Our little family grew early on Sunday morning as we welcomed our third daughter, Caroline Michelle! She is a perfect 7 pounds and cute as can be. We are all very excited that she’s finally here, but her two sisters have been extra googly-eyed for her and have hardly left her side! She is wonderful, and we are very blessed to have another healthy little munchkin to join the bunch.
Here at the resort, there are a few jobs we do every season that are sort of like book ends, defining the end of one season and the beginning of another. Pulling out the docks is one of those tasks. We wait as long as possible to pull them out though, as pulling them out too soon kills the grass where they are set for the winter. Dad and I are grateful to have them in as it snowed another inch yesterday, giving everything a fresh white blanket and making winter even more apparent that it’s here to stay. With temps in the 20’s to low 30’s, the small ponds are starting to freeze over, and it won’t be too long and the lake will have a coating of ice.
Thursday morning was beautiful here at the resort, with the sun peaking over the trees and illuminating the resort with a warm orange glow. One of the photos shows a beaver out for one of his first paddles this season, and stretching his legs after being in cooped up in his lodge all winter. This early spring is wonderful, as it gives us an early jump on spring work and getting Cabin 19 finished up! It seemed like the ice went off the lake quickly this year, going from the normal light grey ice color, to a dark blue color just before it started breaking up early this past week. If your curious, our lake association has the history of freeze up and thaw dates. Check it out here!
Happy New Year! We’re getting pumped to see many of you this summer! Installing v-grove is how Nate and Ryan celebrated New Years Eve and day. Cabin 19 is coming along nicely and it’s at this stage, where all the rough-ins are pretty much completed, and the paneling is going up, that we can start to imagine all of it coming together…and we’re SO EXCITED with how it is turning out. One of our neighbors is doing most of the paneling work, but Ryan and Nate hopped on the crew this weekend as it was time to do the pitched ceilings, which required scaffolding and a few extra hands. Ryan measured, Nate cut, and Vern, our neighbor, set each board in place. One extra picture of the supervisor, Mary Kate, is included 
This morning was brisk, with the temps hovering around 10 below and the windchill about 30 below. I zipped outside for a few quick photos of this beautiful sundog before my fingers and camera lost the ability to function. The lake froze over this past Saturday, and with the last few days dipping down into the single digits, and nights well below zero, the lake already has 3-4 inches of ice out in front of the resort.
Like many of you, we’ve been wrapped in a winter white blanket of snow these last few days, just in time for Christmas! We excitedly welcome the snow, as it means cozy fires, warm soup, a bit more family time, and breaking out our cross country skis!
The drifts of snow weren’t quite as impressive as some that made the news in North Dakota, but there’s something magical about fresh, untainted snow covering everything as far as we can see, and seeing the real life “flocked” Christmas trees all over the resort!
Two to three dozen trumpeter swans migrate through the area and visit Boot Lake every spring and late fall. We enjoy watching them glide back and forth in the lake, sometimes stopping to feed right in our swim area! They are particularly beautiful with the fluffy white backdrop!
We broke ground the day after Labor Day on our new, six bedroom, Cabin 19! Here are some pictures to show the progress. The windows will probably be installed this week, and maybe even the roof! We’re hoping to get the exterior all buttoned up before any really cold weather heads our way.
Yesterday morning, Mabel and I were on our way to the lake for an early morning kayak ride when several Loons landed out in front of the resort. The raft of Loons graced us with their presence for about a half an hour, then dispersed back to neighboring lakes. It’s not uncommon to see four to six loons together on our lake, especially prior to them laying eggs and raising their young, but I have never seen this many together before. I did a quick Google search on why Loons congregated like this, and found this article if you would like to check it out.
We had a little bonding time today with some of our full time summer staff at the Character Challenge Course! It’s a great place if you are looking to add a few extra thrills to your vacation. Awesome staff and cool facility, definitely a good choice if you want some time off the lake. Here’s a quick intro for our summer staff:
FORREST
Many of the past guests know this familiar face! After spending last summer in Texas, he’s back before starting his “real job” as a teacher and coach in Missouri.
Fun fact about Forrest: He can almost clear a two story building with a skinny fiberglass pole…and he’s the only guy I know who has bought a car for $1!
MANDY
This is Mandy’s second summer, but she’s like family to us, and we are sooo happy she is back!
Fun fact about Mandy – she jumped out of a plane, and survived! And, she can crack an egg with one hand.
ANNALISE
Annalise has been a part of our amazing cleaning crew for quite some time, but she became part of our full time staff last year. We are thankful she is back and hopeful for more great years to come!
Fun fact about Annalise – she’s been cleaning cabins at Half Moon since she was 8! And, as I found out on the obstacle course this morning, she is very fast!
KAYLA
Kayla – Most of you know that Kayla is my younger sister, and we are very blessed to have her living right down the road. She is a huge help, and definitely gets the award for being the veteran around here.
Fun fact about Kayla – She can stand on her head for 4 minutes and 27 seconds! Can anyone say, headache? And, she’s a great photographer!
Kim (our painter) and I put a fresh coat of white paint on the pool today. We constructed a temporary enclosure about a week ago in order to keep the rain and debris out so it could dry before painting. A few more days of drying and we will be ready to fill it up!
Spring is in the air at Half Moon Trail! We are in full swing getting the cabins cleaned, water turned on, and the grounds cleaned up. I took a few minutes to snap these photos so you could see what grounds and gardens look like at this point in the spring. They look very different than later on in the summer when they are all filled out, but it’s still pretty fun when all those plants start poking through the ground in the spring!
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