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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!

Winter's End

It appears that winter is slowly loosing it hold on the lake. This weekend the last ice- fishing house was taken off and you can now see a little open water at the shore line. Ice-out probably won’t be for another couple of weeks.

There is still lots of snow in the shady woods however. My friend and lake neighbor Fred was taking a walk through the woods and found some interesting tracks. After a great deal of research he concluded they were fisher tracks. Fishers are part of the marten family and related to the larger wolverine. Fishers are considered to be quite carnivorous, favoring snowshoe hares as well as squirrels, mice, shrews, voles, birds, fruits like berries, and ferns. They are fascinating to see but pretty vicious and better avoided.

I have been keeping an eye on our eagles. I walked out on the ice about two weeks ago and there was no sign of the adults on the nest (in the tree right over the boat house.)While I do see the adults most days it’s hard to know if they are incubating eggs this year since I can’t directly see the nest from the Inn. The BioDiversity Research Institute in Gorham Maine has an eagle cam focused on a nest. While they have not yet laid eggs it is amazing to watch them up close. You can check it out at http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/eagle-cam.php .

As Spring marches on we’ll be listen for the sound of returning loons!

Still Winter

Here we are in the middle of March but it’s still winter in Maine. Marie, who works here at the Inn, and her family have a camp on our lake and spent today ice fishing and ice skating on the lake. They report that we still have 22 inches of ice. Winter is beautiful here. We have many bright blue-sky days and the snow sparkles. It just lasts a long time!

Yesterday as I was going to the post office to pick up the mail I saw three deer standing by the side of the road. They were licking the road salt used to keep the roads safe in the winter. This is a pretty common sight in the late winter as the deer and moose replenish the minerals in their bodies.

Here at the Inn it is retreat season. We have groups that come for the weekend as a way to recharge. This year we have quilters, women with their spinning wheels and lots of wool, and several church groups. It’s always so much fun for us to have such creative folks here. I’m always asked how many people we can accommodate for a retreat or family reunions. My answer is – it depends on how much they like each other! Actually we can host up to 24 people if you have 4 to a room. This makes it like a big slumber party – very cozy!

Soon we will be getting ready for our summer visitors. Last year we had guest from 33 states and 9 different countries (Spain, Germany, England, Canada, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, New Zealand and Ireland. It is such a treat to meet folks and learn about other cultures. I think that is my favorite part of innkeeping!

It also won’t be long until weddings start here at the Inn. We have our first scheduled for May. While we still have some weekends open, we are going to have a busy summer helping couples get started on their wonderful new life together.

So as we watch the snow melt we are looking forward to an exciting spring season!