May 1 - 3, 2009 - Birch Lake Bar
by Billy
Our only stop was in Plainfield to gas up and take a short break. We arrived just a bit before 7:00 p.m. After thinking about where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do, we opted to stay in for the evening and watch the wildlife from our windows. Dale made omelets and shaved potatoes for supper and I opened a good book I had been reading. At 8:30 p.m., Dale was seeing the backs of his eyeballs; but I stayed up until midnight finishing the book I could not put down. The next morning was pretty brisk at 30 degrees. We took off for the store to purchase new shrubs for Cabin 2. We had planted small shrubs a couple of years ago, but we think the deer ate them for food during the winter. No wonder our Wisconsin neighbors looked at us and gasped when we originally planted the bushes. It was only afterward that we realized not too many people have extensive landscaping up here. There are a LOT of deer and they sure like to eat. At the local Walmart, we met a very nice gentleman who had recently relocated to the Northwoods from Gary, Indiana. He had been a stock exchange floor trader for years and had decided to sell his home and move to the Northwoods to start over. He was only working at Walmart temporarily while he found a position at one of the local banks. He was very optimistic.   By the way, what other Walmart has eagles flying overhead as you are in the garden shop? I wished him all the luck in the world as he helped us load our plants. We planted 7 new bushes at Cabin 2 and sprinkled deer repellent around them. Dale also cut a few trees down that had blown over recently. That is one peril you have living in a heavily wooded area. We constantly have to keep an eye on the surrounding trees to weed out the dead ones next to the houses lest they come down on top of the house during a windstorm. I planted hostas at Cabin 1 and sprinkled deer repellent all around them. Dale finished up the raking at Cabin 1 while I took my 2.5 mile walk. By the time I returned, it was about 1:00 p.m. We both decided we had worked hard enough for the weekend and jumped in the car to take a drive. We found ourselves heading towards Birch Lake Bar. If I have not spoken of this spot before, it is a bar that is owned by two Ukrainian brothers. It is right on the lake. The Bar had burned down last fall and the brothers swore they would rebuild. While it is not completely finished, they opened two months ago for business. It looks beautiful inside (see pics).      Since it was the official opening of fishing season in the Northwood’s, the bar was full of fishermen (but not their wives), returning after a morning of catching. I did not see many fish that day. We had a couple of beers there and then decided to take a drive around. It was such a beautiful day with the high getting up around 60 degrees. I am amazed by the number of homes for sale just now in the Northwoods. Who would NOT want to live here? If you have ever considered a place up here now is a good time to buy. Large and small, lake and woods, all sorts of properties in excellent condition or fixer uppers are available. I love to drive around and see how others have decorated, landscaped, etc. We then decided to go back to the house and hang out. I popped in a movie and fell asleep while Dale went back outside to do a few things. Dale filled the deer, bird, and squirrel feeders . . . yes we have them all. He then sharpened the blades on the lawn mower. Since he is a carpenter and his work is picking up again (yeah!) he prepared things as I might have to travel up by myself this summer to groom the cabins. The rest of our stay was pretty uneventful. We have renters coming up next weekend, so we won’t be back for a few weeks. Until then, why not consider a stay of your own at one of our Northwoods cabins? |