Winter Wonderland

The snow has finally come.  An Alberta clipper with lots of moisture went right over us and dumped 14 inches of snow on us yesterday.  John had to plow the road to Ignace twice in one day to try to keep it open.  That was a first.  A nice couple from Ignace was supposed to come out yesterday for a half day dog sled trip, but they couldn't get out of their driveway with all the snow.  So, they came out today to embark on their adventure.  The first three pictures show them on the sleds leaving the dog yard.  John brings up the rear with his snowmobile in case someone has trouble and needs his help. I took a few extra shots of the beautiful trees, heavily laden with snow.  Now that's what I call WINTER!! 

He Still Loves Me

On one of our hikes to the overlook, John had taken his chainsaw to cut and remove some fallen trees from the trail.  Once he got to the top of the ridge, he came across an old rotten stump that was about shoulder height.  He decided to do a bit of art work on it, which is displayed in the middle picture above.  In case you can't easily read it, he chainsawed the letters DO (Daryl Oberg)  +  JO (John Oberg).  Yes, he still loves me.  Pretty cute, John.

Hot on the Trail Again

Joanna and John have been burning up the trails with their training regimen for the sled dogs.  Joanna's first race the end of January is probably the most challenging.  There are some pretty intimidating hills in those Sawtooth Mountains for her and the team to climb and descend.  Only the tough of soul and body are able to persevere.  At this point we are still hoping they will run the race since they haven't had much snow in the Duluth, MN area yet this winter.  I suppose it would be more accurate to say that they DID have more snow then lost it because of warm weather and rain, then acquired some new snow.  It certainly has been an unusual winter with the cold, snow, thaw, rain, snow routine we've been experiencing. 

We've also had more folks join us for dog sled trips this year.  Two people from Holland were passing through the area and decided to take in a dog sled trip.  Then a girl from Australia and a guy from France and several from Thunder Bay, Ignace and Dryden.  It's very enjoyable to get to know these people as they prepare for their adventure in the snowy woodlands.  

We just had a heavy duty snowstorm pass through our area dumping about 8 inches here after raining for one day.  So we are thankful for that.  John has only had to plow the road twice now this winter which is a blessing. 

Several times now we have noticed two otters flipping up on the ice in front of our house, playing around a bit, then diving back under.  They are such happy little creatures and fun to watch. 
Winter really is a beautiful, calm, peaceful time of year to relax in God's beautiful creation and work on projects that lay dormant during the busy summer months. 

Christmas Surprise

 One of our greatest joys in life is to spend time with our children and grandchild.  Most often we have been able to be together with them each Christmas.  However, Jonathan and Reseth just moved from Pensacola, FL to Omaha, Nebraska to a new Air Force base and a new assignment.  They really enjoy their new home and the area.  But he let us know they were not going to be able to make it up for Christmas this year.  Aaron , our 18 month old grandson is so cute and growing very fast.  We just ached to be with him so we could all get to know each other better.  Our daughter Cherish said she could come for two weeks which was a great blessing to us, so that helped ease the pain of not being able to be with Jonathan's family.  We understand that when you are in the military, you can't always do what you want to do.

We planned to go to our Christmas church service in Ignace on the evening of December 23rd.  There was a dinner before the service at 5:30 p.m.  Once we got to Hwy 17 in Ignace, we met a police car heading east toward Thunder Bay with its lights flashing.  We groaned inwardly thinking there must have been an accident.
We didn't think anymore about it till after the service when we were heading home about 8:30 p.m.

We were driving on Hwy 17 again, heading back to Hwy 599 and saw a long line of tractor trailers stopped on Hwy 17.  We figured they must still be stopping traffic because of the accident.  John figured another way we could get onto Hwy 599 to make it back to camp.  When we got home, Cherish asked if there was anyway to find out who was in the accident.  I told her probably not till the next day.  She seemed very concerned.

Well, we settled down together in the living room and began to watch a movie.  All of a sudden about 10:00 p.m. , we heard a knock at the door.  That is extremely unusual since we live so far out in the woods and there is no one around us.  Who could it be?  Was someone lost?  Was it the police looking for someone who might be having trouble?

John went to the door and SURPRISE!!!!!  It was Jonathan, Reseth and little Aaron.  I was so shocked I could hardly stand up.  They had driven without their headlights on as they approached the camp and with the movie going we never heard them drive up.  It was the most wonderful surprise I could imagine.  We had a whole wonderful week with them. 

Jonathan and Reseth were stopped at the accident for four hours.  That's why Cherish was so concerned.  But Jonathan had called Reseth's parents in Duluth to let them know what happened and they texted Cherish to let her know they were okay.  Unfortunately a young man 35 years old lost his life in the head on collision.  Very sad news.  

We had lots of fun together during the week playing games, watching Aaron and laughing at his antics, snowmobiling, dog sledding , hiking to the overlook on Indian Lake and listening to Cherish play the keyboard  and sing.  That little Aaron is such a loving boy.  He was handing out hugs and kisses galore.  And oh does he LOVE music.  Soon as Jonathan started to play the guitar, he began to dance and bob his head and clap his hands.  Cherish let him play the keyboard too which was a thrill for him.  I got him a toy flute for Christmas and he serenaded us beautifully.

At one point Jonathan and Reseth surprised us again by telling us another little baby Oberg was on the way.  Yahoooooo!   It was a Christmas to remember for sure. 

Let Your Voice Be Heard

Recently we were informed by the Ministry of Natural Resources that we needed to take a look at a new fisheries management plan which an Advisory Council had developed for zone 4, the zone in which our camp is located.

We received two large packets of paperwork, one detailing background information for the development of a Fisheries Management Plan in Fisheries Management Zone 4 and the other packet was the actual draft of the Management Plan.

The Advisory Council consisted of two people from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, one person from the baitfish industry, one commercial fisherman, two people from Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitters, one environmental person, one outdoor writer, two fishermen, one outdoor communicator and four people from the Aboriginal community.

In the background material on all the different species which the MNR has compiled, they found that in our zone 4 is the highest population of Walleye compared with all twenty zones in Ontario.  Northern Pike was second highest in population of all twenty zones in Ontario.

In the Draft plan that this Advisory Council has developed it states, "The 2005 angler recreational survey revealed that a low percentage of pike are kept.  The over-harvest of pike is not considered an issue in zone 4. "

The current regulation for pike is as follows:
season:  open all year
Limits:  Sport-4- none between 70-90-cm, not more than 1 greater than 90cm
              70 cm is about 27 1/2 inches

The Advisory Council Draft further states, "Since the implementation of the current northern pike slot size regulation, many anglers have complained to OMNR that the regulation prevents the harvesting of the most desired size of northern pike for consumption.  Anglers contend that northern pike below 70 cm are difficult to clean and are generally considered less desirable for consumption.  Angler representatives on the Advisory Council identified the preferred size of pike for consumption as between 70-90 cm with 80 cm identified as the ideal.  Anglers have indicated they want the opportunity to harvest one pike in this preferred size range.  To help reduce the harvest of walleye populations, both tourism and angler representatives agreed northern pike should be promoted and encouraged as an alternative to walleye as a shore lunch and take home catch.  However, some contend the current protected slot prevents anglers from consuming the most desirable size.  A social management objective to provide anglers with the opportunity to consume the preferred size of northern pike was developed. "

The plan they came up with was to remove the slot and say you can keep 3 pike 60 cm (23 inches) or less and one pike greater than 60 cm (23 inches). To remove the slot is a good thing, but to cut the size you can keep down to 23 inches seems very undesirable.

It is our understanding that in zone 5 which is right next door to us, they will now be able to take 3 pike which are 29 inches or less and one greater than that size. Why shouldn't zone 4 have the same size limits?

In the quote above from their draft plan, they already stated that anglers don't like to keep and clean these smaller pike below 70 cm, then they put the limit on three of them well below that size.  When it has already been established that the pike population is very high and in good health, why bring the catch and keep size down so drastically?  Most people let the larger ones go anyway. 

If you disagree with the plan that the Advisory Council has decided upon, you can let your voice be heard by contacting Jennifer Boyko at jennifer.boyko@ontario.ca.   They plan to make a decision in early 2013.

Together we can make positive change happen.

Signs of Moose

This afternoon we took a little Sunday stroll in the woods to get some exercise and we came upon an unusual sight.  There was about two inches of snow on the ground .  As we came around a corner, right before us were two large bare spots on the ground surrounded with snow and a pile of moose poop.  You could actually see where the Mama cow's legs were stretched out.  If you look closely at the photo, you will see where the two legs were laying to the right in the large bare spot.  The other bare spot was probably her calf.  Pretty cute.  Nice to know the hunters didn't kill all our moose. 

Beginnings of the New Dock System

My husband is a workhorse. He tackles one huge job after another. I don't know how he figures out how to do some of them. He says he figures it out as he goes. For instance, we are installing a new floating dock system for our guests, to alleviate the heavy boat traffic at our other docks. John has never built a rock crib for a dock before, but as you can see, he finished that part of the project and did a fine job. I am impressed!!! Where did I find such a man? I guess I'm just blessed. :)