Ice Abstraction, North Shore of Lake Superior. January 2024.
It sure has been a strange winter so far. Very little snow and with the warmer than average temperatures that we are expected to experience for the at least the next week, what little ice we have is melting as well. I was out along the shoreline yesterday and came across this interesting piece of melting ice. The shape reminded me of a gecko or some other type of lizard.
After a very mild start to the winter 2023-2024 season, we are finally getting some weather that is more appropriate for the time of year. Currently we are getting a decent dumping of snow with high winds and cold temps to follow, according to the forecast. Here are a couple of photos that preceded the current stormy weather. A very calm and peaceful sunset over a beaver pond.
I love finding nice track imprints in the snow, and my favorite tracks to find are those made by otters. You can really see their curious and playful nature in the tracks that they leave behind. Seeing such distinct paw prints is always cool but I especially love seeing the tracks made as they slide along on their bellies.
The end of the first day of 2024 was a beautiful ending to a beautiful day. I'm going to take it as a good sign.
Frozen bubbles on a beaver pond. The area of bubbles shown in these photos is maybe two feet wide. They were all pretty small... but endlessly fascinating.
It's almost New Year's Eve and we still don't have any snow. We've had some flurries here and there and some light accumulation inland from Lake Superior, but today the ground is completely bare of any snow cover and it was a beautiful day... felt like it was almost 50 degrees. Enjoying it while it lasts. The lack of snow and below freezing temps at night means all the muddy spots are frozen and making for an easy time exploring the trails. Hopefully this doesn't last too much longer though. It just doesn't feel like winter. I miss the blanket of white on the landscape. Still... there is always beauty to be found everywhere.
These beavers sure picked an awesome place to live! A beautiful lodge set between two ridges covered with pine and aspen trees.
