This was the coolest storm to watch as it passed over Grand Portage State Forest and Greenwood Lake yesterday afternoon. We could see a good rain falling beneath this structure of clouds but above us was blue sky. We were high and dry from our vantage point and had a front row seat to the storm show! Eventually there were a couple of small holes in the clouds and the sunlight was penetrating through these holes, shining rays of light down onto the ground. Just minutes after making this photo the sky shown in this photo was blue and completely devoid of any clouds. Such was the pattern of the day: brief periods of intense rain followed by sunshine and blue sky. Nature sure is amazing and beautiful!
Wow, yesterday was an amazing day for photography! For most of the day we had the most incredible thunderstorm cloud formations moving across the area. My friend Roger and I spent most of the afternoon and evening chasing the storm clouds to photograph them. Our day ended along the harbor in Grand Marais, where the last of the storm clouds was moving southeast across Lake Superior. The scene was a surreal one as we drove from the Gunflint Trail down the hill and into town. The storm cloud formation was right over Artist's Point, the coast guard station and the lighthouse. Lots of people were out along the shoreline of the harbor enjoying the view of the retreating clouds. It was the perfect end to an adventurous day of photography!
What a beautiful night last night! My friend Roger and I went out to photograph the Milky Way and at first we were hindered by too much cloud cover. After a while, though, the clouds began to move out and the Milky Way soon appeared. This is my favorite shot from last night. I really like how the clouds complement the scene. They are lit up from lights at the U.S./Canada border crossing in Grand Portage, which was just a few miles away. This is one of my favorite tree lines in all of Cook County. Love these old growth pines! They sure make for a nice foreground to the night sky.
As I mentioned in my post yesterday, it is the annual Grand Portage Rendezvous Days Celebration this weekend. We have a big pow-wow that goes on all weekend and Grand Portage National Monument has their big reenactment going on as well. I don't normally visit the Spirit Tree on Rendezvous weekend but this year I have company and wanted to show the tree to them. Since the space weather forecast was calling for a chance of northern lights I decided that we should visit the tree late at night to watch the crescent moon rise and wait for the northern lights to show up. There were indeed some lights, but just a soft green glow on the horizon. It was a very pretty night with the stars, clouds, northern lights, moonlight and the occasional Perseid meteor streaking across the sky.
It's that time of year again for Grand Portage's annual Rendezvous Days celebration, which is our big pow-wow event each year that coincides with the rendezvous reenactment at Grand Portage National Monument. Both the pow-wow and the rendezvous are places you'll want to spend serious amounts of time as there is a lot to see and do. But, while you're here, you should also take some time to appreciate the scenic beauty that surrounds our area. Grand Portage has some of the best views of Lake Superior to be found anywhere along the Minnesota shoreline of the lake.
Here is one such scene taken at dusk during the last full moon, also called the blue moon since it was the second full moon to occur in July. The illumination that you see on the shoreline in this photo was from the light of the blue moon, which was rising behind me as I made this photo. We are now approaching the new moon which means our night sky will be much darker but this also coincides with the Perseid meteor shower which occurs every year around this time. So, the night sky conditions should be good for meteor watching (that is if the clouds ever move out!). Whatever you end up doing this weekend, rest assured if you're in Grand Portage there will be plenty of activities to occupy your time!
For a schedule of events for the pow-wow click here:
Grand Portage Rendezvous Days Pow-Wow
And for more information about the rendezvous reenactment click here:
http://www.nps.gov/grpo/planyourvisit/rendezvousdaysandpowwow.htm
A shot that I've been saving from the full moon a week ago. On the evening of July 29th we had some really cool cloud structure on the eastern horizon and those clouds lit up with some intensity when the sun was setting. It was a beautiful scene indeed when the moon started to show itself above those clouds!
Here is another batch of photos from the hummingbirds that have been frequenting our flower gardens. I cannot say enough how much fun it is to watch and photograph these birds as they roam around the flowers. Definitely one of the most fun situations that I've photographed in quite some time! I've noticed them perching in various areas around the yard in between their feedings on the lilies. One of their favorite perches is on the young maple that we planted last year.
