 Come watch the Spring Bloom with Us! 827 Kawishiwi Trail | Ely, MN 55731 | 218-365-4720 |
  Live Webcam! See what we see out our windows. Watch the lake... Watch the weather... Watch the birds... in real time. (Access using "guest" for username and password.) |
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The Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness was named by National Geographic Magazine as one of the 50 "must visit" destinations in the world. The BWCAW is a federally protected pristine wilderness of a million acres with over 1,200 miles of canoe trails. |
Amenities: Canoes and Kayaks are free to use with your stay. We Gladly Accommodate Special Diets: Low Fat, Diabetic, Allergies, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten & Lactose Free. Handicapped Accessible Bringing your computer? We have free wireless internet throughout the building. Are We Green?   Visit the Best Chamber in the State!  |
View BH in other seasons:  (Summer)  (Fall)  (Winter) |
| JO's Blog |
| May 14 First
hummingbirds!! orchids in the bog, Sam-dog arguing with a mallard
pair who would like to next in our creek. Male goldfinches
arrived - the females always come first. Fire danger has gone
back up to 'extreme'. May 13 Wild strawberry blooms and forget-me-nots peek thru at ground level; My daffodils and red tulips brighten the weed-choked garden; Tree clouds of juneberry blossoms float along the road sides; Fishermen's motor boats break the morning stillness; Woodpecker's thunks and ratta tat's punctuate the birdsong; my nose drips - its allergy season again. May 10 Saw a handsome red fox only about 10 ft from the lodge yesterday morning, sure adds pleasure to doing dishes. Watched an eagle circling from my office window as well - great distraction. So many spring birds on the feeders: purple finches in abundance, 3 prs of rose breasted gross beaks, numerous pairs of evening gross beaks, several blue jay, scads of pine siskins and ubiquitous LBB's. I have the duck identification book out constantly, so many I don't know who may just be passing thru. This will be a great day to start washing windows - who knows what we'll see. May 4 THE LOONS ARRIVED! Loud commotion and joyous yodels telling the world they were home! YES!!! I was so relieved. We have green up as well. tree frogs and peepers! Went birding on Wed. morning and saw one of the local heron rookeries, all very busy building/rebuilding. On coming home there was 'our' blue heron balancing at the very top of the tallest spruce! New birds seen: kingfisher, flicker, white throated sparrow. Oh welcome back spring! April 25 While we were gone there was one more snowfall so we came home to dirty snow still clinging along the road. Our cultural immersion was memorable, for the culture but also for the incredible ability we developed to get thoroughly lost. We have completely lost our city-driving skills. However, it was lovely being 'south' in the Twin Cities where the lilacs were in bloom, all the trees leafed out, grass was green. Driving north as we came homeward there was less and less green, and barely any here at home. BUT there is a tinge of green on the tamaracks and the aspen, and I could hear barred owls, saw-whet owls. The tree frogs must have gone back into the mud, no sound from them. Today we leave to spend 5 nights at a friend's cabin on a near-by lake; taking lots of warm clothes, and rain gear - but a get-away is still a get-away. April 18, They guessed right about the snow. Plus, it rained for hours before changing to snow, iced closed the doors on the north side. The good news is that the lake is back up to normal height, and most of the snow is already gone. It was the birds that suffered: Driving home on Monday it was dangerous because all over the roads were Robins! Looking for worms that weren't there, the snow had covered their normal feeding grounds. In the late afternoon several robins persistently 'knocked' at my windows seeking shelter, I could feel their desperation. I put an apple thru the Cusinart along with a piece of bacon and Bill smeared it on hunks of wood which he put under the decks hoping they would shelter there. And they did. On Tuesday morning early a robin knocked on my bedroom window again. There were 8 robins sunbathing all together in a dead-looking birch outside my window, orange breasts all plumped and facing the sun. Wonderful sight! All the window ledges on the east side of the house show evidence that they had served as perches. How long does it take for that much in bird dropping to acummulate? It is supposed to warm up again tomorrow. On Thursday I'm off to celebrate my son Christophers' birthday, could he really be 48? Bill has arranged a cultural immersion weekend for us: Madama Butterfly, a play at the Guthrie and a SPCO concert. April 15, Near freezing still at noon. The radio says there is a 'winter weather advisory' in effect with 6" of snow predicted! We'd all like the moisture, but snow? Truthfully we've had snow on Memorial Day but with all the early spring we are just in a different mode: somebody put their snow shovel away! It wasn't me!! The purple finches are mobbing at the feeders fighting the big grackles for rights; lots of bird song. A friend on Fall lake, about 5 miles NW, says they have loons, I haven't seen them here yet. The water went up about 6" this week, grateful for that. April 10, Spring has come to a halt, little to no green-up. Each day has been sun-rain-snow-sleet, all-4-seasons-in-a-day for a least a week now - well, not summer. Birds are scarce. No frogs peeping; and dry- so very dry. Lots of wind suddenly, more like normal. The sounds of the trees in the wind are more like summer, but there are no leaves...I always thought the summer winds were so much louder than winter because the leaves collectively made such a loud rushing sound. But the sound is there now, just no leaves. So it might be that during winter the trees are so brittle and stiff they do not move as much, and now they are limber. Any other hypothesis? A neighbor is experiencing a rash of porcupine damage on his pines...they normally do not live up here. I have quite a number of young pines I've been zealously nourishing and am so proud of. April 4, Days of sunshine, chilly (days about 40' nights still freezing). Have spotted 'our' eagles, they appear to be sitting on the nest now. Have seen a few more Junco's, Purple Finches and several varieties of sparrows - the Little Brown Birds I'm rarely able to sort out. The lake water is exceptionally clear. Part of the reason is that it has been almost continutally calm so bottom sediment is not stirred. The water levels are painfully low, easily 8 inches down vertically . The beach area where we put canoes in is over 2 1/2 ft further out. Beavers have constructed a very large den on the shore accross from us. What a great opportunity IF we had a telescope, I'm going to have to search for a used one. The drought continues - I admit to growing anxiety about our vulnerability in case of wild fire - even with our external water sprinkler system. I had Handy-man Jay remove trees that had grown up on the south side of the lodge, I love their shade but they were overhanging the roof. We have reviewed our fire-wise precautions and the evacuation plan. All serious stuff, but necessary and wise. Hopefully not used. March 25 The lake is fully open!! last night's wind pushed all the loose ice into our bay but there was little of that, it is 'chuckling' as it sloshes in the waves. Yesterday we could hear the whole lake tinkling as the small icecrystals bumped together - lovely sound. It remains at only 20' now at noon, but some of the maples have huge buds. |
| Blog continued on year in review. |
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Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast is a great place for lodging in Ely, MN. We are an alternate for a resort, big lodge, motel, hotel or inn and a great romantic get away. You will get a good night's sleep while enjoying canoeing, dining, birding, or taking out the sled dogs in the winter; we are open all year round; reserve a room now to enjoy this wilderness B and B. | Write
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Coordinates N 47° 53.475" W 091° 42.389" |