In a winter wonderland
Our last clients of 2008 (Joe and Cindy Fitzpatrick, RI) left on December 6. Read "Oh Deer" for our adventures hunting big bucks the last few days of muzzleloader season... Since then our pace has slowed, a bit. Wayne is cooking for Northern Maine General and I too work part time for NMG, in an adult day program in the morning and for Steve Daigle (Paper Signs, Ink in Fort Kent) in the afternoon. Wayne and I meet back at the lodge in the evening around 6:30 for dinner and to return the day's calls and emails (which explains why it may take a few hours or a whole day for me to get back to you!) Shippeng FedEx packages for Steve, scanning photos for various Christmas printing projects, and putting together calendars kept me busy right through Christmas eve. When we're not "working" I'm helping organize the Irving Woodlands Mad Bomber 100 sled dog race (http://www.eaglelake100.com/) and doing my best to keep the Eagle Lake Winter Riders snowmobile club operating. We rely on volunteers to work on trails and run grooming equipment but the bulk of the work falls to a handful of individuals, all so we can enjoy safe and scenicly beautiful winter travel through the woodlands
It wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't host annual company Christmas dinners. This year groups form Norstate Credit Union, Ricky Saucier's, and Chopper One (Raynold Blair) enjoyed the lodge and Wayne's excellent cooking for their gatherings. We hosted the Fish River Rural Health board's strategic planning meeting and dinner too. We take great pride in all the positive feedback we receive from guests visiting the lodge and dining with us - I don't know who gets more pleasure from dining at Fish River Lodge, our guests or us for hosting them!
On the 9th I picked out our Christmas tree, which was easy. It was the tallest one Bruce Dube had on the lot. That night Wayne strung lights on it as I set up other Christmas decor in the lodge then we both decorated the tree, which is only slightly smaller than the one at Rockefeller Center! It is all of 8 feet tall, perfectly shaped, and all lit up adds a festive glow to the dining room. On the 10th I woke to find it layed out across the floor. It seems "Trouble" (really is his name!) the lodge cat tried to climb the tree as we slept. The floor was littered with broken ornaments, all can be replaced, except the very special one that has hung at the top of every tree I've decorated...a blue-tinted glass bell ornament that once hung on my great grandfather Carl Smith's trees. Seeing that broken ornament broke my heart. I alerted Wayne to the mess he'd find when he got up and then I went to work with a heavy heart. Wayne righted the tree and redecorated it and securely fastened it with string to the wall so it would not topple over again.
The spirit of giving was strong at Fish River Lodge in December. I believe a bunch of elves fell off Santa's sleigh during a training run on December 12. I came home from work to find Grant Shook, Tony Dube and his tractor, Lucien Dube, and Cheryl and Jim Jandreau cutting and splitting wood with Wayne. They'd surprised him by organizing a work-day. What they didn't plan on was sleet and freezing rain that day but despite the miserable weather they turned out and made a HUGE dent in the 4 1/2 cords of wood piled on the hill. While some bucked up the 4 foot logs others split it on the wood spliter then loaded it in the bucket of Tony's tractor so Tony could deliver it to the lodge deck where he gently dumped it under the eves. With brief breaks to dry clothes and gloves, the crew worked steadily until dark. Jim, Tony, and Lucien returned on Saturday and were joined by Roy Roalf and son Buck. They finished off the pile by 12:30, just in time for me to return from Fort Kent with sandwiches and beer. We had a small celebration but planned a bigger "thank you" party for after the holidays.
Bill Beecher (TX bear hunter) surprised us with a very generous gift. He sent two Cuddyback trail cameras! Wayne and I have wanted to buy trail cameras but always our money gets spent on some other unexpected expense. Bill even included "bear proof" boxes! We can hardly wait to get them out to experiment photographing wildlife - THANK YOU Santa Bill!
On December 19th we hosted NMG day program participants at the lodge. Some halped make stew and ployes for lunch while others enjoyed our taxidermy, playing cards and board games, and making puzzles. They made me promise they could come back in the summer to swim and fish...I promised!
On the first day of winter, baby it was cold outside! Thermometers in Eagle Lake registered between -33 and -38! We woke to a COLD lodge and could see our breath in every room. Wayne and I stoked the woodstove and huddled around it drinking coffee until we could no longer see our breath then headed to Presque Isle to do our Christmas shopping. The truck started hard! Then, as we drove out to route 11 we wondered if the truck might fall apart! The seats were hard, the springs and shocks stiff, the chasis and frame rattled. All along Old Main Street and Route 11, all the way to Presque Isle, we saw dozens of vehicles with hoods up and jumper cables attached. It was a rough morning for anyone or anything to get started.
On Christmas eve Wayne and I played cards next to the woodstove until a light snow began falling. We put on our coats and boots and gloves and with Gracie and Alli bounding up the road ahead of us we walked to the public beach. Across the street from the beach we quietly enjoyed Rella Pelletier's lighted nativity and remembered why we celebrate Christmas, then we walked out on to the lake to play fetch with the dogs before returning to the warmth of the lodge.
Christmas morning the wind howled outside under unsettled skies but it was mild with temps topping out around 25 degrees. We liesurley enjoyed our coffee before opening gifts sent from Ed and Julie Dallas (MN). They sent us "Welcome to Fish River Lodge" pillow cases - Wayne and I will buy new bedspreads to compliment them and use them in cabin 3. In the Dallas package we also found moose and bear dice games, survival cards, and a donation toward our "thick balogna, bear bait, LP gas, firewood, winter fishing tackle, bird seed, new lodge pool table, beer fund". We made calls to thank them and wish family and friends a Merry Christmas. After breakfast we lost power due to the wind. Wayne spent much of the day shoveling the lodge roof while I got caught up on laundry and visited with Santa Bob Macomber - he brought over a load of homemade fudge and candies! At nightfall we packed our bags; after I got out of work on Friday we headed downstate to visit mom and dad, Miranda and Acadia, Kaitlyn, nana Pat and grandpa Armand. Ron and Mim Webber stopped by mom and dad's while we were there to pay us a visit! Our stay was way too short. I miss my family SO much, especially during the holidays! Waving so-long to grandpa brought a tear to my eye. He's 96 years old and I never know when my visit will be the last. But he sure looked handsome in his new forest green Fish River Lodge cap!
Throughout the month of December we've enjoyed several snowfalls and have received about 50" so far with 24" of hardpacked snow still on the ground. Every December I marvel at the beauty of the landscape here in northern Aroostook. Trees are often draped in fresh snow, the mountains wrapped in their own white blankets. Animal tracks ring the landscape like a string of pearls. On the coldest mornings everything near open water is covered in ice crystals. The snow and ice sparkle like a million diamonds! Never have I enjoyed such winter beauty as I have since moving to "The County".
As the month began to wind to a close, ice shacks lined up in formation at the public beach. Soon the procession will move in single file, escourted by snowmobiles and ATVs, to assemble loosly at the mouth of the river. The age-old tradition of ice fishing is long anticipated as soon as the first ice forms on the lake. This year we get to start January 1, two full weeks earlier than years past. Wayne and I bought our own ice shack, a Christmas present of sorts to each other. We're looking for an appropriate name for our tiny, but tidy, shack...I like "Hole-in-the-lake Lounge" Send us your ideas... The ice shack chess match begins on December 31 as they are jockeyed for position. When ice thickens at the mouth of Fish River shacks are "leapfrogged" closer and closer to the river currents..."Play-by-play" goes something like this...Lucien Dube boldly places his shack on the edge first, then Mike and Clayton make a gutsy move closer, and Ron Tousiant sneaks in a middle-of-a-weeknight surprise. Friday morning his shack perches closest to the advancing ice shelf!" The game goes on until the mouth of the river is buttoned up and stops all strategic shack shifting.
On the last day of the year, Wayne and I renewed our guide licenses, registered our snowmobiles, and bought our combination hunting and fishing licenses for 2009. With my wallet completely empty we'll call our licenses and registrations purchases a belated Christmas present AND birthday presents for 2009!
January will bring longer days for us to to enjoy this winter wonderland. We'll ice fish, snow shoe, and snowmobile, then lug wood, shovel and plow. We'll endure the coldest temperatures of the season and the most beautiful landscapes and count our blessings from 2008 and look forward to our hopes and dreams for 2009. HAPPY NEW YEAR from this Winter Wonderland!
It wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't host annual company Christmas dinners. This year groups form Norstate Credit Union, Ricky Saucier's, and Chopper One (Raynold Blair) enjoyed the lodge and Wayne's excellent cooking for their gatherings. We hosted the Fish River Rural Health board's strategic planning meeting and dinner too. We take great pride in all the positive feedback we receive from guests visiting the lodge and dining with us - I don't know who gets more pleasure from dining at Fish River Lodge, our guests or us for hosting them!
On the 9th I picked out our Christmas tree, which was easy. It was the tallest one Bruce Dube had on the lot. That night Wayne strung lights on it as I set up other Christmas decor in the lodge then we both decorated the tree, which is only slightly smaller than the one at Rockefeller Center! It is all of 8 feet tall, perfectly shaped, and all lit up adds a festive glow to the dining room. On the 10th I woke to find it layed out across the floor. It seems "Trouble" (really is his name!) the lodge cat tried to climb the tree as we slept. The floor was littered with broken ornaments, all can be replaced, except the very special one that has hung at the top of every tree I've decorated...a blue-tinted glass bell ornament that once hung on my great grandfather Carl Smith's trees. Seeing that broken ornament broke my heart. I alerted Wayne to the mess he'd find when he got up and then I went to work with a heavy heart. Wayne righted the tree and redecorated it and securely fastened it with string to the wall so it would not topple over again.
The spirit of giving was strong at Fish River Lodge in December. I believe a bunch of elves fell off Santa's sleigh during a training run on December 12. I came home from work to find Grant Shook, Tony Dube and his tractor, Lucien Dube, and Cheryl and Jim Jandreau cutting and splitting wood with Wayne. They'd surprised him by organizing a work-day. What they didn't plan on was sleet and freezing rain that day but despite the miserable weather they turned out and made a HUGE dent in the 4 1/2 cords of wood piled on the hill. While some bucked up the 4 foot logs others split it on the wood spliter then loaded it in the bucket of Tony's tractor so Tony could deliver it to the lodge deck where he gently dumped it under the eves. With brief breaks to dry clothes and gloves, the crew worked steadily until dark. Jim, Tony, and Lucien returned on Saturday and were joined by Roy Roalf and son Buck. They finished off the pile by 12:30, just in time for me to return from Fort Kent with sandwiches and beer. We had a small celebration but planned a bigger "thank you" party for after the holidays.
Bill Beecher (TX bear hunter) surprised us with a very generous gift. He sent two Cuddyback trail cameras! Wayne and I have wanted to buy trail cameras but always our money gets spent on some other unexpected expense. Bill even included "bear proof" boxes! We can hardly wait to get them out to experiment photographing wildlife - THANK YOU Santa Bill!
On December 19th we hosted NMG day program participants at the lodge. Some halped make stew and ployes for lunch while others enjoyed our taxidermy, playing cards and board games, and making puzzles. They made me promise they could come back in the summer to swim and fish...I promised!
On the first day of winter, baby it was cold outside! Thermometers in Eagle Lake registered between -33 and -38! We woke to a COLD lodge and could see our breath in every room. Wayne and I stoked the woodstove and huddled around it drinking coffee until we could no longer see our breath then headed to Presque Isle to do our Christmas shopping. The truck started hard! Then, as we drove out to route 11 we wondered if the truck might fall apart! The seats were hard, the springs and shocks stiff, the chasis and frame rattled. All along Old Main Street and Route 11, all the way to Presque Isle, we saw dozens of vehicles with hoods up and jumper cables attached. It was a rough morning for anyone or anything to get started.
On Christmas eve Wayne and I played cards next to the woodstove until a light snow began falling. We put on our coats and boots and gloves and with Gracie and Alli bounding up the road ahead of us we walked to the public beach. Across the street from the beach we quietly enjoyed Rella Pelletier's lighted nativity and remembered why we celebrate Christmas, then we walked out on to the lake to play fetch with the dogs before returning to the warmth of the lodge.
Christmas morning the wind howled outside under unsettled skies but it was mild with temps topping out around 25 degrees. We liesurley enjoyed our coffee before opening gifts sent from Ed and Julie Dallas (MN). They sent us "Welcome to Fish River Lodge" pillow cases - Wayne and I will buy new bedspreads to compliment them and use them in cabin 3. In the Dallas package we also found moose and bear dice games, survival cards, and a donation toward our "thick balogna, bear bait, LP gas, firewood, winter fishing tackle, bird seed, new lodge pool table, beer fund". We made calls to thank them and wish family and friends a Merry Christmas. After breakfast we lost power due to the wind. Wayne spent much of the day shoveling the lodge roof while I got caught up on laundry and visited with Santa Bob Macomber - he brought over a load of homemade fudge and candies! At nightfall we packed our bags; after I got out of work on Friday we headed downstate to visit mom and dad, Miranda and Acadia, Kaitlyn, nana Pat and grandpa Armand. Ron and Mim Webber stopped by mom and dad's while we were there to pay us a visit! Our stay was way too short. I miss my family SO much, especially during the holidays! Waving so-long to grandpa brought a tear to my eye. He's 96 years old and I never know when my visit will be the last. But he sure looked handsome in his new forest green Fish River Lodge cap!
Throughout the month of December we've enjoyed several snowfalls and have received about 50" so far with 24" of hardpacked snow still on the ground. Every December I marvel at the beauty of the landscape here in northern Aroostook. Trees are often draped in fresh snow, the mountains wrapped in their own white blankets. Animal tracks ring the landscape like a string of pearls. On the coldest mornings everything near open water is covered in ice crystals. The snow and ice sparkle like a million diamonds! Never have I enjoyed such winter beauty as I have since moving to "The County".
As the month began to wind to a close, ice shacks lined up in formation at the public beach. Soon the procession will move in single file, escourted by snowmobiles and ATVs, to assemble loosly at the mouth of the river. The age-old tradition of ice fishing is long anticipated as soon as the first ice forms on the lake. This year we get to start January 1, two full weeks earlier than years past. Wayne and I bought our own ice shack, a Christmas present of sorts to each other. We're looking for an appropriate name for our tiny, but tidy, shack...I like "Hole-in-the-lake Lounge" Send us your ideas... The ice shack chess match begins on December 31 as they are jockeyed for position. When ice thickens at the mouth of Fish River shacks are "leapfrogged" closer and closer to the river currents..."Play-by-play" goes something like this...Lucien Dube boldly places his shack on the edge first, then Mike and Clayton make a gutsy move closer, and Ron Tousiant sneaks in a middle-of-a-weeknight surprise. Friday morning his shack perches closest to the advancing ice shelf!" The game goes on until the mouth of the river is buttoned up and stops all strategic shack shifting.
On the last day of the year, Wayne and I renewed our guide licenses, registered our snowmobiles, and bought our combination hunting and fishing licenses for 2009. With my wallet completely empty we'll call our licenses and registrations purchases a belated Christmas present AND birthday presents for 2009!
January will bring longer days for us to to enjoy this winter wonderland. We'll ice fish, snow shoe, and snowmobile, then lug wood, shovel and plow. We'll endure the coldest temperatures of the season and the most beautiful landscapes and count our blessings from 2008 and look forward to our hopes and dreams for 2009. HAPPY NEW YEAR from this Winter Wonderland!
Labels: December 2008
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