Mystery bug is identified

I saw this little guy for the first time ever. Apparently it is a hummingbird moth. This particular type is a Snowberry Clearwing. It has a fury body that resembles a bumble bee and has a long straw-like proboscis to sip nectar. It does not sting. It flies like a humming bird and unlike other moths, it is readily seen during the daylight hours near gardens and meadows.  According to my research, this little guy is much further north than its typical habitat range. The one map I looked at said this species is rarely seen past the US/Canadian border.  Like I said, in 30 years of coming up to Red Lake, I have never seen one before. Very cool!

Things at camp are heating up!

No this thermometer is not located in the Florida Keys. This was the temperature in Red Lake Ontario on May 5th. The official high temp today was 86 degrees!! Usually this time of year we are looking for inside jobs because the wether is to cold or rainy, not to hide from the sun and heat.
While it is nice to get jobs done without getting soaked, we are way over due for some rain. The Red lake region reported its first forest fire of the season today. While no where in the same scope as what is happening in Alberta, it is still a wake up call that things are getting a bit on the dangerous side.
Other than the 10 minute drizzle we got last night, it has not rained here in nearly 3 weeks. Time for everyone to do a rain dance for all of Canada. Here is Jeremiah giving it a shot...

I even set up a tent for the kids, which almost always means it is going to rain. Guess they will be able to enjoy their special fort for a while longer yet.

The 2016 season is here!!!!

Finally, we are back at camp. The family and I got an unprecedented early start this year. We arrived at camp on Thursday morning (April 28th), It is also the first time we have ever seen camp in the month of April. And it is also the first time Josie got to celebrate her birthday in Canada. In case you were wondering...there were no complaints from the 7 year old. Of course donuts in bed and a surprise party hosted at our friends house in Ear Falls sure helps a lot!!! I can not thank the Bates and Rice families enough for making Josie's day so special!! Jillian and I also enjoyed spending time with our friends from town. Because of our 'camp schedule', most years it is nearly impossible to take a full day off to see friends. I may have enjoyed it more than Josie.

As for the camp...the place made it through the winter quite well. It might actually be the best the camp has looked after the long winter since we took over 10 years ago. There was minimal damage to the roofs, the docks looked great, and every machine started right up. Even the weather cooperated in our early arrival plans. We have had nothing but blue skies and comfortable temps. It may even get into the upper 70's later this week! Although there was ice on the lake when we arrived, it did not last long. By day 2 our bay was free of ice. The main lake should be open later this week. And since we have open water, that means we also have running water at camp! Good thing to, as our entire family was well over-do for a long hot shower.

As you can see from this post, our internet is up and running. Even though we still have lots to do to get ready for our first guests, I will do my best to keep the Blogs coming, so pass the word...Black Bear Lodge is back for another great year! Heck, I may even go fishing this week.

Day 1 of the 2016 season.

This is what we saw when we arrived.

This is what it looked like 2 days later!
Best office window in the world!!!!!

In case you were wondering...NO, they did NOT sleep the whole way up.

Birthday donuts!!!

Dad let me bring my new ATV to camp! 

That's because Dad wants these two to start learning how to haul gear
and help out the guests. Dad wants to fish!