Sunny days keep us hopping—the best time to dry and clean equipment, linens, carpets, EVERYTHING….something about the crisp cold days trigger the instinct… “Hurry hurry hurry button down before the snow blows again!”
And this is what tent hill looked like today—(and those who have scrubbed a tent on tent hill have the truest appreciation of the scene—none more than Andy and Paul)

On our local wolves—
All summer they intermittently reminded us that this is still their territory-they came and howled right next to the lodge. Made for a chilling thrill for guests, but we think we’ve found the pattern—when other dogs come to visit, it sets them off. They come in close, howl–we see them on the road by the back house. Then Andy supplies Daniel and his friends with soda–sends them out to “mark” our territory. I don’t know that it works, but the boys sure get a manly kick out of it; I think they feel like pack leaders.
A few weeks ago, staff members Andy and Paul were in the canoe yard when they thought they saw someone swimming across the bay out in front of our dock. Upon closer look, they realized it was a deer with a full rack swimming like crazy across from the rock (we call Yogi) toward the public landing. Andy Ahrendt was sure wolves must be chasing. About 5 minutes later, a wolf trotted down in front of Cabin 2 stopped next to fish surgery, where our guest Ed was cleaning fish. This wolf clearly had only one big buck on his mind, and no regard for the rest of us. Andy and Paul scooted after that guy as he headed over toward the Trading Post and into the woods.

Sadly, Paul saw a wolf pup carcass on the Gunflint Trail by our mailbox—apparently hit by a car. Later in the day, the pup was gone. Did people or the other wolves take it? Does the pack mourn the pup? I’ve usually had multiple dogs, pretty sure that they do—I wonder what that looks like.