SunsetRidges

08/08/2024

POURING FOR A PURPOSE!

Join us tomorrow night for Pouring for a Purpose with the Big Eagle Lake Improvement Association!

Join us in this charitable event. Come in and have a beer poured by a BELIA member or volunteer! For every beer poured, we will donate $1 back to them! Plus, you can grab your raffle tickets for a very special custom-made blanket or some Vikings tickets ahead of their annual BELIA Smokin' Pulled Pork Cook Off on Saturday!

Sweet Wink's will be on-site to fill your bellies. Join us for a great night of beer, food community, and drinking for a great purpose!

07/12/2024

Forget crab cakes, try crappie cakes! 🐟

Featured is a dish submitted by Robert Mannhardt through the Wild Minnesota Recipe Exchange. He liked crab cakes, and figured why not try crappie. Here's the recipe!

🥣 Ingredients: 1 lb of crappie fillets (cut in small pieces), 2 tbsp mayo, 2-3 tsp of Old Bay seasoning, 1 tsp mustard (yellow or stone ground), 1 beaten egg, 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper, 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs. Optional: hot sauce

🥘 Instructions: Combine all Ingredients. Shape into patties or use small stainless steel cake rings to form. Broil or fry 10 min or so. When using the ring, fry them and leave the ring on until it's time to flip. Blackstone griddles work great.

Have a fish recipe you'd love to share? We've extended our deadline to submit through July: mndnr.gov/recipe

07/01/2024

Lake life lovers may recognize Minnesota's iconic state bird: the common loon! 🪶

⛽ Minnesota is a big loon state - we're only beat by Alaska in numbers! But over a decade ago, these birds faced serious threats on their wintering grounds in the Gulf of Mexico due to oil spills. As a result, the Minnesota Loon Restoration Project was born to boost the population.

🌾 Learn more about this exciting conservation success story and ongoing efforts to support loons at our upcoming webinar, July 3. Registration is free but required to attend: mndnr.gov/discover.

📸 National Park Service

06/22/2024

06/04/2024

Did you know? Wild rice was adopted as Minnesota’s state grain in 1977, and there couldn’t have been a better choice! The seeds of wild rice, called grains, are a favorite food of humans and have been harvested for centuries by Native Americans, who continue to have a strong spiritual and cultural connection to the plant.

Wild rice is the tallest native grass in Minnesota and can reach more than 13 feet in height. Indigenous wild rice occurs from New England westward to the north-central states, and is most abundant in the Great Lakes region, particularly Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Each year, the seeds fall from the plant when ripe and immediately sink to the bottom of the lake, where they pass the winter. The seeds ripen in late August and early September. They drop from the plant soon after ripening, beginning the process again.

Read all about wild rice in the Minnesota Profile in Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine: dnr.state.mn.us/mcvmagazine/issues/2024/may-jun/profile.html.

📷 Welby Smith

05/23/2024

We have a chick! 🐣

The FalconCam’s first peregrine falcon chick hatched early this morning and was visible on the camera around 6:22am. Peregrine falcon clutches typically hatch over a 24-48 hour period, so we hope to see more chicks hatching soon.

Watch the parents caring for their new arrival at mndnr.gov/falconcam

05/13/2024

Come celebrate all things birds, bugs and blooms with us next Saturday, May 18th from 10 am to 1 pm at the Spring Celebration!

This free, family-friendly event at the Oak Savanna Learning Center has fun for all ages, with the Amphitheater Groundbreaking at 10:30 am👷‍♀️, a special presentation about the Importance of Insects at 11 am🐝, several nature-related booths and activities🐦 and more.

We hope to see you there!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1570877557069159/

05/11/2024

Look at the amazing pictures our Sunset Ridge guests were able to capture last night right from the deck!

04/16/2024

Beautiful evening at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.
Come on out and Explore Sherburne.

04/14/2024

03/19/2024

airbnb.com/h/ponteeaglelake
Bookings available this spring and late summer

"The Pointe" on Eagle Lake-Swim, Fish, Relax

11/01/2023

Check out our new listing! Just across the street from Sunset Ridge!

10/06/2023

09/14/2023

08/23/2023

08/09/2023

Visit the Big Lake Farmers Market where you can find enjoy live music, food trucks, and a wide variety of activities for all ages while shopping for homemade and locally grown products,

07/14/2023

Only a cancellation makes this possible! Come jump in the lake!

06/24/2023

Today is American Eagle Day! 🦅 Summer is an excellent time to observe nesting bald eagles, and Minnesota is proud to host one of the largest populations in the United States. The Twin Cities area alone is estimated to be home to 30 active nests!

Minnesota didn’t always have a flourishing eagle population. Historically, birds of prey were often viewed as "varmints,” because they competed with people for fish and game. Bald eagles were trapped, shot, hunted, and poisoned.

Fortunately, these amazing birds have made a comeback. Conservation efforts for bald eagles in Minnesota began in the Chippewa National Forest in the early 1960s. In 2007, the estimated number of breeding pairs exceeded 2,300!

When observing eagles, it is important to remember to respect their privacy by watching them from afar with binoculars.

For more info: mndnr.gov/birds/eagles/index.html

📷: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

06/04/2023

It's true, the lupine are in bloom at the Refuge...but there's just something beguiling about the budding hoary puccoon. You'll need to get close.

05/26/2023

Watch out for loons this Memorial Day weekend!

The most dangerous weekends for our state bird are Memorial Day weekend and the Fourth of July. Boats, boat motors and fishing line are very dangerous for our beloved state bird. So please pay attention while you recreate this weekend and stay at least a hundred feet from any loons you see.

05/12/2023

04/25/2023

04/16/2023

Minnesota's state bird is coming home! The common loon typically returns to the Land of 10,000 Lakes in April or early May as ice leaves the lakes and rivers. Minnesota has more common loons than any other state except Alaska. They may be a familiar sight (and sound) but ...

🤔 A group of loons is called an 'asylum'—which feels like a good fit for a bird whose own name is synonymous to someone acting strange.

🌊 The bones of most birds are hollow and light, but loons have solid bones. The extra weight helps them dive as deep as 250 feet to search for food. They can stay underwater for up to five minutes.

✈️ Because their bodies are heavy relative to their wing size, loons need a 100- to 600-foot "runway" in order to take off from a lake. But once they do take flight, they can reach speeds of more than 75 miles per hour!

🔴 Built like a torpedo, loons swim under water in search of prey. The red in the loon's eye helps it to see under water.

🎼These unique birds have four calls:
— The tremolo, which sounds a bit like maniacal laughter, is an aggressive call.
— The wail is a long, drawn-out sound.
— The hoot, a shorter call, is used to communicate among parents and young.
— The yodel is sounded by male loons guarding their territory.

Love loons? Become a volunteer loon monitor! Your observations will help us track the population of our state bird: mndnr.gov/eco/nongame/projects/mlmp_state.html

📷: Sheila Hanson

12/30/2022

😎

10/22/2022

10/18/2022

We just had a cancelation for this MEA Weekend! Scoop up the lower priced deal before it's gone!

09/27/2022

Get the news on Minnesota's fall color hues with our FREE weekly Fall Color Report. 🍁

Sign up to track the changing landscape: www.exploreminnesota.com/fallcolor