It’s amazing how much ice is made in one night with zero degree temps! With warm weather the last couple of weeks, the lake opened back up soon after our post on the 3rd, and has stayed open until last night. The steam rising off the newly formed ice, along with all the little tufts of frost made it for yet another beautiful morning by the lake!
We have ice! Well, sort of…There is a very thin layer over much of the lake, but still enough open water that the swans haven’t left yet. This morning I saw a couple of swans out in front of the resort that seemed to be “sitting” on the newly formed ice about 15 feet from the open water. They had been sleeping all night with their heads tucked under their wing and had ice form around them. These birds are so large, they need to run along the ground or water as they take off for flight. It would have been difficult for them to take off from their spot, as the ice wasn’t thick enough to support their weight for their running takeoff. I was curious how they would get to the open water because the ice was too thick for simply swimming through it. It was slow going, but they used their beak and broke the ice in front as far as they could reach, then swam forward and repeated the process. So, moral of the story? Look on the bright side today, at least you didn’t wake up with ice blocking your path to the coffee maker!
Snow! We had a light dusting on the ground this morning and by this evening there was 4-5 inches in many places. It is the second snow fall we have gotten here at the resort but the first only lasted overnight. It might be a little pre-mature for actual snow shoeing but we were anxious to start cross country skiing so I was out packing the trail today, and Liz actually made it out on skis just before dark. I included a few extra photos, taken from the lodge deck, during the morning snowfall.
This past week, Michaela and I took advantage of a beautiful, crisp, fall morning and paddled out to capture a perfect morning on the lake. The tamarack trees are in prime color, and are one of my favorites this time of year.
Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons at the resort and we are excited to announce that we will be open through September next year. If you are interested in coming north to enjoy the fall colors, we would love to be your host!
Thanks again, Michaela, for the great pictures!
Michaela captured some great photos of the northern lights over the beach this past week. We don’t see them like this too often, but when we do it’s a real treat!
We have been busy with the fall routine this past week and a half, even though it hasn’t really felt like fall. It has been unusually warm for this time of year, so we are taking full advantage of the nice weather to get things ready for winter. It’s much easier working with the pressure washer when it’s 75 degrees, versus just above freezing outside. The boats are out of the water and cleaned, most of the cabins are shut down for the winter, and the Adirondack chairs are all pressure washed and ready for another coat of finish.
Although fall is a little slower paced, there is still some adrenaline pumping to get everything prepped for winter and get a head start on maintenance items for next spring. None-the-less, it’s a beautiful time of year at the resort so we will definitly be taking some time to “smell the roses”;).
Recent fires out West caused the horizon to be a little hazy this past week. As with many other parts of the country, we enjoyed several amazing sunrises and sunsets that resulted from the smoke in the jetstream. Thankfully the air cleared after a couple days and allowed for beautiful weather most of last week. Liz’s family was up and we snuck away for a couple pontoon rides to enjoy lake life at its best!
One of our guests enjoying a picture perfect morning on the lake. These types of mornings, where the fog slowly lifts and the lake is like glass, are one of my favorite parts of living up north.
Our gardeners hard at work…;) We are very thankful for these ladies and all they do for the gardens. The gardens are in there prime this time of summer and look amazing! Special thanks to mom for all the hard work that she has done over the years in designing and building the gardens. We are working on learning how to keep up the gardens, but are thankful that mom is still heavily involved until we can grow our own green thumb!
Photo credit to: Justin @ Bees-Knees Photo
We recently had an evening thunderstorm and an amazing sunset soon followed. Michaela (my younger sister who is much more capable with the camera than myself…) hopped into a kayak and snapped a few photo’s to share. Thanks Kayla!
The last piece of ice in front of the resort was blown against the north shore of the lake and broken up with yesterday’s strong winds and warm temps. The ice usually breaks into several large pieces, then with the wave action from a strong wind, it pushes against the shore and grinds against itself. Once it is in small pieces it usually only takes a day or two to melt completely. We have included a few pictures showing how the ice has separated and broken up. The first picture was taken on Sunday morning, and the last picture was taken this morning. As an interesting comparison, here are the last couple years when the ice went out;
2015 – April 15th
2014 – April 28th
2013 – May 15th
Sunday wasn’t the warmest day we have had this spring, but it felt great to get out and spend some time outside as a family. We packed up a quick tin foil dinner and headed over to my parents “farm” that is about 15 minutes away. The farm isn’t a working farm anymore, but is an old farmstead that my parents own about 75 acres on. It’s a unique piece of property that contains fields and several different types of woods, including the dense pines that you see in the picture. Our family enjoys hiking and hunting on the land when we get the chance. Notice that Liz is getting prepped for summer with her s’more!
We are quickly moving from winter to spring. Just a few days ago Mary and I were skiing consistently, but as you can see from these photos, our snow is about gone. We are looking forward to an early spring, and Ryan and Liz will appreciate a few extra weeks of nice weather for spring cleaning! A couple of comments about the posted photos: one shows a plowed path out to the skating rink, now filled with water. Another photo shows 4 sets of raised tracks on the ice, someone walking, a snowmobile, a set of skate skiing tracks and a set of classic skis. We hope you are enjoying spring wherever you are! Dave
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