Moose Meadows, Pigeon River

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This photograph was made from the Pigeon River Helipad and Overlook on Otter Lake Forest Road in Northeast Minnesota. Ever since the forest service created this helipad and overlook, I've been stopping there whenever I'm in the area in the hopes of seeing a Moose down along the river. Being quite familiar with the river from the seat of a kayak, I knew that this bend in the river was quite popular with the Moose. However, I had never seen one from the overlook until today! I watched through my telephoto lens as the Moose moved throughout the shallows for several minutes. Eventually he turned and gave me a nice profile of his body. It was cool to finally see a Moose from this vantage point! This marks my 18th Moose sighting of this year!

Mating Damselflies, Swamp River

I paddled 13 miles on Swamp River yesterday and saw several critters but the highlight of the day was seeing all of the damselflies in the grasses and on the lily pads along the edge of the river. They are so small, most people probably wouldn’t even notice them. These little guys are only about an inch and a half long. Once you notice them, it’s hard to take your eyes off them (they are also quite hard to photograph, since they usually don’t sit still for very long). Adding to the difficulty was the wind. It was quite hard to capture these critters when the grasses were blowing around so much!

Border Bridge

The international bridge between the U.S. and Canada over the Pigeon River in Grand Portage, MN. I made this image right after it stopped raining today. The bridge's reflection on the water and the fog in the background really caught my eye.

Wild Rose and Pine Forest

The skies were gray today and there was a light rain coming down throughout the day. Perfect for getting under the forest canopy and making some images of wildflowers!

Above image: Water droplets on a blade of grass after a rainy night. Shot with a Canon EF 100mm macro lens.

Satisfied Land + Misty Mountains

Above photo: "Satisfied Land".

After a very dry spring, moisture returns to the north woods of Minnesota. This was our first good day of rain in almost two months during a time of year that normally sees a lot of rainfall.

Above photo: "Misty Mountains".

This was about an hour before sunset; the clouds were breaking up and the hills had this beautiful fog rolling through through them. I love not only shooting but just plain being out in the woods when the conditions are like this!

Evening Wood Lily, Ham Lake Burn Area

If you're thinking of taking a drive up the Gunflint Trail, be sure and check out the Magnetic Rock Hiking Trail. About a half-mile in along the trail, the Wood Lilies are blooming and there are quite a few of them! In my opinion they are one of the most beautiful flowers of the Northwoods. I loved the contrast between the colorful flowers, green grass and charred black ground that remained from the fire, which occurred in May 2007.

More Moose!

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What a day! Saw FIVE moose today... 4 on the same bend of the Pigeon River, first a male and female pair, then another female with a calf showed up and scared the other two away. Fifth one was seen on Partridge Falls Road on the way home. Paddled 10 miles on the river... besides Moose saw lots of Beavers, the Otter family of 6, and many ducks. The cow and calf shown in this photo crossed the river upstream from me three times, and I was able to get images of them each time they crossed. The image shown here was my favorite.

Moose on the Pigeon River

These images were taken yesterday during my paddling outing on the Pigeon River. I saw these two Moose just minutes after putting in to the river. When I first came upon them there was one on each side of the river. After watching them for about 15 minutes, one swam across to join the other and they walked into the woods together. It was a beautiful day to be on the water and seeing these Moose made the day extra special!