Fox Lake Retreat
31214 Rge Rd 150 T0J 1P0 Hanna, AB, Canada

It’s grilling season!!

A few years ago one of our guests contacted USGS for a banded snow goose and learned that it had been banded 18 years ago (21 now!) in Russia - amazing stories these seasonal visitors must have! The snows are back, spotted on almost exactly the same day as last year

Many people don’t realize that Hanna has an amazing 18 hole golf course. Designed by Les Furber and Jim Eremko of Golf Design Services, our small town course is one to envy. Looking for something to do this summer? Be sure to check out the specials and amenities the Hanna Golf & Country Club has to offer! https://www.hannagolf.ca/

Grandpa Al has been busy this winter building us birdhouses and today was the perfect day to start putting them up. Thank you Grandpa Al, pretty blessed to have such a handy guy around

Great little addition to our cabin, courtesy of Buckbrush Farmhouse. Be sure to check them out during your visit, only 1/2 mile north of Hanna. Little gem filled with homemade goodies

Cannot complain about early morning cleaning on mornings like these

We are excited to collaborate with Flaghill Ranch Grass Fed Beef to bring quality beef right to the cabin. Steak, sausage, ground beef or burger patties - you simply fill out the order form and it will be waiting for you when you check-in. Access to amazing local beef made easy!

Very cool photography session being held in Hanna on October 2nd.

Well we missed Wednesday (actually the last few Wednesdays since our family has been so busy) but this is too good to wait until next week! By far my FAVOURITE time of year! This week marks the beginning of fall migration - for the next couple of weeks the lake will be alive with thousands of ducks and geese

These notes just make my whole day - we have the BEST guests!!

This Wednesday's wildlife highlight was a visitor that we saw wading in the shallows in front of the cabins in 2017, but have not seen since. The Great Egret is a vagrant to Alberta - individuals are occasionally observed, but they breed mainly in the southeastern US. The Great Egret was hunted nearly to extinction in the because their feathers were used to decorate hats - at the time an ounce of egret feathers was more than an ounce of gold! This practice was banned in the early 20th century When hunting it will stand completely still in the water and wait for its prey to come close - then catch it quickly with its long, sharp bill The Great Egret has a wing span of 55" (4 and half feet!) and can fly at a speed of 40 km/hr

Sisters that clean together...usually aren’t speaking by lunch (the little one is behind me barking orders) In all honesty, as much as they may alienate each other some times, I the days we work together because our time together also leads to them opening up, me learning more about the young women they are becoming and having deeper conversations. There is so much more happening here than cleaning a room.

We have been all about the birds, but cannot forget about our furry neighbors! this pic that Paulette Murray captured of a badger. The badger is probably one of the most under appreciated, misunderstood critters on the prairie. The badger (our species is formally called the American badger) is listed as a species of Special Concern under the federal Species at Risk Act and as Sensitive in Alberta because of it’s declining population The best time to see a badger is ...dawn or dusk, as they are nocturnal. This time of the year you may get lucky and see the kits out learning to hunt with their mom Badgers are great predators and cunning! They have been documented as teaming up with coyotes to corner their prey Tenacious! One study found that a badger had buried an entire calf carcass. That is 4-5x the size of the badger. Makes you wonder what they do when someone is not watching!?! See more

We just don’t have the heart to tell Rosie that our guests don’t come solely to see her. I don’t think that she would believe us anyway.

Even the owners of a getaway need to getaway once in a while. We have had a great few days of quality family time down at Prairie Oasis Park. When we get asked for recommendations of things to do when staying with us, we definitely recommend a day down at the beach. Just a short 20 minute drive from the cabins (which is less time than it takes to find a parking spot at Costco!!) you can easily spend a whole day at the beach - taking advantage of the groomed beach, swimming area, playground and concession.

Not to worry! Rosie has got the supervisory position under control.

Too fun not to share. Happy Friday!

Some crazy weather all around us this evening!

Happy Wednesday! This week I get to share one of my favourite birds - the American avocet. These shorebirds are often highly visible wading in shallow wetlands, as they nest and forage in areas with very little vegetation. The bright rusty head during the breeding season contrasted with the stark black and white body gives almost an elegant appearance. Avocets breed around the edges of wetlands with both the males and females taking incubating duty. Avocets will defend their nests vigorously, often dive bombing predators that come too close females will sometimes lay eggs in the nests of other females, or even other species (called brood parasitism) hatchlings will leave the nest within 24 hrs and are fully capable of walking, swimming and diving (precocial development) Photo credit to the talented Paulette Murray

We now have firewood on site for sale and are happy to have it waiting for you at the cabin when you arrive!

Sunsets usually get everyone’s attention, but the sunrises are not so shabby either So dang peaceful this morning

Pretty quiet on the lake today with all the rain, but we can usually spot a couple of ruddy ducks out. This is a great species to get kids excited by birding because they are so easy to identify! Males are most noticeable due to the bright blue bill and white cheeks; females are much more subdued with a dark line on their cheek patch and plain grey/brown body. ruddy ducks are typically shy, found mostly close to shore and in the cattails when startled a ruddy will usua...lly dive rather than fly away the one time they can be aggressive is during the breeding season, when males will chase other males and other species away. Photo credit to our fav local wildlife photographer, Paulette Murrray. See more

Wow! We made the Narcity list of cottages outside of Calgary to rent this summer! Super exciting to see our little ol' retreat make the big city news Thank you Travel Alberta for sharing the news with us! https://www.narcity.com//8-cottages-near-calgary-that-you- (The price that they posted in the article is for 6 people in the cabin, our standard summer rate is a bit less lol!)

Happy 4th of July to all of our American friends! Stay safe and hope to see you soon!

4 in a row! Earning recognition as an AirBNB Superhost did not really resonate much at first, because it did not seem strange to us to do all the things needed to earn the reward - we simply ran our business how we felt it needed to be ran and were not trying to achieve reward or recognition. However, we have come to really see being designated as Superhost as a symbol that encompasses the values that are important to us in our business: * treat people as you would like to b...e treated * hard work is not really all that hard when you enjoy what you are doing * take pride in what you do and it will show THANK YOU to all of our amazing guests that have made the choice to stay with us and taken the time to leave a review!