I couldn’t be more excited to announce myself as in-house photographer for Half Moon Trail resort guests. I picked up a camera at age 13 and haven’t set it down since. Photography is one of the few things in life I consider a passion. I learned as much as I could about photography online via YouTube and Google in high school, and furthered my education with a degree in graphic design and communications through BSC in Bismarck, ND.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Michaela. I am a born-and-raised resort kid. I spent my summers fishing and swimming with a new batch of friends delivered each week. Now that I am a bit older, my hobbies are really just an extension of the way I grew up. I upgraded from a Barbie pole off the Boot Lake dock to a fly rod, exploring the fishiest waters I can find. If I wind up a little too sunburned and have to spend recreational time inside, you will likely find me with a pencil in hand or sawdust in my hair.

If you are interested in booking a session, I would love to hear from you via my email, kayla.ahrendt@gmail.com. I am booking one or two sessions a week on a first-come-first-serve basis, so if you want to ensure a spot, be sure to contact me ahead of time.  I encourage you to go check out my website http://MichaelaAhrendt.com or my Instagram page, @kayla_ahrendt, to see some of my work!

With my boots planted in the spring mud, seated on a five-gallon bucket filled with sap, I can’t help but smile. Mom, Dad, Ryan, Mabel, Mary Kate, and Caroline are perched on nearby buckets (or laps) surrounding the cinder-block structure housing the fire and holding the pans of boiling sap. Unlike smoke, the thick clouds of steam rising off the pans are easy on the eyes and slightly sweet-smelling. 

A day boiling sap is one to be relished. With hours of watching, mixing and skimming sap there is time to laugh and tell stories, or just sit in appreciative silence. Seventy-five gallons of sap are transferred from our bucket seats to the boiling pans over the fire in intervals. As the day wears on the sap deepens to amber and careful watching begins. The turning point from sap to syrup is 219 degrees. The temperature climbs slowly: 215, 216, 217, 218 and finally 219. Dad and Ryan have been standing ready and can now filter the thickening liquid. The only thing left to do after filtering is to transfer it into jars and set it in the pantry. It will be enjoyed throughout the year with the satisfaction that comes from the memories that went into making it.

Ryan and Cole spent much of today in the shop getting ready for this year’s craft activity at Half Moon Trail! We plan for around 450 participants, so it’s quite an undertaking, but we really enjoy providing a unique experience for our guests each summer.  Thanks, Cole, for all your wonderful help!

First off, we apologize for the long delay in posting updates on the happenings at Half Moon! It was a busier spring than usual with the new cabin, and the summer and early fall has flown by like a flash! Things have slowed down a bit, and we feel we can finally start posting a little more regularly now.

Fall at the resort is beautiful, and a time that our family thoroughly enjoys. Mom (Mary), myself, and our garden crew were hard at work this past week working on the gardens.  We go through the gardens in the fall, making note of plants that did well, some others that didn’t, and things we would like to try next season.  It’s also a time that we split perennial plants that have grown too large for their current spot in the garden, which is what we are doing in the last photo below. Lastly, we put the gardens to bed for the winter. The first two photos are before and after we have winterized one of the gardens. Winterizing requires cutting most of the perennial plants down, pulling the annuals, and saving any bulbs that we take inside to replant next season. All of plants that we pull or cut are then composted, making nutrient rich compost for adding to the gardens in future years.

We’re heading into the home stretch of our spring work and tying up a lot of loose ends.  Cabin 19 was fitted with its carpet today and furniture delivery is set for Monday!  It has been a fun project, but we’re looking forward to its completion.  The pool got a face lift back in the fall with a new liner and skirt of concrete, and Ryan and Dave have finished installing the fence around the pool.  We decided to change the fence so it just surrounds the pool area, and no longer the courtyard.  We’re loving the change and hope you’ll enjoy it, as well!  We’ve a