Black’s Cliff Resort’s Birch Bark Blog

Looks like it got warm yesterday and lots of melting of the snow on top of the lake

View from Jack’s Landing.  Looks like the hillside is becoming bare

Enjoying one of the last snow banks after hiking up the hill and being exhausted.  Snow is getting sparse at the top of the hill as well

More things appearing under the snow.  Anyone missing a screwdriver?  Thanks again to Sue for updates from the North with Poe.

No new blog entries til Wednesday afternoon when I am back in internet land when we put our feet back on land.  Where do we end up.  East East East….  I hear we might meet up with the Eastern Black’s

The Gibson family is having fun on Spring Break and are happy to report we survived the waterslides at the Wisconsin Dells

While we are gone I have been getting reports from Poe as to what is going on.   He is highly excited as you can see keeping Nancy, Jim and Sue busy spoiling him rotten

Poe checking out the shoreline.  It is definitely showing signs of melting

Cliff not looking to worried yet.  Only a few more days to get your ice out guesses in.  Email them to reservations@blackscliff.com and send 5 dollars per guess to Black’s Cliff PO Box 125 Hazelhurst 54531.  I need the guesses in my email box by no later than March 15th

the funny things that pop up when the ice goes out.  I believe this is from one of our infamous hockey games around Christmas

Snowman built this weekend on the ice.  Thanks to Sue for taking the pics while we are away and watching the place with Jim and Nancy.  Poe also sends his thanks!  Looks like all is well at the cliff while we are away.   Where are we off to next….. stay tuned….

Any problems for the next week see Nancy and Jim.  They are watching the resort while we sneak away for a trip.  Poe is happy to hang with Opal and Hazel.  I will be answering the phone from the road and emails.  Nancy and Jim will be welcoming folks to the Cliff and keeping things going while we re away.  Thanks to them for letting us get away.  Where are we off to.. stay tuned a few pics will make the blog and Nancy and Jim have promised to send me pics by email to post while we are away of Cliff

In the past we have taken Cliff on Spring Break with us.  However our destination is not a friendly place for Cliff.  It is possible he would land us in jail so he is staying at his post on the lake

Edges of the lake showing some signs of melting.  I heard from the Cikowski crew who were ice fishing that there is still 18 inches of ice on the lake.  Lake Minocqua had trucks on it yesterday for a golf tournament on ice quite a sight to see but I forgot my camera.

So stay tuned to see where we end up and reports from Nancy and Jim

I stopped out to the Cikowski Fishing Jamboree

I had to deliver a pizza on ice.  Apparently Jimmy’s dad ate his Hilltop pizza last fall and Jimmy was distraught with months ahead with no pizza from Hilltop.  Al feeling guilty of is pilfering of Jimmy’s pizza had this special pizza delivered by Mary Ellen and I brought it out on the ice for Jimmy

Fishing was already picking up.  This was the 2nd Northern of the morning.  They released the smaller one.

No wigglers anymore these were caught on minnows.  Not a bad catch for a beginning of an ice fishing trip

Fritz enjoying the sunshine and lake.  It was a perfect warm morning for icefishing on Lower Kaubashine

The secret for catching fish

They had a first time ice fisherman along.  Great day to be skipping a few days of school to spend time with dad and his uncles.  Tip up flag up and ready to be checked

Pulling up the big catch

Better luck next time.  Perfect time to learn how to ice fish

To all Poe fans out there.  He has completely recovered and is on a strict dog food only diet

What cabin is the furniture delivery for…  Last weekend we had someone lite a couch on fire from a candle (you wonder why I do not leave candles in the cabins).  The couch is getting fixed but in the mean time we need a new couch in the system….

Fritz our 2008 Ice Out contest winner could not resist stopping over to try out the new furniture.  His comment is “tell Al I am moving this chair down to the ice by the fishing holes”

Comfy, comfy.. comfy…. who is the new furniture winner…

Matching Couch with 2 reclyners… Can you tell from the background where we are…. and the winner is…..

Yep Restawhile.  Linda’s cabin will be the place to hang out this summer to watch American Idol.  Restawhiles old couch will temporarily be in Shamrock until the couch in Shamrock comes back with a new arm, after that it will be looking for a new home not at Black’s Cliff.  This will change the bed arrangement in Restawhile, it will no longer have a hydabed.  Trading the comfort of a leather reclining couch for a lumpy hydabed I thought was a good change.

Now the question is where did Restawhiles nice  recliner end up….. Can Murry and Tom handle change…..  I remember the last time I changed the recliner in Bayview and Murry went on a search for her old chair .  Note to Linda watch out arrive early on June 26th or Murry may sneak in your cabin and switch out her furniture in Bayview for the leather in Restawhile

I finally managed to catch a pic of the deer herd on Lower Kaubashine at twilight in my neighbors yard.  Where were they during deer season… no idea but I can vouch for the fact that there are plenty of deer on Lower Kaubashine

Cliff made his trip out of the basement for Ice Out 2010

Cliff heading back to the lake for Ice Out 2010

Cliff sporting some fancy shades for the 2010 contest.  The sun was bright today and they were needed

New for 2010 Cliff is going for comfort and has demanded a more comfortable chair this year

Rules this year are the same as in previous years.  Email your guesses to reservations@blackscliff.com (do not use my old email address or I may not get your entry)  Pick the date Cliff will sink into the Lower Kaubashine.  Last year it was April 14th.  Send 5 dollars per guess to Jenny Gibson PO Box 125 Hazelhurst 54531.  Half of the money will once again be donated to The Northwoods Wildlife Hospital and the rest put in a pot for the winner or winners who pick the correct day he sinks in the lake.  Make sure to include your contact info with your entry.  If Cliff sinks after sunset it will be credited to the following day.  Jenny and Troy are not standing out on the raft with a flashlight til midnight.  You have til March 15th to get your guesses in

Why no posts the last few days?  We had a bit of a scare with Poe that is not completely solved but atleast I can type without crying or a lump in my throat.  Poe turned up his food starting last Saturday night and Sunday showed signs of distress and not feeling well.  Moaning and groaning and lethargic. We have the best vet in the world Doctor Joe who met me on Sunday at the office.  Long story short Poe went through a battery of tests has past his liver and pancreas screening and had an abdominal x ray today.  He has a bit of an enlarged spleen which is still worrisome til the next test comes back later today or tomorrow.  He also showed a very impacted intestine.  Doc has had him on pain meds since Sunday, he hydrated him today with an IV and let him outside for the biggest pile ever seen in Doctor Joe’s yard.  I now have a dog high on pain meds not feeling one arthritic joint and who has taken the largest poo possible.  He is living life large

He is not out of the woods yet til the spleen test comes back, but he is feeling awhole lot better as you can see.  Why did his large intestine shut down?  No idea dehydration or something he ate?  I will up date the last test when I hope to get good news

Ruby has to be one of my favorite dogs to photograph.  She has personality coming out of her ears.  Her owners Ben and Deb think that her ears might be the trick to pick up the wireless internet into Muskie Inn.  Their friend Mike is convinced that when Ruby sits in his lap and is closer to the computer he is able to pick up the wireless signal better at Muskie’s kitchen table

Ruby doing her favorite activity, chasing the frisbee (better known as the F word in Muskie).  If you mention the F word in a sentence and she hears it with her bat ears you had better be prepared to go outside for 10 minutes with the purple disk (which is what I called it instead of the F word)

Loving the life of a dog.  I wish life was this simple and joyful for everyone

Ruby’s owner, Ben, getting some much needed therapy on ice.  Nothing is better for Ben’s soul than a few hours spent like this on Lower Kauabashine.

Sun trying to break through the clouds on the last day of February.  Tomorrow tune back in for Cliff’s return to the ice for Ice Out 2010

Today I am going to put up a different type of entry nothing to do with the resort and no pictures.  Once in awhile I find a link to something that I find fascinating and thought I would share

Troy has laughed at me over the years in my love of reading non fiction books about climbing Mount Everest or hiking the Appalachian Trail.  For some reason following the trials and tribulations of folks doing these things fascinates me.  I know I will never climb Mount Everest but I have put my foot for a few miles on the Appalachian trail in a few spots in Tennessee.  I have sat and watched real hikers, hiking through looking like they know what they are doing.  I had this link shared with me by a friend who knows the hiker.  She is journaling her journey along the trail and I plan to follow along as she goes.  Check out the link below.  Go to her previous entry about the police officer in the driveway giving her a ticket for frosted up windows to catch the humor of this writer and a flavor for the type of people that go off on an adventure like this hiking from Georgia to Maine

http://www.trailjournals.com/croft

While checking out the guys work at Bear Den I caught these fun pics of huge big flakes coming down in the pines, Enjoy!

Our rates lower to the lowest of the year through mid week and weekend.  Weekend rates start at 110/night for our regular sized 2bdrs and 125/night for Birchwood.  I also rent out our 3bdrs when needed to smaller groups starting at 125/night.  Nice time to come up and enjoy the snow in warmer temps.  Skiing last weekend I could have done in a sweatshirt no coat needed.  That is my favorite type of skiing