Early Arrival Canada Geese

 

The signs of spring are showing up a little more each day. While this seems to be the winter that just won't let go, there are things that let us know warmer weather is on the way. One of the most prominent indicators of this is the return of the birds. It's hard to miss when the Canada Geese come back, such as those shown in this photo.  But in the last week we've also seen the return of robins, red-winged blackbirds, merlins, kingfishers, swans, pelicans, sandhill cranes and numerous waterfowl.  And there will surely be more to follow as we move deeper into spring and closer to summer!

Spring Ice in the High Falls gorge

 

The past few nights have been pretty cold.  This, combined with a high volume of water flowing over High Falls on the Pigeon River, means that all the spray and mist from the falls has been freezing and coating everything it lands on in a thick layer of ice. I love it when these conditions exist, because you can visit the area each day or even several times each day and you'll see something different as the ice continues to build up. 

Spring Rainbow at High Falls

 

After a VERY long winter, signs of springs are finally starting to show themselves.  One of the most dramatic of those signs is the opening up of the waterfalls. And High Falls of the Pigeon River in Grand Portage State Park is certainly one of the most awesome examples. This morning, thanks to high water levels and bright sunshine, there was a very prominent rainbow showing itself off at the falls. The best time to see the rainbow is between 10:00 AM and about 1:00 PM.  After that the sun moves too far to the west.  You'll still see a rainbow but it won't be lined up so perfectly with the waterfall. 

Spring ship traffic outside Duluth, MN

 

When I was down in Duluth a couple of weeks ago I made some photos of ships passing by on Lake Superior.  I especially like the first one, where you can see a bird flying above the pilothouse of the bulk carrier John G. Munson.  It's almost as if the bird was guiding the ship into port. 

The day after I captured the photo of the Munson, I spotted the research vessel Blue Heron heading east from Duluth. It was a beautiful day, with blue skies and blue waters.  Unlike the gray sky/gray water combo from the day before!

Afternoon Sun and Snowfall

 

The other day as I was leaving work something happened that had a very magical and mystical feel. As I was walking out to my vehicle I looked up and saw these ominous yet beautiful clouds slowly drifting across the sky. Every now and then the sun would make itself visible within the thinner pockets of clouds.  I was mesmerized by the view so I set up my camera and tripod and started making photos and videos. 

Just moments after I had my gear set up, it started to snow. A few moments later there was a LOT of snow coming down. The flakes were HUGE and very fluffy. It was such a cool experience to be looking straight up into the sky and feeling these giant yet extremely soft flakes of snow landing gently on my face. The next time you see snowfall like that, do yourself a favor and look up.  Feel that gentleness. Nature can be very destructive but it can also be very healing. Savor those moments. 

A Late April Blizzard

 

Today was another crazy day in regards to the weather. About 4 to 5 inches of wet snow fell overnight, then it got intermittently sunny and most of it melted.  Then it got cloudy and snowed again.  And it snowed hard.  The flakes were some of the biggest I've ever seen. They were so big you could heard them as they hit the ground.  As the giant flakes pelted the forest it sounded like rain falling. The snow was coming down at such a rapid rate that distant views of the forest looked like an abstract painting, especially when combined with a slow shutter speed.  Both of these photos were taken at a focal length of 200mm.  The first image was an exposure time of 1/10 of a second and the 2nd image had an exposure time of 1/400 of a second.  

Winter's not done with us yet...

 

More snow in our forecast for tonight/tomorrow. 5 to 9 inches according to the National Weather Service. Starting to feel like how the bear looks in the second photo. Images taken along the Gunflint Trail in northeast Minnesota. April 16, 2022. 

April or December?

 

It was a beautiful day for a relaxing spring drive up the Gunflint Trail today.  Of course, from the looks of things you wouldn't know if it was April or December. There is still so much snow!  It's going to take a while for all of it to melt, especially if temperatures stay on the cooler side.  Today it was barely 30 degrees along the Lake Superior shoreline and 21 degrees when these photos were taken along the Cross River near the end of the Gunflint Trail. 

Shattered Ice

 

A frozen puddle on a parking lot after a vehicle drove over it and cracked the ice. 

The calm before the storm

 

A calm and quiet moment in the forest before the next winter storm arrives. Over the next couple of days our forecast is calling for possible rain and/or heavy snowfall accompanied by high winds. April is definitely a month where the weather can be highly variable. 

Log Abstracts

 

I came across a pile of logs the other day that had been recently cut and stacked in preparation for transport to the lumber mill.  I got lost in photographing the patterns on the ends of the cut logs. I spent a good 30 minutes admiring and photographing all the various designs. Each one was completely unique from the rest. 

Abstract Aspen Forest

 

I found a nice thick stand of Aspen trees yesterday which made for some really fun photographs. The first photo is a "normal" shot showing the trees as you would typically see them.  The second photo is a slow shutter speed (1/13 of a second) combined with a small movement of the camera from left to right.  The third photo is another 1/13 second exposure but this time with a fast vertical movement of the camera. Each one was fun to make and each one gave a vastly different result. 

Little John Lake Otter

 

My day ended much like it began... with an unexpected wildlife encounter.  I had been hanging out on the creek that connects McFarland Lake to Little John Lake for a couple hours shooting timelapse videos of the cloudy skies. As I was wrapping up, I took one last look out across the lake and saw an otter pop its head up through the slush between the solid ice and the open water. After a few moments he climbed up onto the ice and looked back in my direction. He hung out on the ice for about 10 minutes before sliding back into the water. 

Fox Meadow

 

I saw a really cool dark-phase fox this morning crossing a meadow. He stopped and stared at me for quite a while from about a hundred yards away.  He had a beautiful dark face with a white patch on his chest. Seeing him on an otherwise damp and dreary morning was a special treat. 

Cattails and Critter Tracks

 

Here are a couple of scenes that caught my eye recently while out and about with the camera. The first one is a sea of cattails in a snowy field, the second one shows some critter tracks (perhaps fox or coyote) crossing a snow covered marsh.