Ring Neck Ducks

The good news, the water level has gone down a little bit but the lake is still frozen.

These little ring neck ducks have been out playing and fishing “on our yard” the past few days.  Every time I get close enough to get a good photo, even with my zoom, they paddle on into the trees.   Fun to watch them though.

High water fun

With all the snow melt and rain, the waters are all pretty high in the region. But if you like class IV rafting, it is a great time on the Dead River.

Here is a description from one of the rafting companies in West Forks:  ” The Dead River has eight special high volume dam releases each season that produce big whitewater action over 16 miles. The river bed drops steadily during the entire run and produces long, consistent action that builds throughout the day in Class III-V rapids such as “Humpty Dumpty”, “Elephant Rock” and “Spruce Ledges”. Each rapid includes long wave trains and sudden drops into deep holes.The Dead continues to build through dozens of rapids and culminates in the LONGEST RAPID IN THE NORTHEAST, Class IV-V “Poplar Hill Falls”. “Poplar” on its own is one mile of whitewater with huge standing waves and deep, turbulent holes. When you combine “Poplar” with the rest of this action packed trip, you have the finest raft trip in the Northeast!”

The first release in on May 11th.   Do you dare?  Of  course rafting trips are offered well into September.

We no longer have a rafting company in Jackman but the Forks is only a 30 minute ride. Spend the weekend with us and then come back to your cabin after your ride to share your experience with each other while roasting marshmallows by a campfire.

Spring has arrived

Spring, lovingly called Mud Season in Jackman has finally arrived.

The first sign is the birds i hear in the mornings. A couple weeks ago, these small birds were all over the trees around Cozy Cove. Very chatty. Then as a group, they all take off and would move on to another set of trees.  I wish I knew what they were.  I assume they are migrating.

A few days ago, I heard the woodpeckers calling, then of course, they found a couple trees to peck.

Last night I saw 2 geese on our yard, which is actually almost a pond now) along with a duck or two.

This morning again, a few more sounds of birds that I have no clue what they are.  With the trees around camp here, I can not usually see them well, even with binoculars but I hear them.  Romping around, mating or making nests.

I have been watching for our tree swallows to start nesting in our many houses we have for them.  None so far.

So along with the signs the birds are giving us, the piles of snow are melting pretty quick. The melt runoff has caused the lake waters to rise also. Soon we will be counting the moments for ice out. Below is a snapshot from our webcam this afternoon.

Deer on the ice

The deer have been traveling out on the ice almost every day. Today I saw 2 groups cross over from Hog Island to the Main land.   I hope they stop crossing back and forth once the ice starts to thaw.

In 2015, during ice thaw, a few deer fell though and thanks to our fire and rescue, they did save a couple of them.

April Snowmobile trails

It is kinda hard to believe that the snowmobile trails are still in such great conditions.   Reports from local groomers (on the 3rd) as well as Pittston Farm say “they are better then ever.”   The rain packed it down a bit and now new snow is expected this week. Some reports say 8-12 inches.

Blue Ridge and Summit riders have stopped grooming but our trailmaster in Jackman said as long as the nights are cold enough and people are riding, they will continue to groom until April 14th, as trails here will close on the 15th.

Come on up for one last ride!