4/14/15 – Sawbill crew member Brian Henry is back on the job and one of his first duties was to drill a hole and test the ice thickness. The warm spell is taking its toll with a loss of more than 4″ since yesterday.

Brian couldn’t do it without the help of Roy and Phoebe.

Today’s measurement is 21″, down from 25.5″ yesterday. Bright sun, wind and warm nights make for quick melting.
Meanwhile, Sawbill’s own Cindy Hansen is in Germany, enjoying spring on the shores of Lake Constance in Bavaria. Her trip is part vacation and part acting as an unpaid assistant to her sister Sherrie who travels to Germany for her job.

Cindy imitates a statue in the background.

4/13/15 – On my way home yesterday, I was treated to a couple of fun weather phenomena. – Bill

The Temperance River was breaking up under the 600 Road bridge along the Sawbill Trail. This classic old iron bridge is slated for replacement soon.

The first Spring storm of 2015 as seen halfway up the Sawbill Trail. It eventually yielded .35″ of rain, along with strong winds, thunder and lightning.

4/11/15 – Spring arrived abruptly today with the temperatures shooting up into the high 50s. My old friend and former Sawbill crew member, Joyce Klees, came up for t-shirt weather ski trip around the Kelso Loop.
Roy and Phoebe accompanied us. Phoebe fell into the water once and Roy twice. They didn’t really break through the ice, but more just jumped into the open water. They climbed out themselves and continued on the journey.
Today may be the last day of skiing for the season. – Bill

Does this qualify as water-skiing?

Open water at the mouth of Kelso Creek on Sawbill Lake.

Roy and Phoebe soaking up the sun after their chilly dip.

4/5/15 – Swans!
Yesterday, as we were driving home from Grand Marais, we slowed down to look at some open water on the Temperance River near Baker Lake. To our surprise, there were two swans swimming in the river. In my 59 years at Sawbill, I’ve only seen one other swan and that was just flying over head. – Bill

Distance and lack of experience keep me from judging if these are Tundra or Trumpeter Swans.

3/24/15 – A couple of weeks of warm weather have transformed Sawbill from deep winter to an extended spring season. Around here, I’ve always heard this season referred to as the “crusted snow moon.” That is certainly the case at the moment.

Skiing down the Temperance River on crusted snow a few days ago. Right after this picture was taken I saw moose tracks on the river and even the moose was being held up by the crust! Photo by Nickie Dietz.

Here I am with the great group of friends that skied down the Temperance River. Photo by Nickie Dietz.

These warm, early spring days bring out an insect know locally as “snow fleas.” They are actually a species of spring tails that jump long distances when they feel threatened. They move so fast, they give the illusion of just disappearing.

Sawbill Lake is like a big open field for Phoebe and Roy this time of year. They love to run joyfully and bark at ravens flying overhead. What looks like slush is actually frozen solid.
Here are the last few weeks editions of the West End News from WTIP-FM, North Shore Community Radio:
March 19th, 2015
March 12th, 2015
March 5th, 2015
February 26th, 2015
Last but not least, let’s not forget that the canoeing season is just around the corner.

Canoeist, Craig Nathan, was nice enough to send along this evocative early morning shot of the Sawbill Lake canoe landing as he began is trip to Cherokee last June. – Bill

3/9/15 – Today is a big day for news from two of the Hansen kids.
Ruthie (Hansen) Williams is celebrating her birthday today. It’s been awhile since she was a Sawbill crew member, but she is fondly remembered by many Sawbill campers. Happy birthday Ruthie!
Adam Hansen, who you may remember had a petition heard at the Supreme Court of the United States back in December, received a unanimous ruling in his favor this morning. Congratulations Adam!
For you legal nerds out there, here is the reference to the Supreme Court’s ruling: [13-1041 Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Assn. (03/09/2015)] – Bill (proud father)

3/6/15 – Gary Hamer was kind enough to send the link to this beautiful YouTube of his trip through Sawbill last fall. For many more gorgeous photos and videos, visit Gary’s website: hamernaturephotos.com.- Bill

3/5/15 – As promised, here are some YouTube clips of my recent television appearance on WDSE’s “The PlayList” with my musical partner, Eric Frost.



If you are really interested, here is a link to the whole episode. Eric and I start at about 13:00. Many thanks to Karen Sunderman, Steve Ash and the whole “PlayList” crew for including us in their efforts to highlight the booming music scene up here in little ol’ Cook County!
Two other bands from the area will be featured on upcoming episodes. I’ve played with both of them in the past, so I’ll post the links when they become available. – Bill

3/4/15 – You may have seen some recent news reports about a proposed “Sawbill” radio tower. The tower in question is actually located 3.5 miles southeast of Sawbill, near Marsh Lake. It’s part of a statewide public safety radio network known as the ARMER network.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is in charge of building the system and they requested a lease of county land to erect a 330′ tower on the site. The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted last week to restrict the tower to be less than 200′. Not only will the lower height make the tower much less visible, but it will not be lighted.
The 330′ option would have been visible, both day and night, from many lakes, campsites and portages within the BWCA Wilderness including Alton, Sawbill, Smoke, Burnt and Kelly lakes.
It was gratifying to watch the county commissioners carefully study the issue, listen to their constituents and settle on a solution that everyone can live with. – Bill

2/25/15 – It’s real winter here now, with roughly three feet of pure white snow on the ground and consistently cold temperatures. The Sawbill Trail is beautiful, but mostly snow covered. Here is a picture of what happens when a long, snowy road is combined with -20 degree temperature.

The most common question we get during the summer months is “What do you do in the winter?” For me, playing music with my friends is one of my favorite winter (or any season) activities. Recently, Eric Frost and I were taped for appearance on the “PlayList” on WDSE – Channel 8, the public TV station in Duluth. Our set will be broadcast tomorrow, at 9 pm and repeated at 3:30 pm on Sunday. I’ll post the YouTube version here on the newsletter as soon as it’s available. – Bill
Here is last week’s edition of the Cook County West End News from WTIP-FM, North Shore Community Radio.