Black's Cliff Birch Bark Blog

Excerpt: It is so cold we spotted these geese flying south..... This entry brought to you by the mind of Steve I will announce the contest winners as soon as I round up a couple of pictures.... I am struggling with one that I only have the back of this individual out at the raft. This person never faces the... Read more

Excerpt: Can you name the cabin depicted above in dominos floor plan? Keep in mind we were limited to full size Dominos so some creative liberties were taken but the basic plan is there if you look closely To enter the contest put your answer in the comment section of this blog entry. I will randomly select winners from the... Read more

Excerpt: The sun has come out finally after what felt like 40 days and 40 nights of rain The customary picture of the tree snag and tree reflections on a quiet morning on Lower Kaubashine One last remaining oak leaf holding on over the water I know yesterday I said I was not bringing out the camera until the sun... Read more

Excerpt: Yes that is snow on Kaubashine's roof this morning and no, I am not posting anymore pictures today out of protest. My camera is not coming out again until blue skies are seen... Read more

Excerpt: I think these 2 sum up what the Northwoods is like for the next 2 days. Cold wet, snow showers and showers... but the show must go on spring or no spring! In their wet misery they managed to get the side of Kaubashine looking better. Erosion had done a number on the side of Kaubashine They also got... Read more

Excerpt: It was a day of piles that kept appearing everywhere around the resort getting ready for spring. Truck load of cedar mulch for the gardens Steve trying to figure out what to do on the side of Kaubashine to stop the erosion. First layer road gravel Playground getting a delivery of wood chips You ordered then now where do... Read more

Excerpt: Happy birthday Mack! He turns 5 today and looks so excited about it. Now on to the conditions We had been gone over the weekend and came back to a different world at the resort. Our wonderful snow has had a toll taken on it by the warmer temps. The lake top has melted away. There is good and... Read more

Excerpt: A truck filled with tools means the guys are moving and almost done with their job in Wigwam Fire going means they are cleaning up the evidence of their destruction Steve showing off his new shelves that Tim Hixson requested last summer. It should be a nice addition to cupboard space in Wigwam. Steve would like to point out... Read more

Excerpt: How can you have this look on your face and feel better than you have your entire life? The answer to all problems is in the pot of maple sap. Just dip your glass in and... drink away. Steve says it is wetter than water and colder than ice. He actually shaved this morning clean shaven and you can... Read more

Excerpt: After 2 days of tantalizing me with far off calls and appearing by the road when I was in a hurry on the way to pick someone up or drop off at school with no camera I finally caught the loon! With a lake still half frozen the loon has restricted swimming area for awhile but it was hanging... Read more

Excerpt: So why did our minivan get so dirty... driving down 10 miles of roads like this with muddy spots in them had us gripping the wheel as we plowed through the slippery mud praying we would not get stuck and seen on the local news as missing in the Chequamagon forest surrounded by wolves and surviving on granola bars... Read more

Excerpt: Why was our van so dirty in the last entry. We went exploring an hour and a half from the resort up to Copper Falls State Park. Anything at Copper Falls involves stairs many many stairs! We headed up to the tower first. 1/2 of the stairways and paths were developed during FDR's CCC days by WWI vets called... Read more

Excerpt: Our Ice out 2011 winner is Mike Grady who picked today April 19th as his day for Cliff to plunge into Lower Kaubashine. Mike was a 2nd place winner a few years ago getting his 5 dollar coupon to Hilltop Bar in a previous contest. Congrats to Mike and also to Ruth where ever she is... We looked over... Read more

Excerpt: Really we are under a Winter Storm Watch on Tuesday.... Not funny Mother Nature...... It is April isn't it? If no painting gets done this spring you will all know why Tuesday: A chance of rain and snow after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. East wind between 6 and 13 mph, with gusts as high as 2... Read more

Excerpt: Why no entries the last few days and a filthy dirty mini van full of mud? Well that is a tale for another day... We returned from our crazy adventure to find Cliff nearing the edge of the ice. We were happy he did not drop while we were gone. Mack was happy to see his swimming hole had... Read more

Excerpt: Time to rake some leaves. Steve showed up for work with his assistant for a day of playing in the leaves Troy had already started ahead of Steve hauling leaves out to cover the new septic by Shamrock Our first challenge this spring is keeping this area from washing away. First thing to do is try to cover it... Read more

Excerpt: Best Buy made good finally on my broken camera. January 12th I sent my camera in, to have it cleaned. It came back the end of January with a smashed LCD screen. Returned to Best Buy February 8th for them to repair the damage they did, many phone calls later a talk with the store manager when I was... Read more

Excerpt: We were about to put away our sap collecting containers and the trees decided to have one last horah. Usually a 60 degree day shuts the trees down, instead I think it put them in hibernation and they came out with a vengence today. We had one of our biggest colletion days and will have to be busy tomorrow... Read more

Excerpt: We had blue skies and storms rolling across the lake. It made for some interesting lighting on the lake Ice turning colors but not retreating much Cliff starting to sink a bit. What day will he take the plunge....... Read more

Excerpt: Fire going burning off the last of our maple sap, beautiful spring day means one thing, lunch by the fire. No healthy food allowed Yum, maple sap boiling and hotdog cooking First Smore of the season eaten Cleaning up the yard of all the fallen sticks burned in the fire. This fire served so many purposes Just after lunch... Read more