Pine Ridge Resort News & Views

You know spring can’t be far behind when the geese start nesting in the channel by Longville.  They have been back for a couple of weeks now and it’s great to wake up in the morning and hear their honking as they squabble over nesting sites.  We were even treated to a pair of swans swimming with the geese for a couple of days as they took a break on their migration further north.

Pussy willows are another sign that things are getting better.  Donna and I walk several times a week and the pussy willows are opening up along the road by the resort.

Robins are back. Not sure what they are eating right now but we have been seeing them for a few days.

One really positive sign that soft water will soon be here is open water in the channel between Girl and Woman Lake.  We walk down Sarajac Rd. a mile or so and last weekend noticed that there was open water in the channel.  The ice breakup always starts there.

But, of course, my most favorite sign of spring is when the sap starts flowing in the maple trees.  We just finished up last years maple syrup this past weekend so it’s time for a new batch.  I have 15 taps out now and several of the trees are putting out over a gallon of sap a day.  Others are still waking up.  In a couple more days there will be enough to start boiling. 

And then, there is my least favorite sign of spring, the April Fools blizzard, which we are enduring right now. Forecast for the next couple of days is for 6″ to 12″ of new snow.  Hang on a minute while I think of something positive about an April snowstorm.  Oh yeah, it helps put water back in the lake and we have been low the last couple of years.  I’m sure the folks up in Fargo have a different opinion about that.

So, generally, it appears that spring is here.  Once we get rid of this snow we’ll be able to get outside and start cleaning things up for fishing opener.  It always happens fast at this time of year.  One day we’re having snow and a week later there is open water and the loons are back calling day and night as they begin their spring ritual.  The first boat will be on the water before all the ice is gone and then the crappie will start slipping into the muddy boat channels looking for those early bug hatches. Hard to imagine right now, with 20 mph winds, 28* temps and snow falling, that our first guests will be here in six weeks. 

Hope to see you then.

For reasons that I’m not really sure of, it’s been quite a while since my last posting here.  There hasn’t been much going on resort wise but still, in the past, I’ve found things to write about.  So I can’t really explain why I have been AWOL these past few months. 

The worst part of my absense was that in my last post, I encouraged people to respond so that I would know someone was actually reading what I was posting.  And many of you did.  I appreciated that a lot but then, well, again, not sure why I haven’t been writing.  I do like writing posts.  Seems like even when I didn’t have much to say I could always put in several hundred words.  I’m sure those of you who have been to the resort find that very surprising.

Anyway, I’m back and I’m pretty sure now that I’ll once again be making regular posts to the blog.  Just hope that those of you who were reading haven’t given up on me.

So, news of the past few months.  Shortly after my last post, Donna and I packed our bags and took a plane ride out to Oregon to visit our son, Evan.  Evan is in Portland where he is the quality control officer in a small lab that does soil and water testing.  Donna and I spent five days with him and we had a fanastic time. 

The first couple of days were spent sight seeing along the Colombia River Gorge.  What a spectular place. Flying into Portland, we saw three mountains sticking through the clouds, Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens and I forget the name of the other one.  Strange site to us flat landers.  The Gorge itself seems to be all staight up and down.  Whatever flat space is available is covered with people or roads.  Beautiful scenery.  We hiked in to see about a half dozen water falls, some dropping over 500′.

We drove up to Mt. Hood one day.  Started the morning off at sea level, drove up the mountain into snow country where people were actually skiing and snow boarding, and finished the day back at sea level in a rain forest where many of the trees were over 100′ tall and covered with moss. Incredible.

Then it was off to the ocean.  I have been to the Pacific once but Donna had never seen an ocean before. We walked along a sand beach that didn’t seem to have an end.  Took in a couple other beachs, got caught in a fast moving rain storm that came off the water, and watched some kids surfing.  Got a couple of great pictures of the sun setting behind a point with the waves breaking on the shore.   Here are a couple of pictures. The first is Donna, Evan’s friend, MaryAlecia, and Evan.  The other is the sunset.  Pretty obvious on that one.

After we got back from Portland, things were pretty quiet here at the resort.  We had a lot of snow in December but January and February were mostly just very cold.  My biggest pleasure in the winter is snowshoeing.  I try to get out a couple of times a week for two to three hours in the woods south of the resort.  It’s so incredibly satisfying to me to be out there all alone in the woods and it’s a real bonus when I can actually see wild life while I’m out there.  Deer are very hard to walk up on since they are so tuned into all the sounds in the woods and, with me on shoes that are 3′ long, it’s pretty noisy.  So I try to get out when it’s snowing and the wind is blowing to cover my presense.  And I have seen deer several times.  And, once, I walked up on two wolves in a heavy falling snow.  All three of us were pretty surprised and I’m glad they decided to leave first. 

I was out snow shoeing yesterday just ahead of this storm we just had.  Didn’t see anything but had a great walk.  We ended up with about 6″ of new snow but lots of wind and lots of cold air this morning.

I’m definitely ready now for warm air and soft water.  If the past is any indicator, we could be hearing loons on the lake in 5 - 6 weeks.  But between now and then, it will be maple syrup time.  Once the day time temps start to get above freezing, the sap starts to run in the maple trees.  We collect the sap and boil it down into pure maple syrup.  And it’s about time.  I only have about two pancakes worth of last years syrup left.

Well, that kind of brings things up to date.  With the coming of warm weather, things happen quickly here at the resort.  There’s a lot to get done before guests start to arrive and not much time to get it done.  Last year, the ice didn’t go off the lake until 8 days before fishing opener and we barely had time to get the docks in and the cabins all cleaned before guests arrived. Several people have already signed up for our Work Week to help get things ready this spring. 

Before I end this posting, there is one last thing.  One of our long time guests has just had surgery to remove a tumor in his head and it turns out that the tumor is an agressive cancer.  For those of you who have watched our web site over the years, you probably remember me including pictures and stories about the Armstrong family.  They have been coming to the resort for almost as long as we have owned it.  The Armstrongs are a big, wonderful, and very close family.  Earlier this year, their mother, Mona, passed away and their, father, Wayne is in a nursing home.  Now, just last week, doctors found and removed the tumor in son Kevin.  Next week he starts chemo and radiation therapies.  Kevin could use all your thoughts and prayers.  There are lots of fish yet to catch and he intends to get his portion so, if you have a few moments, please include Kevin in your thoughts and prayers.  Thanks.

So, that’s enough for now.  I better get outside and finish cleaning up the driveway so Donna can get the car in when she gets home from school.  Take care, all, and I’ll be back soon with more postings.