Black's Cliff Blog

Excerpt: I came around the corner to this scene with Steve up a ladder. Me: "What are you doing up there" Steve "Dad told me to do this a few years ago when snow was on the roof so the branch would bounce off the roof and not cause damage" Me: "And you thought today was the correct day for... Read more

Excerpt: If there is anyone in America right now that does not have snow outside their window this is for you..... but I think those people are only in Miami today and maybe the west coast Our greeter bear getting slowly buried. This is snow depth we usually see mid February just before everything starts to melt away at the... Read more

Excerpt: I took some walks around the resort at night as well as during the day. At night we still have our trees lit up and it is nice to walk through and see the trees More new snow came down and it is starting to really pile up around the place ... Read more

Excerpt: If you were 12 - 14 and had to get back and forth to school what would be your choice of travel. Yellow School bus on the right or kick ass snowmobile on the left with your buddies tearing up the trail with your books in your backpack. I do not need to tell you what is the most... Read more

Excerpt: We have had an 80 degree temperature swing this week from - 50 wind chill to a balmy 30 degrees today. Fresh snow came down last night and it is a beautiful warm day to be out enjoying it After a burst water pipe in our basement, frozen septic line in Bayview, frozen water line in Restwhile and all... Read more

Excerpt: The snow is getting deeper and deeper. I figured all the kids looking forward to swinging on the horse swings this summer would like this picture. These old swings have been remade many, many times and originate from the 40's or 50's. Steve made the latest pair a few years ago, copying from the old pattern. How many generations... Read more

Excerpt: Happy to let everyone know the one eyed bandit in Arizona is doing well. Craig had retina surgery for a torn retina this week. I will leave out the gory details but will advise everyone that it is not a surgery you want to volunteer for. I am praying my retina stays intact. The doc says all looks well... Read more

Excerpt: Lower Kaubashine at -22 this morning. School was back on after 2 days off with windchills going down to - 50. Minus 22 this morning was cold but nothing like the - 50 wind chill from the last few days. Cars started and off to school everyone went Burrrr...... raft and boats under the snow somewhere. Only casualty of... Read more

Excerpt: We had warmer temps for one afternoon this weekend and we decided to take advantage of it and head out on a ski trail. Schlecht Lake trail is 5 minutes from the resort on the way into Minocqua just before Settler's Mill golf. The trails in yellow on the map are lit at night during the ski season and... Read more

Excerpt: Temps last night went down into the mid -20's to 30 below with a windchill of - 50. I get asked what is the coldest temp we have ever seen. That would be about 16 years ago when it was an actual temp of - 40 not counting the wind chill. - 40 is an important temp we learned... Read more

Excerpt: We have had a break in the cold for yesterday and today and fresh snow fell last night. The Gregory crew were not wasting anytime to get out on the trails and enjoy the relative heat wave we are having at a balmy 20 degrees. We are headed back into the deep freeze along with the rest of the... Read more

Excerpt: It was a merry Christmas at the Cliff. Who is under this hat you ask..... in an ugly Christmas sweater..... that will remain a secret Christmas brings out the best in people and our rink had a heart in it carved out of the fresh Christmas snow They would not completely admit it but I believe this is our... Read more

Excerpt: Time to go snowshoeing. We figured if we were sending so many folks down the trail we had better get out and snowshoe it ourselves, so down the trail we went You find our very quickly that having snowshoes with grippers on is a good thing coming down a hill Down the trail we go with a golden retriever... Read more

Excerpt: How much snow is on the ground? I think the top of the bird bath is a good measure. It is piling up The ice from the storm a couple of weeks ago is still on the trees with new snow on top. Until we have a good melt the trees will be loaded down. The trails in the... Read more

Excerpt: Sometimes you feel like the only one on the lae with a whole lot of snow..... Trying out the leaf blower again on the ice rink. The conclusion to this experiment is that for light snow it works fine but if there is any weight to it, it is not worth it. The old shovel method is the best... Read more

Excerpt: Cold December morning but warmer than it has been Wandering down to the lake after days in the house by the woodstove There have been tracks on the lake so time to take the first few steps out on the lake. Checking out the ice, it is pretty rough. We will start getting a rink ready for Christmas. This... Read more

Excerpt: The Black's Cliff 2014 calendar is finally ready to be ordered. Sorry about the wait. I have it done through Walgreens as usual. I can invite you to see it and you can order it and have it made up at your local Walgreens or delivered in the mail. Through Thursday the calendars are 40% off at Walgreens. I... Read more

Excerpt: Its been cold out and lots of snow. The lake should be good for ice skating right? Ummm not so much. The problem in this picture for an ice rink on the lake is the heavy snow pack. It insulates the ice making a slushy wet layer between the ice and the snow. Skating through slush is not fun..... Read more

Excerpt: We had a 3 day storm roll through which everyone in the Midwest dealt with. For us it started out as snow, switched to ice and rain and back to snow. The ice came down on the heavy wet snow and weighed down the trees snapping off some limbs. The pines in the front yard took the biggest hit... Read more

Excerpt: It is Monday morning and time to go back to work even though most of us feel like this boat The lake is frozen over I have seen folks out walking around on it but I prefer to wait and burn a few logs on the fire. Since it is cyber Monday I thought I would post the remaining... Read more