Bernie and I are up north today. Minnesotans know that “up north” means to some hideaway on one of our beautiful 10,000 lakes. Yes ,we really do have that many lakes, though I understand that some of them look a bit like puddles. Up north for us is Birch Haven Resort, owned and operated my daughter and her husband, Kate and Jerry Gaslin. Bernie and I have a camper here which I love because of the simplicy of life when we come. In fact, as we visit with guests, that pretty well sums up everyone’s reason for loving it here…that and the fish. You can learn all about it on their website: www.birchhavenresort.com
When we arrived we learned about Finley, the baby bird they have adopted. They aren’t really sure what kind of bird it is. They started feeding it watered down cat food. That sounded dangerous to me. What if the cat found out? “Hmmm…stuffed bird!” Now they feed it a blend that Kate read about on the internet. Jerry built it a little cage and they found an abandoned nest that they placed in the cage to make it feel at home. Once in a while, they let Finley out of the cage to fly around the lodge. It seems it can fly about ten feet before it has to light. I watched Emma easily nudge it onto her finger to put it back in the cage.
There is disagreement over what kind of bird Finley is. None of us are very educated about birds. There is a lot of interest with friends and family and guests offering opinions. If you are a bird expert, check out the resort face book and let us know if you can give a name to Finley’s family of origin. The link for facebook is on the bottom of the home page.
By the way, also on Birch Haven’s home page, click the picture of the family where it says “This is how family reunion works” you will see pictures of my family reunion last summer as well as an article written by my son, Chris. On the large family picture, Bernie’s and my family is in the middle wearing yellow shirts. The other families are those of my two brothers. It was a glorious event. We are beginning to chatter about the next one.