February 6, 2013

A new gift has been added for people that donate $25 or more to help feed the animals. We are offering a 2013 Snowman Cam calendar filled with our favorite pictures taken at the cam. We have only printed 35 of them, so if you want one be sure to act fast. They are sure to become a collector's item for the Snowman Cam fan. See calendar pics here

January 6, 2013

Nora Combs (have3cats) from Chicago, has donated 25 knit caps which will be given away to the first 25 people that donate $25 or more. See the caps here

November 17, 2012

Closeout Sale on Snowman Cam jackets. Only 3 left! 1XL and 2 Mediums. Were $75, now $59. Price includes shipping. Go to the Snowman Cam Store to order. Many other items are also reduced!

February 18, 2011

Meadows' Legislation Will Clarify Michigan's Deer Baiting Ban
Legislation will protect residents who inadvertently feed deer, elk

LANSING – State Representative Mark Meadows (D-East Lansing) has introduced legislation to clarify Michigan’s ban on deer baiting by protecting individuals who unintentionally feed free-ranging white-tailed deer and elk from prosecution. Under current Michigan law, residents are prohibited from providing food for deer and elk to prevent wildlife from congregating and potentially spreading disease.

“The issue with current law is that it leaves too much room for interpretation when distinguishing between intentional and unintentional feeding,” said Meadows, who introduced a similar bill during the 2009-2010 legislative session. “We have so many outdoor enthusiasts here in Michigan who enjoy observing a variety of wildlife, or feeding and watching birds, and they shouldn’t be ticketed or charged with a misdemeanor if a deer grabs a quick snack from their birdfeeder. My plan will clarify our laws so they can continue to protect our deer population and make sure only those who intentionally break them are punished.”

Meadows’ plan will exclude residents who engage in “incidental feeding” from prosecution. Under the legislation, incidental feeding is defined as meaning that the primary purpose of the feeding is not to provide food to wild, free-ranging white-tailed deer and elk.

The issue originally came to Meadows’ attention last year when Ken Borton, an Otsego County man, was ticketed for violating the state’s baiting ban after visitors to his web cam saw deer eating from his bird feeders. Meadows’ plan has won the support of State Representative Greg MacMaster (R-Kewadin), who has championed relaxation of regulations that unfairly penalize people such as Borton.

“This is one step toward the reform that I have been working for since January,” MacMaster said. “We need to ease frivolous regulations such as this one that punish people for incidentally feeding deer.”

Michigan restricted deer baiting and feeding in 2008 after a deer in Kent County was found to have contracted Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). No additional cases have been discovered. Because multiple animals congregate around feeders, it was determined that there was a dramatically increased risk for disease transmission if feeding and baiting continued. CWD is a neurological disease that is fatal to deer and elk.

February 16, 2011 - Just wanted to let everyone know that Michigan HB 4250, to clarifiy the prohibition on deer and elk feeding, was introduced this week. You can follow the progress at: HB-4250. Thank you to Rep. Mark Meadows and Rep. Greg MacMaster for their work on sponsoring this bill.

January 9, 2011 - Deadline for next special order shipment is March 15th, 2011. Delivered in April. Go to Snowman Cam Store.

December 10, 2010 - Talk to Santa! Santa is coming to the Snowman Cam starting Friday, December 17th, from 7-9 pm Eastern time. To talk with Santa simply click on the Volxi Voice Chat link and enter your Snowman Cam screen name. Santa will be available each night until December 23rd. If you have any questions about how to use the voice chat, ask any of Santa's helpers in the regular Snowman Cam chat room.

November 19, 2010 - We are testing a new camera set up. The image on the right will be in full motion and is also equipped with sound. We will be trying several different camera angles and making other adjustments throughout the next few weeks. Your comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

October 29, 2010 - Otsego County Prosecutor has dropped all charges against me as well!

October 25, 2010 - The Attorney General from the State of Michigan has decided NOT TO PURSUE charges against me in the DNR bird feeding case. The circuit court judge did not rule on the constitutionality of the law. The case now goes back to district court. The local prosecutor will have to decide whether or not to pursue the case. If he decides to go forward, we will have a jury trial in district court. In the meantime, I will continue to work with the legislators in Lansing to get the law changed.

7-29-10 - See video of my testimony in Lansing in support of House Bill 6234 which will stop the DNR from prosecuting people for feeding birds and other wildlife. Be sure to watch all seven parts. watch videos

6-29-10 - PLEASE HELP. Have your name listed on a sign in front of the snowman during our picnic on July 3rd, 4th and 5th, this year. Make a donation of $20 or more (to help pay my legal expenses) to get your name listed. donate here Your support is very much appreciated. Thank You!

6-12-10 - Snowman Cam Picnic scheduled for July 3rd. see invitation

5-28-10 - Michigan State lawmaker's plan to change the deer baiting law. see article

3-31-10 - We now have a new voice chat service Volxi. Click here to log on.

2-25-10 - Yack Pack is back! Our voice chat is back and working. Not sure for how long. I have no control over it. Enjoy it while you can!

12-9-09 - You now have more ways to keep in touch with you friends and family at the Snowman Cam. Join our Facebook Page. Join our Facebook Fan Group.

12-2-09 - Thank you to Ron and Sandy Beegle from Muskegon Michigan for making the Snowman Cam blankets that we sell in the store. Ron and Sandy not only made the blankets, but donated ten of them as well as money to help feed the wild life. The next time you see Quiltlady in the chat room be sure to tell her thanks for all she does for the Snowman Cam website. Also a special thank you to Nancy Hamby (nannersiam) from Shawano Wisconsin for helping to digitize the logo and for her donation of blankets to raise money for the wildlife.

11-19-09 - Must find new homes for two of our cats. One pure white, one pure black. Both spayed and declawed. Very loving. Strictly indoors. Good homes only. email Ken at snowman@snowmancam.com

10-26-09 - The bobcat was back. We were able to get a view from the front this time. see pictures

9-26-09 - A bobcat stopped by for a visit with the snowman on 9-17-09. Mark Oh was in the chatroom at the time and captured a picture. see the bobcat picture

8-17-09 - The 24 hour video archives are working again. You can watch it here: 24 Hour Video Archives

6-19-09 - You can now follow the Snowman on Twitter. Snowman Cam Twitter Page

6-16-09 - Buckmasters Donate Bird Feeders. As everyone knows, the bears have taken a toll on our bird feeders. Either tearing them apart or taking them deep into the woods. Thanks to generosity of Buck and Janet Buckmaster from Springfield Ohio, our bird feeder supply has been restored. They donated twelve new platinum No/No wire mesh feeders. These feeders are practically bear proof and should get us through the rest of the year. Thanks Buck and Janet! Your contribution will help keep our birds, squirrels and little critters fed for quite some time.

6-16-09 - Peacheyroo Baby Contest Winners. Congratulations to Tammy Curtis (MichiganMom) of Adrian Michigan, winner of the contest to guess the date Kim Peachey would have her baby. Tammy's guess of May 28th was the closest to the actual day of May 31st. Second place went to Tony and Linda Gimble (leaderdogfamily) from Moline Illinois, with a guess of May 26th. Your prize packages are in the mail! Kim Peachey of Australia delivered a beautiful, healthy, baby girl.

5-18-09 - See Ken launch a weather balloon at the National Weather Service Office in Gaylord Michigan. watch video

5-10-09 - A Mother's Day gift for the Snowman Cam. At approximately 1am, on Mother's Day, a mother bear and her three cubs made an appearance on the cam. This is the same family from last year. They all looked very healthy. It was great to see them again. I will be posting pictures of them soon. Happy Mother's Day!

5-8-09 - Come join us and other Snowman Cam fans at this years Fourth of July picnic here in Gaylord. All the details have been posted on the message board. see picnic details

4-28-09 - The bears have returned from hibernation. The bears started appearing on the Snowman Cam starting April 14th, much earlier than normal. At least one or two bears have been seen almost every night since then. see pictures of the bears

2-8-09 - Peacheyroo Baby Contest. As many of you know, Kim Peachey (Peacheyroo) is going to have a baby sometime in Mayl. Kim, being the fun-loving Aussie that she is, has decided it would be fun to have a contest to guess the day her baby will be born. Kim has supplied some very nice prizes for the winner and the runner up. All guesses must be made on the message board. You have to be signed in, in order to guess. If you're not a member of the message board, it's free and easy to sign up. go to message board

2-22-09 - Another member of the Snowman Cam family has been seriously injured in a snowmobile accident. Rod Kassa (see pictures 12-21-08) http://www.snowmancam.com/pictures_2008.htm was riding on the snowmobile trail along Mancelona road, a few miles from the cam, when he was struck by a car. He suffered a severely broken arm and leg and also sustained internal injuries.He will be at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan for about a week. He is staying in room 4401. He would love to hear from any Snowman Cam fans.You can either send him a card directly or just respond to this post and I will make sure he sees it.Please pray for Rob's speedy recovery.

1-25-09 - Snowman Cam has been mentioned in an article in American Profile Magazine. see article

1-24-09 - Many of you missed out on getting a snowman when they were offered last year. You've seen the pictures of how much fun people are having with their official Snowman Cam replicas all over the world. Now's your chance to join in on the fun. Because of the demand, Richard has decided to build more. They are similar to the ones that sold out last year, only smaller. The quantity is very limited. To find out how to get one click here.

1-16-09 - All Special Orders must be placed by January 31, 2009. Now is the time to get your official Snowman Cam clothing and merchandise and help animals in the process.

12-09-08 - Voice chat now available in Snow Chat 1 and Snow Chat 2. Server full in the main voice chat room? Want to talk with your friends in another room? Try the new voice chat in Snow Chat 1 and Snow Chat 2. It works the same as the voice chat in the main Yack Pack room. Have fun!

12-06-08 - Snowman Cam ornaments make the perfect addition to any Christmas tree and a great way to support the site at the same time. All ornaments ordered between now and December 21st will be shipped priority mail to insure delivery before Christmas. Ornaments can be ordered through the Snowman Cam Store.

11-26-08 - Attention Parents! Santa Claus is coming to the Snowman Cam. Almost every night, from now until Christmas Eve, Santa will be available to voice chat with your children. Santa will be available from 7pm until 10pm Eastern Standard Time. If you would prefer a personalized voice chat with Santa, please email snowman@snowmancam.com and include the first names of your children along with the day and time you would like to chat. Or you can just join in any evening. A microphone and speakers are necessary in order to talk with Santa. Enter Voice Chat Here

11-18-08 - Because of increased demand for Snowman Cam clothing, we are doing another special order before Christmas. The new deadline for special orders is December 8th. All items will be shipped in time for Christmas. For those of you that missed our pervious deadline, now it your chance to order a gift for the Snowman Cam fan on your list. The next deadline will be January 31, 2009.

11-09-08 - RJG is at it again...this time he has designed and handcrafted a Snowman Cam Ornament. These ornaments are truly one of a kind. Richard's ornaments can be seen and purchased in the Snowman Cam Store.

11-07-08 - All special order shipments went in the mail today. Everyone should receive their order by the middle of next week. A big thank you to RJG for all the work he did handling all the special orders. Richard is truly one of a kind. Thank you to everyone that purchased items to help animals in northern Michigan.

11-5-08 - American Profile magazine contacted me today and would like to do an interview about the site. You are probably familiar with the magazine. It's distributed weekly through local papers across the country. Anyway....in addition to the article, they are looking for a snowman building family to interview while they are building a snowman. They are willing to fly anywhere in the country to do the interview. They asked if I could help them in finding a family willing to do this. If you are interested, please contact me and I will put you in touch with the right person. You can contact me at snowman@snowmancam.com

11-1-08 - Snowman Cam model travels to a new home in the UK. see the arrival and continuing adventure

10-29-08 - Congratulations to Beckyc from Gaylord Michigan, this years winner of the "Predict the First Snowfall Contest". It started lightly snowing on the 28th and continued until 5 am on the 29th. At 5 am the ground at the Snowman Cam was completely covered with about two inches of snow. Becky may want to consider changing professions and go to work for the National Weather Service. :) Thank you to everyone who entered this years contest!

10-27-08 - Snowman Cam greeting cards are now available at the Snowman Cam Store. These are very high quality greeting cards and are appropriate for all occasions.go to store

10-15-08 - Make your First Snowfall predictions here: Snowfall Prediction Page You need to be a registered member of the message board in order to make a prediction.

10-12-08 - Reminder: Special order deadline is October 31st. The order will be submitted November 1st and all items will be delivered before the end of November. Now is the time to get the perfect Christmas gift for the Snowman Cam lover in your family. We only place special orders every 90 days, so the next special order is January 31, 2009. Discounts are available for multiple items shipped together. Email me for details. snowman@snowmancam.com

9-9-08 - Two new chat rooms added. Feel free to give them a try. Snow Chat 1 Snow Chat 2

9-6-08 - Local craftsman donates snowman to help our website. get your very own snowman

9-2-08 - The Snowman Cam is now broadcasting the live image in a much larger size.

8-31-08 - New bear, fawn and turkey videos added to the video section. watch fawn bear and turkey videos

8-26-08 - The first case of Chronic Wasting Disease in Michigan has been detected. read story

8-24-08 - Snowman has a new MySpace page. Woody is looking for friends. Visit Woody's MySpace Page

8-23-08 - Woody tosses his hat in the ring and runs for President. see video

8-21-08 - The Snowman Cam chat room celebrates it's first anniversary today. It's hard to believe a year has gone by already. Thank you to everyone that has contributed to the success of the site. A special thank you to Chef Joe, Snowzy and Doorsfan for donating countless hours as administrators for the chat room. Thanks to all their help, the chatroom has been a nice family friendly place to chat.

7-29-08 - Congratulations to Gina Shaw from Welcome North Carolina, this year's winner of the Fawn Spotting Contest. Special thanks to Phillipsc4 for submitting the picture for Gina. Gina will receive a Snowman Cam t-shirt, which was donated by P.W. from California. Phillipsc4 will receive a Snowman Cam patch for her efforts. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who participated in this season's contest. see picture here

7-24-08 - No winner yet in the fawn spotting contest. There have been several, very cute, fawns in the woods near the Snowman Cam. So far none have been spotted on cam. Have you seen one? fawn spotting contest

7-18-08 - All special orders for Snowman Cam merchandise must be placed by Tuesday July 22nd. We are only doing special orders every 90 days so please place your orders now. Also, we have a lot of pins in stock. The picture on the site does not do them justice. They are beautiful pieces of jewelry and make great gifts. Please support the Snowman Cam and help feed all the animals. Thanks!

7-18-08 - The first buck of the year (in velvet) was spotted on the Snowman Cam. see picture

7-15-08 - A lot of bear activity lately. see latest pictures

7-11-08 - A mother black bear and her cub came to the Snowman Cam. see pictures

7-9-08 - The bear was back. Nice close up of him with the hummingbird feeders. pictures

7-2-08 - New videos of black bear at the snowman added. see latest black bear videos

6-18-08 - The black bear was back and gets close to the camera. black bear close up pictures

6-13-08 - The small black bear was back between 3am and 5am. black bear pictures

6-10-08 - Another smaller black bear came and made off with four bird feeders. bear pictures

6-9-08 - Chat room members send another package to Spain. see story and pictures

6-5-08 - Another black bear stopped by over night for a visit with the Snowman. see pictures

5-21-08 - You are invited to attend this years Snowman Cam Party/Picnic. read invitation

5-15-08 - Will you be the first to spot a fawn on the Snowman Cam this season? fawn spotting contest

5-09-08 - First bear of the season has been spotted. Congrats Jeff Wilber from California. see bear pictures

4-29-08 - Snowman Cam makes EarthCam's Editor's Choice list. Go to EarthCam

4-26-08 - Will you be the first, this year, to spot a bear on the Snowman Cam? bear spotting contest

4-25-08 - Grayling wildfire burns over 1300 acres. Has now been contained. see news story

4-19-08 - Update on Dale and Emily's progress after snowmobile accident. read his email

4-16-08 - Snowman Cam on EarthCam's Most Popular list. EarthCam (then click on "Most Popular" tab)

4-14-08 - Snowman Cam featured live on FOX 5 in Parkersburg W. Virginia and Marietta Ohio. see video

4-11-08 - Yack Pack is Back! Now you can voice chat with other chatters. go to voice chat

4-10-08 - The deer are finally back! Check out the latest pictures. see deer pictures

3-29-08 - Snow Melt Contest 2008. When will all the snow be gone? make your prediction

3-27-08 - Update on the snowmobile accident. Dale is finally home. read his thank you

3-12-08 - Snowman Cam family members injured in serious snowmobile accident. read more

3-2-08 - Chat room member, in Spain, receives package from USA. read story Picture added 3-11-08

2-25-08 - Snowman Cam sells items to benefit wildlife and local animal shelter. visit store

2-3-08 - Visitor videos added to Snowman Cam YouTube page. watch visitor videos

1-22-08 - Dearborn Michigan Public Schools adds SnowmanCam to their website.

1-22-08 - Snowman Cam gets a new logo. Thanks to Richard Guccini at R & J Printing in Royal Oak and to Penny and Theresa at New Century Signs in Gaylord, for all your help.

1-22-08 - Snowman Cam added to Lake Orion Community Schools' website. read more

1-19-08 - Couple travels 3700 miles from Edinburgh Scotland to see the Snowman. After flying from Scotland to Detroit, they drove the almost 500 mile round trip from Detroit to Gaylord and back in one day. See the picture of Mark Fryer and Valerie Evans.

1-18-08 - Two new large bird feeders have been added. We are seeing an increase in the number of birds feeding. There have been a lot of Redpolls here lately. They spend most of their time well north of here. (read about Redpolls) It's usually a sign that much colder weather is headed our way.

1-15-08 - Snowman receives email from Pine Tree Elementary second graders. read email

12-25-07 - Traverse City Record-Eagle newspaper article about the Snowman Cam. read article

12-13-07 - Chat room heroes story airs on Michigan This Morning, FOX 33 News and 9 & 10 News in Cadillac Michigan. watch videos

12-12-07 - While in the Snowman Cam chat room, Julie M. (Snowzy) and Scott M. (Scott) noticed that Emma J. (Emma) was having difficulties. Their quick thinking and a call to 911 may have saved Emma's life. see video

12-12-07 - Snowman Cam owners, Ken and Sheryl Borton invited to judge EarthCam's 25 Most Interesting Webcams for 2007. see list