Black's Cliff Birch Bark Blog

Excerpt: Anyone that knows chipmunks knows they are a ground squirrel. They spend most of their time on the ground not in the trees. They nest in the ground as well. Once in awhile you see one going part way up in a tree, but not into the upper reaches of the trees like the gray and red squirrels. This... Read more

Excerpt: Wood has been wildly flying off the wood splitter this week. Thanks to Ted, Troy and Steve there is plenty of firepit wood for a year Steve with a gleam in his eye attacking the wood the old fashioned way. He was splitting wood that will never see a firepit or a cabin fireplace. Oak is kept in Troy's... Read more

Excerpt: Mid Summer an time for a excursion away from the resort. We were led by local guide Grace to a calm 1 1/2 hour paddle in Kayaks down the Tomahawk River. Loaded up the Kayaks and down the road we went We started out at the Willow Dam about 15 minutes from the resort. The Willow Flowage is looking... Read more

Excerpt: Time for a dead birch to come down. Craig had a volunteer chainsaw operator Mark. Mark has spent alot of time with chainsaws carving ice but has never used one for taking down a tree. From ice sculptures to birch logs. Question is with Wildflower in the back ground can they manage to take the tree down without hitting... Read more

Excerpt: Does anyone out there in Blog land have a trombone in their attic that they want to sell? We don't need anything fancy but preferably with a case... Read more

Excerpt: The Hayes Family up enjoying the lake and finding Yertle the turtle. One of the kids had sharp eyes and spotted him without coordinates Kids checking out the treasure in the treasure box I caught this Blue Heron swooping around the lake. I missed some elusive Flickers among the trees ... Read more

Excerpt: Blueberies are at the height of the season. We have spotted a huge patch of them and are furiously picking whenever we can get spare time. Steve claims to have a blueberry harvester that makes the job much easier. We shall see tomorrow. Blueberries to me are the easiest wild berry to pick. They do not involve any prickers... Read more

Excerpt: There were some amazing colors in the skies preceeding a storm on Friday It was hard to capture the colors but my camera did the best it could Thankfully the storm went through with no damage. It was sure erie to be outside with these skis Cause there is nothing cuter than one puppy other than 2 puppies Ben... Read more

Excerpt: Headed down after the storm to see how much water was in the boats. The boats were definitely full. Jim Ross had already beaten us to the lake bailing out his boat. Over the years there has been many a suggestion as to how to get water out of the boats, but nobody has ever beaten a cut up... Read more

Excerpt: We have started a new adventure for families. Located somewhere in the resort is Yertle the Turtle and his treasure box. In order to find Yertle and claim part of his treasure a GPS is needed or can be borrowed from us. By following the coordinates to a few smaller treasure boxes you can find the coordinates to Yertles... Read more

Excerpt: It has been a beautiful few days with cool nights and low 80's. From things hanging around the resort it is evidence to the good times being had... Read more

Excerpt: The 4th of July week means one thing, time for the 15th annual Roy Tungett Horse Shoe Tournament. 10 of the 11 cabins at the resort headed down to Hilltop for Ting Soda, a few beers, pizza and horse shoes Mr Tungett and the 2010 players. This year there were 17 teams entered Newly added this year is The... Read more

Excerpt: Eight dove in the water for the "Big Swim" across the lake. There were 5 first timers. Most afternoons in the summer you will see heads bobbing across the lake for anyone brave enough to do the "Big Swim" The trusty boat spotters staying close to the swimmers in case anyone needed to jump on and to keep other... Read more

Excerpt: It has been a very wet and soggy 4th of July. Fireworks and Ski show in Minocqua canceled two nights in a row due to heavy rain. Folks have been having fun regardless in the rain. Nothing was stopping Rich from grilling hamburgers flood or no flood. He would have been grilling in a boat if needed The spirit... Read more

Excerpt: After 3 days of rain it was time for some activities outside of the resort and the 4 walls of the cabin. Antiquing in Ironwood at Dan's and everyone found something they could not live without at a good price and then it was off to The Black River Road and Potowatomi Falls. Sarah was happy to be outside... Read more

Excerpt: Reading on the internet we came up with a recipe for poison ivy eradication. The ingredients for 2 potions were purchased Troy trying out the 1st potion. If you smell vinegar around the resort stay clear you are close to the poison ivy. 1 gallon vinegar, 1 cup salt, 1 tbl spoon dish soap. So far we have seen... Read more

Excerpt: First day of vacation, first cast and first fish. Abigail Hebert fishing with her dad Charles, caught her first fish on the first cast. Dad is a little jealous that Abigail has caught a fish bigger than he has so far and Abigail is not sure she wants to go swimming in the lake if this is what she... Read more

Excerpt: The pre party get together waiting for Gloria and Rich to arrive for their surprise 35th anniversary party. Do you think 7 bottles of wine would be enough? A very surprised Rich and Gloria arriving back from dinner with their family Eric, Alaina, Sarah and little Amelia who planned the party without their knowledge. Way to go Kim and... Read more

Excerpt: This sounds naughty, but to a muskie fisherman I think it makes sense. One of our guests Charles Hebert has an online tackle store and has these lures on sale. I question where they got their name, there has to be a story behind these lures. So if you are a muskie fisherman or anyother fisherman that spends too much... Read more

Excerpt: What in the world is going on here? All I know is Steve and Troy took my camera and told me they took some pics. I believe it involves a trip to Steve's Swamp for a pole of some kind for Eagles Nest. What this develops into and will the police pull over Steve's car remains in question. How... Read more