Late Spring

This has been such a busy Spring. The lake has had an abundance of Canada geese babies and we have two baby eagles (the little heads just right of the trunk) this year. It’s still to early to know about loon babies. Already the painted turtles and the snapping turtles have been coming in record numbers to lay their eggs. Our guests Nina and Gwen, from Texas, took amazing pictures of the painted turtles. They even got a video clip of momma depositing an egg into her hole. I’ve posted the video on our new Facebook page.

Yes, you read correctly - we now have our own Facebook page. Click on the icon right under my bio to see for yourself. I’ve been having fun sharing pictures of our newly married couples along with nearly live updates on what’s happening on the lake. You can join us by signing on as a fan. If you have pictures from the Inn or the area you can even share them with everyone.

The Inn has just partnered with the Maine Birding Trail (http://www.mainebirdingtrail.com). The Trail provides details on 82 prime birding sites throughout the state. In fact, 4 of them are within 15 miles of the Inn. We are featured as one of trails “Best Nests” birder-friendly accommodations.

We have been busy with our landscaping and getting our vegetable garden planted. It seems now, more than ever, that the more of our food supply that we can produce ourselves or purchase locally the healthier and more tasty it is. This year we are growing our own delicata squash, a favorite of a group that comes each fall for a workshop.

We are looking forward to a wonderful summer. We have lots of weddings booked and we’ll get to help with family reunions, anniversary celebrations and other festive events. However, we still have dates open so if you have a special event just let us know.

Enjoy your spring and I’ll keep you posted on the loon babies!

A Very Early Spring

Here on the lake and all over New England we have been treated to a very early arrival of Spring. The ice on our lake “went out” in mid-March, a full month early. The interesting thing is that nobody is complaining about a short winter. It seems that the Mid-Atlantic coast got our winter.

We did have fun in what winter we did have. We had our retreat groups – spinners, quilters and church groups here for long weekends. The SOPP quilters gave me an amazing gift of a gorgeous quilt they hand-made for me. Each quilter made a block and then it was all put together. I will enjoy it for years to come. I am so fortunate to have wonderful guests who become friends as they return year after year.

The loons are back along with the geese and ducks. It is such a treat to hear them with their haunting call. It’s still to early to tell if we will have eagle babies but our fingers are crossed.

Much of the winter was spent with remodeling. We have a new bathroom in the loon room and just finished a major remodel of the dining room in time for the Bucksport Bay Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting.

We are getting ready for a wonderful season. This is such an exciting time of year as we help happy couples plan for weddings and meet new vacationers experiencing Maine for the first time.

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Let Us Help You Celebrate the Holidays!

We are busy decorating the Inn for the holidays. By Christmas the lake should be frozen over and in a few more weeks we’ll be cross-country skiing! We are here year-round and welcome visitors to enjoy a good old fashion Maine winter.

This is good time to think of gift certificates as holiday presents. Just give us a call at 1-866-459-6393 and we’ll be happy tomail a gift certificate with time to spare!

Can The Year Be Nearly Over?

It seems like just yesterday it was summer. Since we have had such a mild fall I guess I just didn’t see the reality of winter’s arrival. Here it is December 1^st and time to look back and marvel at all the wonderful things that happened during the second half of the year.

The early summer provided a great deal of activity on the lake. We had new families of Canada Geese and several duck families.

With lots of rain the lake level was extremely high and we feared that the loons, who nest at the water’s edge, would have their nests washed away. Susan, one of my favorite frequent returning guests loves loons and really early morning kayak paddles. One early June morning she came across a loon nest with an egg! What a treat. It is so important not to disturb the nesting mom since she will abandon the nest. Susan carefully and quietly took the picture with a telephoto lens and then slipped silently away.

Our eagle’s nest that I thought was barren this year – well not so. The baby would have hatched in May or June. It was pretty quiet as far as eagle hatchlings go so I was not completely convinced that we had a little one. In August, Pam, our guest from Pennsylvania, took an outstanding picture of this year’s baby eagle. My friend and neighbor Fred captured a wonderful picture of one the parents soaring high.

In the middle of June we had our annual turtle nesting watch. What fun it is to see the snapping and painted turtles come up on the shore to dig their nests. Each snapping turtle lays about 20 – 30 ping-pong ball sized eggs over the course of an hour or so.

While we are careful not to disturb them, they don’t seem bothered by on-lookers. Normally the eggs hatch in the fall after an incubation of 2 to 3 months. If the eggs are laid late in the season, they may not hatch until the following spring. The incubation temperature of the eggs determines the sex of the hatchlings. Males result if the eggs are maintained within the temperature range of 72 to 82 degrees F. Snapping turtle eggs produce more females at incubation temperatures outside of this range.

By the end of September we had pretty much decided there would be not hatchling this year. BUT – fast forward to mid-October and our guests Haley and Cameron. They came to breakfast and announced there were baby turtles down by the boat dock. Well here at the Inn – wildlife sightings trump breakfast every time. So off we went. The kids were right. We decided to bring one inside for a photo op. So here are Haley, Cameron and Snappy!

Fred did a wonderful job of capturing our mid-summer wildlife. No, this is not a real bobcat. Fred is a Pixiebob breeder and has a new litter ready for adoption. you can learn more at www.alamoosookpixiebobs.com .

The fall came and hasn’t actually left yet. We had wonderful guests who came to see the beautiful leaf show that graced Maine. A fall paddle is just the thing to get a close up view. Nick pictured here and his wife Judy (paddling in another canoe) came from Milwaukee for a great fall visit.

So now we prepare for winter. The dock and float are in and the lake is getting quiet. It is still a beautiful view from my window. It’s never boring here at the lake.

Spring Has Finally Sprung

Another spring has arrived in Maine. A bit later than most people experience it. We have daffodils and lilacs in bloom. Most of all I love the crabapple tree when it blooms at the end of May.

I took my first kayak trip of the season all the way to the end of Dead River, about 3 miles up the north end of the lake. It was so peaceful and full of birds. I saw many ducks and loons as well as a great blue heron. At the end is a beautiful little set of rapids where Hothole Stream enters the lake. Just as I was getting ready for the return trip, I encountered a beaver returning to its hut. It wouldn’t stay still long enough for me to snap a picture however!

I’ve been watching the eagle’s nest and I’m beginning to come to the conclusion that we won’t have babies this year. Quite a disappointment since the adults have been frequenting the area and leading me to believe that the nest was active. So far the only babies at the lake are a family of Canada geese. There are 10 babies and they swim by nearly every day.

We are starting two new specials this summer with Maine Master Guide Isaac Dorr – a Tuesday night campfire program open to everyone on the lake and a guided hike up Great Pond Mountain. Check out our specials page for all the details.

We have already hosted six weddings this year! It’s so much fun to help people celebrate one of the most important day of their lives. We still have some late summer and fall Saturdays open for weddings. In this economy we are actively trying to help couples afford the wedding of their dreams. If you book your 2009 wedding and reception on any day other than Saturday, we will include the ceremony at no additional charge (a $500 value). Give us a call and we can set up a consultation for you.

We are so looking forward to summer and all our returning guests who have become friends over the years. We can’t wait to meet all our new guests as well. See you soon!

April 11th - Ice Out

When I first moved to Maine I would hear people talk about the “ice out” date for the lake. Our lake is about 12,000 acres which is pretty good size. I really couldn’t believe that one day there would be ice and the next – no ice. It’s true though. Watching as the day progresses, the ice just seems to vanish. It is one of the most amazing sights in nature. These pictures where taken within 24 hours of each other from our shore.


What is even more magical is that the day the ice is gone, the loons return. They must to reconnaissance flights for many days just so they know when it happens. So life is returning to the lake. Our loons, geese, ducks and more are here. In the next day or so I’ll paddle over to see what is going on with the eagle’s nest. Stay tuned!