Early Winter Blanket

Fresh snow blankets the forest of northeast Minnesota on October 28, 2017.

Frosted Forest

Grand Portage, MN - An early snow storm blanketed northern Minnesota with as much as 8 to 12 inches of wet snow on October 28, 2017.  The scenery after the storm was unbelievably beautiful!

Winter Wonderland (In October!)

I'm still a little bit in disbelief at how much snow we received so early this year.  In all my years of living in northeast Minnesota (which in another month will be 42) the earliest I can remember getting this much snow this early is the Halloween "mega-storm" of 1991.  And that was on Halloween... this year it was 4 days before Halloween!  

That year Duluth (150 miles south of where I live) got a dumping of about 36 inches of snow.  It started snowing on Halloween night and didn't stop for 4 days.  Here in Grand Portage we had maybe 6 inches, if I remember correctly.  This year on October 27th/28th Grand Portage received anywhere from 2 or 3 inches (on the Lake Superior shoreline) to as much as 8 to 12 inches (a few miles inland from Lake Superior).  

Most of the snow fell overnight between the 27th and 28th.  I spent the majority of the day on the 28th driving around up in the woods making photographs of the fresh winter beauty.  Speaking of which... it's still more than 50 days until winter officially arrives!  Kind of hard to believe...

Bald Eagle and Blowing Snow

I was lucky yesterday to see this immature bald eagle soaring around near the tops of some spruce trees right as some wind gusts were blowing the fresh snow off the trees.  The blowing snow caught the sunlight and really made for a cool image.  One of the most unique bald eagle photos I've captured!

After the first snow - October 28, 2017

It sure was pretty up in the woods yesterday!  We received the earliest snowfall that I can remember in a loooooong time.  There was about 6 to 10 inches on the ground, depending on where you were.  The clouds parted enough mid-day that there was some blue sky which always adds a nice touch to fresh snowfall.  This photo was taken along Old Highway 61 in Grand Portage, MN.

Beautiful October Snow!

So I was in the post office today and there was a woman at the counter talking with the postmaster and every word coming out of her mouth was about how much she couldn't stand the winters here (for those that don't know, we had some nasty weather the last few days which left us with some really beautiful snow).  She actually said "Who would want to continue living in this HELL???"  I looked at her and said "Ummmmm.... I do... it's beautiful here!"  After that encounter I took a drive up in the woods and within 10 minutes of leaving the post office I came across this beautiful scene with the sun shining through the trees blanketed in snow.  If hell is this beautiful, heaven must be AMAZING!  

It's that time of year again!

Winter weather today meant that the plows were out! Which means that it's plow truck photo season again! Ha ha ha... those that know me know that I have an obsession with taking photos of plow trucks in action.  This guy was really flinging the snow today!

Autumn Sunrise over Isle Royale National Park

A recent beautiful sunrise over Isle Royale National Park on Lake Superior, taken from Grand Portage, Minnesota.  

Fall colors at Mile 148 on Highway 61

Thanks to some pretty stiff winds the past couple of days the fall colors are now past their peak along Highway 61 in northeast Minnesota.  I meant to post this photo before the leaves were past peak but I missed it. I shot this on my way to work on October 16th.  The location is just a couple of miles south of the Canadian border.  

Hanging On

Fall color season is almost over for this year, but there is still a lot of color to be seen out in the forest.  Some trees are hanging on, savoring the nicer weather we've had this week.

Camp 20 Sunset

I was treated to a beautiful sunset this evening as I rode my bike down Camp 20 Road in Hovland, MN.  It was great way to end a superb day of riding!

Golden Tamarack

While out bike riding yesterday I saw a lot of really beautiful tamarack trees along my chosen route.  They are such beautiful trees!  The tamarack is a deciduous conifer, which means that its needles change color and fall to the ground each year.

Sunset Rays

A simple yet beautiful cloudless sunset that I captured while on one of my bike rides back in September.  

Maple Leaves on the Forest Floor

Maple leaves litter the forest floor after a rainy day in the Minnesota northwoods. 

Autumn on Cascade River

I went for a drive in the woods yesterday followed by a bike ride in the woods.  This photo was taken as I was driving out to the area where I wanted to bike.  It's the Cascade River in Cook County, MN photographed from the County Road 45 bridge that spans the river.  

October Glow

The Northern Lights came out for a surprise show last night!  While I missed the "best" part of the show, which occurred early in the evening (before 9:00 PM), I did still catch them glowing nicely between 11:00 PM and midnight.  It had been quite windy during the day yesterday but after nightfall the wind died down to pretty much nothing.  This made for some nice reflections of the stars in the water on this pond.  

Partridge Falls

Partridge Falls of the Pigeon River in Grand Portage, MN.  It's one of my favorite waterfalls.  I never tire of visiting it or photographing it.  Such a magical place.  

October 1st Sunrise at the Spirit Tree

It had been a long time since I'd been down to the Spirit Little Cedar Tree so last weekend I decided to head down there for sunrise.  I picked a great morning to go as there were some really nice clouds just as the sun was coming up.  Nothing quite like watching the sun rise over Lake Superior :-)

Fall Color Drive

Yesterday I had to drive to Duluth and I had plenty of time so I decided to drive the backroads on the way down and look at fall colors.  While the colors inland from Lake Superior are overall past their peak, there is still plenty of beauty to be found.  For this photo I purposely shot a slow shutter speed to blur the movement of the trees as I drove down the road.  I had my tripod set up on the passenger side of the car and used a remote trigger to take photos as I was driving.  For those that are curious, this was a 1/3 second exposure.  

Brilliant Birch

I sure do love autumn.  The forest is filled with such brilliant color right now.  It's like being in a fantasy land!

October Moonbow at High Falls

The moonlight last night sure was beautiful!  I went for a walk up to High Falls at Grand Portage State Park to see if there would be a moonbow.  Earlier this week we got several inches of rain which brought the water level in the river up about 4 feet.  When high water level coincides with full moonlight you can usually see a rainbow at night, often referred to as a moonbow.  

As I walked up the trail the light from the moon was so bright I didn't even need to use my headlamp, even when I was beneath the forest canopy.  When I got my first glimpse of the falls I could easily see that there was indeed a rainbow visible at the base of the waterfall!  Such a cool and unique thing to see.  The wonders of this world are endless!

Autumn ECR

Autumn ECR.  Beautiful ride under the forest canopy this evening.

Yellow Maple Leaves

A glorious, sunny autumn day in the maple forest of northeast Minnesota.  

Autumn sunrise over my two favorite lakes

Early morning light washes over my two favorite lakes: Speckled Trout Lake and Swamp Lake in Grand Portage, MN.  It sure was a beautiful weekend, I hope you all were able to get out and enjoy it!

Autumn Beauty

There's a lot of fall color out there.... get out and see it before it's gone!