With some of our snow finally starting to melt, we are beginning to see signs left over from warmer seasons. Some plants that were covered in snow for most of the winter are reemerging as the snow level diminishes. I found this sweet photo opportunity while out snowshoeing a few days ago.
Thanks go to my dad for capturing this "behind the scenes" image of me making the previous two photographs.
While out snowshoeing the other afternoon we saw a lot of cool things but it's always a special treat to see evidence of otter activity. This time of year the waterways are slowly but surely trying to open up as warmer days struggle to push the last of the cold winter days away. As we snowshoed along this local creek there were little pockets of water here and there. Otter tracks were running between almost all of them. While we didn't see any otters in person, its fun to imagine them running along in their playful way as they inspect the various water sources.
This afternoon and early evening my dad and I got out on the snowshoes for a hike along a local river. The cooler temperatures lately means the snow has become very firm, making walking through the woods much easier than it is any other time of year. It also increases accessibility to areas that are normally very inaccessible, such as this river meadow. In any other season it would be a nightmare to walk through this area, but today it was a joy.
As we walked along the hard surface of the snow it was easy to forget that we were walking about 3 feet above the normal ground level. Yep, that's right... we still have an average of about 3 feet of snow depth here in the very northeastern tip of Minnesota. And, it sounds like we're due to receive another foot of snow this week. This winter just doesn't want to let go, and I'm completely okay with that.
The morning after last week's snow storm was so beautiful. Trees coated with a fresh blanket of wet snow and a clear blue sky hovering overhead. It was hard to go to work on that morning. I could have easily spent the whole day out and about making photographs!
I can see why, Smokey, I can see why. After 20 inches of extremely wet and heavy snow this week on top of the large amount of snow depth we already had, I'm not surprised one bit.
The past few days sure have given us some crazy weather. It snowed VERY hard for almost two whole days, dropping roughly 20 inches of some of the wettest and heaviest snow that I've ever seen. Then today it was sunny and in the mid 40's. By midday most of the roadways were dry. One thing's for sure, we have a LOT of snow and it looks like the weather over the next week is going to be a little cooler so it's not going anywhere anytime soon!
Spending time with this fellow was so cool. We were deep in the desert in the middle of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona and sat right beneath this small 8 to 10 foot tall tree while the raven preened itself and watched us curiously but without any sense of nervousness or alarm. It was one of the best moments of that trip.
