Black’s Cliff Resort’s Birch Bark Blog

Deer Camp 2008

Deer Hunters have arrived at the resort

No fancy trailers

No need for trailers just the back attachment to head home

Pryzbal Crew

Ready to head into the woods

What is going on….not much…  what you see is what the Northwoods has going on

LIttle Blog vacation is being declared, no new posts til Monday. Any problems see Jamie and Nathan in Birchwood or Poe

Coming soon The Birchbark Blog 2009 calendar is under production stay tuned

Burrr Steve's one boat ride of the year

Steve waited for the take out through ice to take his ride in the ski boat.  Yes that is ice you see in the bay.  We never seem to get the boats all out without using a ice breaker in the bay at Hilltop.  I think the guys need to watch the movie Titanic for a little inspiration

Anyone taking odds on Steve stepping in?

Time for the last boat to go out

Last boat gets loaded up with everything to go up the hill.

Boats stripped down

Room for more on the pontoon?

Ohh it looks cold out there

Olja contemplating another boat ride

Wish I had Poe's hair

Olja’s quote for the day “Hey Steve looked at my hair?  I am not a golden retreiver, I am a shinny hound and it is cold out there!  You know we could have gone for a warm boat ride last week”

Last Boat Out

Olja looks relieved to be on the last boat.  Time to unthaw in front of a fireplace

4 Pointer

This dear almost made us late for our lunch date with John and Linda at our favorite Mexican Restaurant Jr Salsa’s in Woodruff.  He is about the only thing that would have me slowing down on the way to get my pork enchiladas I had been thinking about all morning

We ran across him on the otherside of the road from Blackwood 100 feet from where I caught the 8 pointer a week ago.  The parking next to the stone wall was much safer than the inside corner last week.  Craig came out from the Chateau to check the deer out as well

A Week and a Half to Deer Season

This deer had better find a good hiding spot, week from Friday the gun deer season opens

Houston we have a problem

I was working on the other side of the resort and was hollered at to grab my camera and come to the playground.  I arrived to much head scratching and mutters of opppssss

I think new swing posts will be first this spring

It was tree demo day at the resort with guests and guest’s cars around as targets so the guys had the chain saws out taking down some dead, dieing or Craig needs room to plow, trees.  The 1st one was supposed to be a piece of cake……. first casualty of the day the horse swings on the playground

Time to talk about about number 2

Time to reconsider tree number 2

Timber!!!!!!

Ok that one went better now on to a challenge

The bear is in peril along with the tetterball pole

taking aim

Bear Breathes a sigh of relief

Well do you think we can hit Muskie?

No we don’t need a rope I am sure we will miss Muskie….

Starting the cut will it hit?

I am sure it is fine.. did you pay the insurance?

Insurance agents close your eyes

You did pay the insurance didn't you? Oppssss

Anyone have any duck tape?

Most folks would stop at this point…. nope time for the ropes and ladder

Craig heading up the ladder

With their luck today this sight made us all a little nervous

No worries I was a boyscout learning my knots

Ok time for the ropes

Most people would stop with 2 casualty’s but Steve, Troy and Craig decided to take one more chance on Bayview and this old dead Red PIne

I am sure with the ropes we will miss Bayview

With Troy and Craig as the anchors it should go their way……

ummmm sorry dad........ anyone find that ducktape?

Bayview 3rd casualty of the day

My work is done.... got to go take that insurance check to town

One last tree... did they hit Birchwood?

I will leave you in suspense on that one…  It was getting a new window anyway

Clean Up.. Where is Craig....

And the clean up begins…..

What I went through for this picture..  I saw this buck a couple of days ago and did not have the camera along.  This morning I spotted him by the garage at Blackwood.  He was quietly walking slowly through the woods.  I stopped in the worse section of Lower Kaubashine in the curves and pulled over as far as I could praying there was no car coming or logging truck.  Grabbed my purse where the camera was as the deer kept creeping through the woods.  Got the camera disentangled from the contents of my purse, and the batteries fell out of the bottom of the camera.  Deer keeps creeping and I fumble to get the batteries back in the camera with an eye on the deer and an eye on the blind corner right behind me in the road, listening for the sound of the logging truck.  Finally got the camera on and caught these pics.  Enjoy

I think he wanted his picture taken

Troy and I counted 8 points on this buck

The Victim

This black squirrel along with his cousins the gray squirrels would like to lodge a complaint against their very distant cousin the red squirrels.  I witnessed the harassment from the kitchen window.  The red squirrels were chasing the black and grays and were aiming for their unmentionables.  I have heard from 3 different sources that the red’s drive off the other squirrels by snipping off parts.  Sure looked like that was happening yesterday and this black squirrel has a definite look of fear in his eye and it is not from Poe.

Public Enemy Number 1

Add the sound of chattering that sounds like evil laughing to this picture and you have the whole story

Squirrels beware!

Note to all red squirrels, the piers are done and out of the water, the beard is trimmed for better aim and the 22 is coming out

Monster Crappie!

This crappie was caught last week out on the Willow Flowage.  I think it was about 14 inches, and is one of the biggest crappies I have ever seen.  These boys were treated to a day on the Willow catching a tank full of crappie, none were less than 11 inches.  The Willow is down a little in water and the fishing is awesome.  The Willow Flowage is down either County Y or Cedar Falls Road 10 minutes from the resort.  I only have a few guests that wander over to it and more should give it a try

Walleye

They also caught this stray walleye.  I have head the Walleye in the Willow are also good, they only caught this single walleye but with all the crappie they had they needed no more fish to clean.  As it was, we had shut off the water to the fish house and they were cleaning fish with a bucket of water and an electric knife

Jim and Nancy made it up for a visit this fall.  They love the area and spent a great week driving around on all the back roads looking at the wildlife and colors.  Nancy loves deer and had always heard my stories about the ___ deer coming in and eating out pumpkins by the house that we had carved.  Nancy asked Jim the first day they were here to go out and get some pumpkins, carve them and leave them close to the cabin to lure the deer in closer.  Jim as any good husband would do did as she asked, even carved the pumpkins and moved them around from the back of the cabin to the firepit area in front of Kaubashine.  They looked and looked and no deer.

Jim's carved Pumpkins

The morning they were leaving, Nancy had Jim move the pumpkins to the edge of the woods by the playground just 100 feet or so from where they had been sitting all week.  Nancy and Jim were gone less than an hour and we were cleaning their cabin and looked over to see the following pic

Troy yelled for me to get my camera and I prayed they would stay long enough for me to get the picture to share with Jim and Nancy after all the work they went to

One deer was fun to see and then…..

Momma and babies would like to thank Nancy and Jim for their great treat and promise to stop in next time Nancy and Jim are in the Northwoods as long as they keep their dog Witch Hazel inside

Pirates taking over Minocqua

The Podriza crew showing their true pirating colors this weekend at Beef A Rama.  I put out a bounty for a picture of them and finally had a few Beef A Rama pics submitted from the Life Spring Coffee Clutch.  I hear the cannons even fired.  I would have loved to see the reaction of drivers in downtown Minocqua when teh cannon went off as they were driving past.

Pirates Enjoying the local drink

Parade of Beef

I missed a pic of the beef’s being carried down main street, but did get this picture of a cross dressing dairy cow being escorted by a sausage.  Only in Minocqua at Beef A Rama everyone has to experience it once.  Troy’s pet peeve about Beef A Rama is all the Dairy Cow costumes and the statues of Holestine Dairy Cow and Calf they have in down town.  Beef Cows (primarily fully brown or fully black) and Holestine Cows (the black and white ones) are two very different beasts.  Lets keep out cows straight in Wisconsin!