Hot Hazy Summer days............

Summer has arrived and everyone is taking advantage of these beautiful days. Our friend Michelle Snively-Jeffries soaks up the sun while enjoying her favourite passtime of painting here at Beaverland. You may view her outstanding art at    http://jefferies.myexpose.com/      Michelle is collaborating to offer art classes at Beaverland in the future. If you are interested, please contact her or the camp.

www.beaverland.on.ca

Rainy weekend

Finally some rain this weekend. The water levels are almost to their spring levels. The walleye spawn was good as the water did reach an acceptable level during that critical time. Right now we have a jump start on opening the cottages. Cleaning crew are busily preparing for opening weekend on MAy 15th. Coming up soon. Next the grass will need cutting. Albert is already on that.  www.beaverland.on.ca

Spring has arrived....finally!

Although the winter was not that hard this year, Spring is always a welcome friend. Birds sing in the early morning, the Hooded Merganzers and Blue Heron are back. Our very favourite, the Loons are also on the water, seeking nesting areas and getting ready for the little ones. Moose are moving and we had one trot through the yard on the weekend. I am looking for more to pass through, as they are busy tending their calves and keeping them safe.
Water levels are up and the Walleye spawn was successful with the increase in water, thus making the spawning beds suitable for the fish. If the levels are too low, the shallow rocky areas become exposed and unuseable for the eggs to be laid and fertilized.







www.beaverland.on.ca

Spring is here, but the snow can disappear any time soon!

Recently, our eldest grandson, Kyle spent some time with us. It was great to
enjoy the company of this young man, especially with a summer job ahead of him back home, followed by college in the fall. We won't see too much of him.

Here we are at the Jack Garland Airport saying our goodbyes. We are fortunate to have air service so close to us in the city of North Bay.

www.beaverland.on.ca

You know yore a REAL Canadian when...............

Wow! Yes, it's true! Travis is demonstrating how real Canadians weather the winter!

But, he asks "Cold enuf fer ya?" quickly followed by "Did you take the picture yet!?"

.......www.beaverland.on.ca

Bear ? or What?

Early waking bear? No! Just our JAKE!
On a walk out to the ice hut yesterday, Jake and Shadow trailed along as usual and are always sniffing and seeking wonderful smalls. The snow fell on Jake's nose, but didn't seem to be a bother.
Lots of ice and more snow falling today. We can only hope that the trails open again soon

www.beaverland.on.ca

A brand new year!

Happy New Year and best wishes for the year ahead. Brian Morgan is pretty happy with his first catch of the season - a beautiful Walleye weighing in at 8.5 lbs. No wonder he's smiling!

The mild weather has made the ice and snow trails a bit dicey, but once the winter cold returns, we'll have more ice fishing and great snowmobiling trails. Keep watching!

www.beaverland.on.ca

Another Wintery Day at the Camp

Here is a beautiful snapshot of the view over the water. Snowmobilers have been trying out the back trails and are lovin' it! OFSA trails still remain closed, but recent snowfalls and colder weather are good signs that it won't be long before the groomers ae out packing the trails.

http://www.beaverland.on.ca/

Winter's Arrived

WOW! We awoke this morning to snow, snow, and more snow! Yippee! This snowfall will be a great beginning to packing the snowmobile trail at our doorstep. It sure looks like a white Christmas.
We'll keep you posted!

www.beaverland.on.ca

Wintery Day at Beaverland Camp

Today was really winter-like with snow swirling all around Beaverland. Weather forecasters are predicting a great winter ahead for snowmobile and ski enthusiasts.
www.beaverland.on.ca

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Thanksgiving ??

Yes, it's hard to believe but the 2007 Thanksgiving weekend started out with a fabulous Friday. Temperatures were in the high 20's and the kids insisted on getting the paddle boat back into the water. Well, no surprize that they were also able to swim and go tubing! Who would of thought? It's a good thing that everyone took advantage of the great day as the rest of the weekend was rather cool and rainy. This did not slow things down too much, and the pot luck dinner on Saturday was a great success. Thanks to everyone who contributed all the yummy dishes to the table. Well, we are putting the main camp to bed this week and moose hunters are appreciating the cooler fall like weather.

Once again we were fortunate to have visitors from Belgium at Beaverland. Our friends Peter, Marleen and daughter Maryke stayed for almost a week on the first leg of their trip to Canada.

Here is part of what they wrote upon leaving for Ottawa...."We had a most wonderful time at Beaverland Camp, much more than we ever expected. We got to taste a bit of life up North, especially with you showing us around the place. Of course too short, but that's life. We hope that you come over to visit us....you are always welcome in our house and can stay as long as you wish!"

What a great time we all had, especially during a quieter time at the camp. The Marten River Provincial Park's Logging Museum was a great opportunity for our guests to see first hand the history and stories of logging in the area, especially since Beaverland had it's beginnings as a logging camp many years ago. Thanks to Diane at the Park for a personal tour of the museum and a great explanation of all the artifacts.

Early morning on the MArten

Whoa there friends.....it's already feeling like Fall here! Sorry for being so tardy in keeping the Beaverland site current, but it's good to have it up again. Some new things happening in camp. The row of old log cabins on the waterfront have been removed to open up green space and a beautiful view of the water. Many of the logs and lumber were saved for future use. Not a tire was damaged with nails either!

Pictured here are the crew who worked on the last cabin. Grandson Travis, who spent the summer at the camp, had a rare opportunity to work along side both of his Grandfathers on this day. Grampa Albert is in the driver's seat, Grampa Ray is kneeling beside Travis who is leaning on the tire. Pictured behind is Philip Gagne, our summer helper. It was a bittersweet moment to see the last of the historical waterfront cabins gone.

.and we can't forget about Alexis - our newest grandbaby! Here she poses with an Inuksuk (pronounced E-nuk-sook) at the entrance to Beaverland Camp. The Inuksuk is an ancient symbol of the Canadian North and is a sentinel to travellers, guiding them safe passage. Each part of the whole Inuksuk is crucial to its existance. Welcome Alexis and safe passage back to B.C. 

Better late than never! It was July 1st Canada Day weekend when Albert celebrated his Big 6-0 with a surprize party with lots of family & friends storming the camp for fun, food and lots of laughs and reminiscing. Dear friends Johan Janssens and Luk & Hilde DeSmet from Belgium made the trip to celebrate with us and also take a little tour of southern Ontario where they had worked as exchange students on the Cloet family tobacco farm.
Thanks to our family for taking time to spend the week with us. It really was a great time! Pictured here is the Big Guy himself with his special Birthday/Canada Day hat, our son, Mike from Mackenzie B.C. and Elaina Stidham, long time guest from Ohio, USA. Happy Birthday Al! We luv U!
 

WOW! A baby moose! This pic was taken by Rick Harrison of Uxbridge, Ontario on Big Marten Lake. The mama was ahead trying to encourage the little one to climb up onto the island. "I'm tryin' Ma, I just need a bit of a breather" 

WOW ! Look at this beauty! Drew Mitchell of Linwood, Ontario landed this awesome walleye on the opening day of the season. First time guest at Beaverland, and the first Walleye brought back into camp. Way to go Drew! 

It seems like a L-O-N-G time has passed since we saw this out the window. With Spring in the air, it won't be long before the boats will be wet and the anglers seeking their supper. Here Jeff Scheer navigates his boat past the docks and out to the lakes. Not too many sleeps ahead until this will be a common sight once again. Horray for Spring! 

It was like "old home week" when these guys spent a few days helping to get the wood cut, split and stacked for winter. From left - Albert helped as much as he could, still recovering from shoulder surgery, friends Willy Connolly and Tim Ferrell and our son Jeff Cloet worked hard and even had some great laughs and fun. Thanks a lot for all your help. It is much appreciated.  

It's time to set out for the evening fish. The sunset is not far off and this angler is taking advantage of the remaining daylight hours. 

This Thomas and Family vacation photo was taken as the families prepared to head back to Kirkland Lake. A week filled with fishing, fun, games and lots of laughter sure added to the friendly family atmosphere which the Thomas family brought into camp.Thanks for sharing your photo with us.
 

Wowzers!!! Teran Cloet and Bailey Ferrell can hardly hold these beautiful Smallies for their photo op! They enjoyed a great week of fun, fishing, swimming and playing in camp. And the fish fry was yummy too! 

A very happy Bob Kiesel of Guysville, Penn. shows off his prize Walleye! It weighed in at 6 & 1/4 lb and was 29 &1/2" long. Fish On!! 

Sarah Katrancha and her brother Dustin of Dunlo, PA proudly display their catch. Dustin's smallmoutn bass stretched to 18 & 3/4". Along with the other bass and walleye, they has a nice family fish fry for dinner!  

Reed Hickman and Nathan Walker of Simcoe area proudly display the catch of the day on the dock. It was a great week for the boys and their families, especially the swimming and the bike trail riding. Good going guys!! 

Another great day of fishing for Craig Pickering of Barrie, Ontario. This beautiful golden Walleye was the prize catch of Craig's holiday! After a photo session and a kiss, this prime breeder was released back into the waters of Little Marten Lake. Looking on is Craig's nephew Jared Edwards, as Craig proudly holds his catch. It's through conservation-minded anglers like Craig that the fisheries are able to be sustained to keep the waters populated for the sport fishing enthusiast. Thanks Craig for sharing this with us! 

Never a dull moment! Here granddaughter Rachel puts the finishing touches on the new picnic tables. Grampa Albert and Rachel spent 2 days making and painting about 14 of these tables to place around the camp. With the fantastic summer weather we have had, taking meals 'al fresco' has been a great pleasure for our guests.
 

Rachel and Grampa Albert proudly display their evening catch of Walleye. They kept only what would be enough for a tasty meal.  

Well what a day it was for Lance Default and his Dad, Tracy from Angus, Ontario. This stringer of Walleye and Smallies is proudly displayed and it wasn't long before these tasty fish were on the table! Lance's service dog, Otter, is always by his side, and the fishing trip was no exception. Way to go Lance and Tracy! Fish on!! 

This year's winner of the L'il Angler award in the Beaverland Big Bass Derby held each July is Gunnar Stidham of Shreve, Ohio. Here Gunnar proudly holds his winning Smallmouth Bass caught in the Marten. The Big Angler award went to Rob Scott. A special award for the smallest angler with the smallest Bass, live released, went to Hunter Kirsch. Guests also had a great Barbecue supper and were treated to a giant fireworks display to celebrate Canada Day and Independence Day for our Canadian and American guests and friends. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all who participated.