Around the Lodge

A holiday wish for snow!

Gunflint Lodge decked for the holidays

Still unsafe ice.

Pine Grosbeaks

Resident Gray Jay

12/15/07 *Internet service has been unavailable for the past few days so am posting this from a few days ago.

Temps have been below zero for the past few days; cold and crisp with clear skies. Temps changing to teens with chances of snow.

Around the lodge folks have been busy decorating for the holidays. The inside of the lodge is quite a sight with a Christmas tree set up right in front of a window that views the vast expanse of Gunflint Lake.

As of a couple of days ago, the Canadian side of the lake was still wide open. This morning, however I noticed the entire lake covered with a light dusting of snow indicating at least a thin layer of ice had formed over the remaining open water last night.

Bird feeders are located along the lakeside and are attracting Gray Jays, Blue Jays and my favorite, the Pine Grosbeak. Pine Grosbeaks have a beautiful ruby red head and breast and are almost as large as the Jays, however, unlike the Jays, the Grosbeaks hang out in small groups, dotting the snow with their beautiful scarlet plumage.

We received a couple inches of light fluffy snow the other day, adding to the much needed base for the dog sled trails. Erik, the third Points Unknown team member, arrived on Thursday and brought the spruce poles for the Tipi that will be used as a warming area for one of the adventures. The Tipi trail also had to be made and packed which was done with the snowmobile. He also set up his dog yard, packing the outside of his dog house barrels with snow for added insulation and attaching the chains. He will return next week with the canvas for the Tipi and we will put it up before our programs begin on December 21^st.