CRAZY ICE!

I thought it was strange to see the ice forming off the eaves of the house were curving in towards the wall of the house, then I remembered- this IS Minnesota. That explains it all. No really it was caused by the brackets that hold the gutters are still attached to house, they were causing the ice to curve. I still thought it was pretty wild.

fresh snow

Its about time! We finaly had had a small dumping of snow last night totaling 4", making for great snowmobiling.

joe's northern farm animals, well kinda

With the cold weather we have had this Feb., the food is gone faster than Joe can put it out.

reality check please.

Mom decided to come up this weekend to see whats new at Sleeping Fawn. Little did she know it was going to be this cold...brrr, the temp. this morning reads 34 degrees below zero. I don't see any breeze outside either as the wind from the north is blocked by 20 acres of trees.
Despite the cold weather I still have no problem attracting the deer to the resort for their daily corn feed. The photos of the deer are taken off the deck of our winterized cabin.

hitting the trails.......

A couple of our Seasonal RV'ers spent a weekend at the Fawn to do some local snowmobiling. Both Tom and his son, Brian put plenty of miles on their sleds. They said the weather was perfect and all the trails were well groomed until reaching the Itasca State Park, high traffic made for poor trail conditions there. We need a good coat of fresh snow. I will keep you posted when more snow arrives, hoping soon.

2007 Holiday Letter

Dec 07 Greetings from SLEEPING FAWN- Resort and Campground

As I write this, I am watching the snow fall realizing the 2007 season is coming to an end. Looking back at five years at Sleeping Fawn Resort, making many new friends and being able to share this piece of nature has been a joy and we look forward to many more years
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The highlight of the year for us was the baby loon born on Stocking Lake. As you may know, its rare for loons to nest on a small lake like Stocking, and its been many years since loons last nested here.Thanks to the the ESB Association (Emma, Stocking, and Bottle Lakes) for donating the funds for a man-made loon nest and a big thanks to Cliff and Joan Tweedale, our lake neighbors who set up the nest in a suitable environment for the loons. Photos of the newborn loon can be found on Joes blog archive at www.zzfawn.blogspot.com.

Updates for 2007 included a new dock, a new storage shed was built closer to the beach for life jackets and yard games, and has saved many hikes up the hill. A new slide and curling rings were added to the swing set. A big thanks goes out to John Kieltyka from Texas, our newest seasonal RV'er, for taking on the the slide and storage shed projects, they were much needed additions! A larger kayak and another paddle boat were added to the fleet of toys which helped guests explore the lake. Also, the cabins had a few minor updates such as faucets, mirrors, and new bedding.

Also this year, Sleeping Fawn Resort has a new toy - Joe recently acquired a Polaris Ranger utility vehicle. Of course, this will make life easier around the resort but will not be fun at all! It will be used for chores only - plowing snow,removing the docks, hauling wood, garbage, dragging the road, raking the beach, and hauling weeds from lake will be so much easier and hopefully eliminate the use of the truck.

We would like to thank all of you who participated in recycling this year - waste was down by 25% and look to double that in 2008. All cabins should have recycling containers in place for 2008 and a recycling center will be in full operation.

Our main project for the 2008 season is an expansion to the campground - this is currently underway and will add six new seasonal RV sites to the resort. The addition is tucked behind the current campground, features private, spacious seasonal sites set on a cul de sac. The addition takes up the area that was the old nature walk, so a new nature trail is planned. Of course, there will be some cabin updates, more water toys, and another new dock is being looked at to support the campground expansion and we hope to stabilize the unpredictable floating dock! In early 2008, we will roll out a new look to the Sleeping Fawn Resort website (www.sleepingfawnresort.com), so keep your eyes open.

Despite saying last year was the end of her school bus driving career, Ellen has taken it on again! Those of you who know Ellen know that she likes to keep herself busy. In February, Ellen and her sisters, Pat and Peggy, will be taking a road trip to Alabama to spend time with and celebrate their sister Janet's birthday.

Joe took a couple trips this fall/winter as well – one out to Washington, D.C. in Oct to see some old friends and support his friend Chris, who ran the Marine Corps Marathon. He also had a quick getaway to Scottsdale, AZ in Dec. The resort projects will keep him busy this winter and he will represent the Park Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce at the Fargo and Minneapolis Sportsman shows.

We would like to thank all of you for the compliments left in the cabin journals and all the great word of mouth.We look forward to a great 2008, and we hope to see you next year!

Joe and Ellen

Frosty week

We have had a week of frost that coated the trees and anything in its path. I was able to catpure a few shots. Click on images to view them in a larger format.

10 point buck

I'm back!
sorry for the slacking in my part....its been a bit busy around here.
Anycase, updating the blog with the top deer in the hunting crew staying at Sleeping Fawn Resort. And the biggest buck goes to David Terhaar of Stewartville, MN. Both David and his son Matthew spotted this 10 point buck just a few miles north of the resort. Congrats David and Matthew Terhaar!

MEA weekend suprise

The trumpeter swans return to Stocking Lake.
This Sunday late afternoon returning from a drywall job I noticed the swans feeding off the lake bottom right at the resort docks. It was a treat to watch within a distance away not to disturb them. Much to my suprise the swans swam towards me, making my view just 30' away. The Swans made their way along the bay and ended up coming back to the resort dock area, assuming the catch was plentiful in the area.

Trumpeter Swans land on Stocking Lake

Our truely great regular guests, Tom and Nona had this to say, and to share photos with all of you, enjoy.

Always an adventure at Sleeping Fawn Resort...
The group photo of trumpeter swans on the water was taken along the west side of Stocking Lake (North). As you can see in the photo, they were not stressed by our canoe as we slowed and then turned out to the center of the lake to avoid the family. We continued on our canoe ride around Stocking, our favorite activity on this remarkable lake. Some time after we made the far end, down by Hoosier Beach, and turned for home, we again saw the swan family off in the distance ahead of us. They had crossed to the other side, our home leg, and were swimming near the old beaver lodge below what we call Deer Hill. While they were still a quarter mile or so in front of us, we suddenly heard a horrific racket as the six big swans flapped their wings to take off, and loudly encouraged each other to lift, lift. They were flapping straight for our canoe, sort of walking, running along the surface of the water and slapping the water with their wings while trumpeting like mad! We were quite a distance exactly upwind from them, but Nona had the sense that she better prepare to duck as they seemed to take forever to climb off the water. I grabbed my little one-use camera and hoped for a shot, but the swans were hidden behind Nona who was in the canoe bow. I turned the canoe, ever so slightly, so they could see us... and I could see them. Still, closer and closer, flailing and honking... and they were still just above the surface of the water. Coming right toward us! "Pull up, pull up!" I mouthed to the lead, adult swan. They were clearly not gaining altitude. "What should we do?" Nona whispered back at me. They would be upon us in no time! What could we do? We certainly did not want to scare them off. Seemingly about in our laps... but in a flash as if on cue, the family of four immatures and two adults caught good air and up, up they went. Click! Off toward Lower Bottle Lake. Silence. In our now so small and insignificant canoe, we sat stunned in awe. "What happened here?" We quietly chuckled together with joy for our good fortune to have shared moments with this family of trumpeter swans -- each of us migrating, and hoping for a good life. Always an adventure at Sleeping Fawn Resort.

(click on image to view large size)