Keep in touch with your White Birch Village Family
Haulin’ Snow
With the high amount of snow we had this year, John had to bite the bullet and rent a bobcat for the day. He’s been hauling snow since 7:30 this morning to allow the water lines to thaw quicker.
The bank went out to where you see blacktop. The parking lot was getting smaller and smaller.
Over half of the snow bank gone.
Dumping ground….the main driveway where there are no water lines.
Charlie’s tilt begins
The warmer temps are working their magic. Charlie is beginning to tilt and the ice is leaving the shoreline, even if just a little. We’ll keep you posted.
Our winter wonderland
The snow keeps falling in the Northwoods. John is guessing we have had around 120 inches of snow this year and 6 more fell last night. All you can say is it’s beautiful outside. With the high amounts of snow the water tables should be looking good this year. But it also brings it’s challenges. John has been busy digging pathways so we can get into the homes to spring clean. He’s even debating renting a bobcat to start hauling snow.
Enjoy the pictures 🙂
Is it wide enough to open the door to Musky?
Pathway to Wren
The winding road to Hillcrest
Poor Charlie, he’s buried in snow.
Hillside up to Bluebill
Path to the front entrance.
John is running out of places to put the snow.
Snow piles are higher than the fences.
Mr pileated woodpecker has done quite the job on this pine tree at the end of the shuffleboard court. It will have to come down this spring. 🙁
Heavy snow.
Sun peaking out from behind the trees.
Charlie’s Sad
Charlie is a little sad. He hasn’t gotten many guesses this year for when he’ll take the plunge. It’s not too late send us an email at [email protected] by March 17th with your date and time.
Ice Out Contest 2014
It’s that time again! Charlie made his trek out onto the ice today.
Make a guess as to when the ice will go out and when Charlie will fall though the ice. Two years ago Charlie fell through on March 19th. Last year Charlie fell through REALLY late, May 6th. The ice can go out as early as late March and as late as the first of May. So choose your date carefully.
When will Charlie fall through this year? It’s anybody’s guess and you could have the winning date and time. If Charlie sinks after dark he will be credited to the next day. John and Sue need some sleep too.
All you need to do is email us at [email protected] with your DATE and TIME of day as to when Charlie will fall through the ice. All entries must be in our email by March 15th. The contest is open to any age and the winner will get their name added to the plaque in the lodge lobby.
Good Luck and we hope you have fun with the fifth annual Charlie the Chipmunk Contest. John and Sue leave town on February 28th and not back home until March 17th. We’re heading off to sport shows. Our carpenter will be keeping an eye on Charlie for us. If there is any change during our absence he’ll get the pictures to me and I’ll update you. Otherwise, come back often after March 17th as we will keep updating photos of Charlie.
As you will see Charlie had fun getting ready for his trek this year!
Sue has me all ready for the contest.
Look there’s two of me! Guess which one of us gets to go out on the ice? The other one gets to stay warm and head off to the sport shows!
Wasn’t that nice of them to feed me before I headed out onto the ice. Is this my last meal?
I decided it might be more fun to head out to the lake on a snowmobile.
Instead they gave me a piggy back ride.
Here comes my chair.
How many people does it take to get me situated?
I told John and Sue they better leave me a shovel with all the snow we’re getting this winter. Enjoy the contest!
Summer guests enjoying winter at WBV
Bill and Diane Schneider, long time summer guest of WBV, made their way up north to experience what winter is like. They had a blast trying snowshoeing for the first time. Bill headed out onto the lake with John for the first time in many years to go ice fishing. They weather was perfect Valentine’s Day weekend for them. They brought friends with them and said that they are definitely going to make this an annual event. We loved having them. This winter has been cold, but beautiful!!! We thank them for sharing their photos with us.
Snowshoeing
Bill checking out the creek.
Our archway at night with the lights.
John and Bill heading out to ice fish.
Snowshoeing the nature trail, right behind the barn.
Fabulous Women’s Retreat
The village is a great setting for a women’s retreat! We hosted the 5th annual women’s retreat at the resort on February 8th and 9th. 18 women enjoyed being spiritually refreshed, spending time snowshoeing, great fellowship, laughter and good food. Our theme this year was Cafe Chocolat (by Group publishing) focusing on God’s Extravagant Grace. Needless to say chocolate found it’s way into the activities as well as each meal.
Snowshoeing the nature trail.
Service product – making shawls for shut-ins
Reading the directions and choosing what stitches to use.
Showing off the final product.
Great fellowship at meal time.
Dark Chocolate Linguine for dessert. Yum, yum!
Calendar Contest Winners
The calendars have arrived and will be mailed this week. Thank you to everyone who submitted photos this season. John and I had over 200 photos to sift through to choose the winners. It wasn’t easy as there were so many great photos!
I ordered extra calendars. If you didn’t order one it’s not too late. Just give me a call with your credit card number and I’ll put one in the mail for you. The cost is $17 (includes shipping and handling). 2014 local events are also listed on the calendar for your convenience.
Congratulations to the 13 winners! Here are the winning pictures.
Front cover submitted by Melissa McCornack
January submitted by Mike Mark
February submitted by Gene Wengert
March submitted by Larry Harlan
April submitted by Ray Peat
May submitted by Sam Halverson
June submitted by David Schwenk
July submitted by Betty Steinmetz
August submitted by the Hegg’s
September submitted by Phyllis Wlos
October submitted by Rich Bugalski
November submitted by Ruth Pickering
December submitted by Tom Nelsen
Fall Photos
We hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving, spending time with family and friends. Between family obligations, deer hunting and the holidays, we were on the road the entire month of November. the weather in October was not very cooperative for picking up leaves. Between the rain and the snow there are a lot of leaves that will be waiting for spring to be picked up.
I was given some great fall pictures from a couple of our guests that were here in October. Enjoy!
Shore Lunch Gone Bad
John and I participated this year in the Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce haunted house. We had fun creating a twist of a shore lunch. Instead of the fisherman frying up their catch of the day, it was the fish having their revenge and roasting humans. Thanks to our partners in crime; The Aqualand Ale House and Michele from First Merit Bank. Enjoy the pictures. Unfortunately the camera battery died before we could get many “in the dark” pictures.
Roasting the corpse. We even had “charred corpse” scent spray that added to the atmosphere.
John found his “catch”
Want to try some pickled baby?
Pickled baby Yum! Yum!
The muskies are getting their revenge.
The “corpse”
Staging the next victim.
John having fun roasting over the campfire.
The zombie fisherman who was stalking unsuspecting guests.