to the chalet far below.