Mark your calendars for June 5 - 8, 2008.  Come and learn the basics of basket weaving and make a bread basket with handle or a friendship basket to take home.   Bonnie Morton will have 6 hours of class on Friday including lunch and workshop assistance on Saturday.  Bonnie has been weaving baskets for over 10 years and spends her summers here at the Pines.  You can see some of her baskets at her web site.  Class size will be limited so check out the specials page for lodging information or just call us!   

  It is with much sadness that I write today.  The dogs were going crazy last night, but we thought they were just barking at deer or the Ice moaning or wind blowing as usual.  This morning Bob stepped out the back door to find the chicken coop void of any chickens but full of a flurry of feathers.  It is a reality of living in the northwoods that Nature takes her own course as she did last night. We suspect a fox got in through the door which wasn't closing tightly due to the recent snows.  Once in he had to rip a hole throught the chicken wire to escape.  We will miss Prissy, Pillow & Dragon - they were great chickens.  The coop won't be empty for long as we're already searching for new chicks!

Well the winter season has finally ended, or has it?  We left Wednesday March 26th to do a little vacationing ourselves.  The temps were warm, the snow was melting, we figured we'd be well into spring upon our return.

We spent a week in Sunny 80F temps in Venice Beach Florida - Fishing on the North Jetty and sunning on the beaches.  When we drove back Saturday night, the roads were bare.  There was still snow in the woods, but we thought we would be working on outdoor projects this week.  Then we woke Sunday morning to a 4+ inch blanket of new snow.  It snowed throughout the day and this moring there was an additional 5 inches or so.  We're now a white winter wonderland once again!  It appears we may have snow throughout the week - who knows?  One thing is sure - we need the moisture so we'll take what we can get.

The Gunflint Green Up is a tree planting weekend May 2-4 and you're invited to be part of it. <http://www.gunflintgreenup.com>

The centerpiece of the Gunflint Green Up is the planting of 75,000 pine seedlings in public areas affected by the 2007 Ham Lake Fire. We know we can't replace the trees and cabins that were lost last year, but we can look ahead and plant a pine forest for our future. We are doing this for the Gunflint Trail neighborhood, and also for the greater community who find peace and meaning in this special place.

http://kite.boreal.org/gunflint-trailCF/greenup/index.cfm

Registration is $30/person and includes the Friday Welcome Picnic, Saturday box lunch and Thank You dinner and dance, event t-shirt and the cost of trees and equipment for the planting weekend. Please register by Earth Day, April 22.