All posts by richardhoeg@gmail.com

Saving the Northland for Future Generations.

Year 9

Hurray! President Biden this morning cancelled the two “precious metals” mining permits near the BWCA. While I understand the need for well paying jobs in northern Minnesota, no job is worth risking the chance my grandchildren will not be able to enjoy an unspoiled Northland.

I actually had to leave this area right after graduate school when I started my work career … St. Louis County had the 4th worst unemployment rate in the nation at over 20% of the workforce. Thus, I personally understand the need for jobs, but not at the risk of what makes northern Minnesota precious. Thankfully I am back in the area once more. Thank you, President Biden. Read about the mining permit cancellations via MPR.

I took this photograph about six years ago at the edge of the BWCA, the Aurora over the Pagami Creek Wildfire burn area.

I normally keep political discussions out of this blog, but it should be obvious to any reader I love the Northland. I am not affiliated with either major political party and have voted over the years for both Democrats and Republicans.

Signs of Spring??

Year 9

It was -22F on my car thermometer this morning as I headed out shortly before sunrise. The conditions could only be described as frigid. This cold morning I wondered whether I might be able to find some owls along Scenic 61 trying to get the benefit of what little thermal warmth the golden orb might offer (no!). I did see Pine Grosbreaks and Bohemian Waxwings, but not in terms of photo opportunities.

Why “Signs of Spring”? In the pre-dawn darkness this morning my local Great Horned Owls were hooting their mutual love. I know from past year’s experience the owls will nest within two weeks. In addition, a few Horned Larks and Snow Buntings are already making their way back north. If you find some open ground scraped clean by a snowplow, it is not unusual to find these birds near the Superior Airport. Thus, even in the deep of winter, if you know where to look or listen, there is hope!

Having said that it was just darn cold this morning. Here are three images I snapped shortly after sunup. The fishermen are hardier than me. It was -19F at the time I took the photographs, and I was not particularly interested in hiking. My sojourn outside will be this afternoon as the mercury soars to about -8F.

Two Harbors Breakwater (the haze or fog is sea smoke … mist that rises due to the water being much warmer than the surrounding air)

Spark Birds and Winter Gloves

Year 9

This post is a potpourri of stuff. While driving north back to Minnesota, Molly and I often listened to podcasts. Our favorites tended to be How I Built This and This American Life. Yesterday afternoon I learned about “Spark Birds” via This American Life. I was not familiar with the term, but basically a Spark Bird is the bird that helped you personally get hooked on bird. A Spark Bird need not be exotic. What bird was your Spark Bird?

For me the bird was a Blue Jay. While hiking in the woods as a young child I heard a noise which I could not even identify as even being a bird. The sound was not a typical “jay song”; perhaps it was the “musical queedle-queddle” described by my IBird Pro app… Regardless, the sound made this young boy hike deep into a thicket where I discovered the source of the song, a Blue Jay. I was now hooked on birding.

My Spark Bird: The Blue Jay

In the Spark Bird episode of This American Life, the famous birder Noah Strycker, talks about his Spark Bird … a 13 minute interview about his love of Black Vultures! The National Wildlife Federation also has a neat article from late last Summer about folks and their Spark Birds.

Now the other part of this post … finding warm winter gloves. A number of you suggested battery powered heated gloves which I tried a few years ago. When the heating system failed on a cold day, I vowed to only use natural materials. I may be overly cautious. I’m sure these types of gloves have improved.

I also received an email from Robert H. who recommended I read a recent post by Bryan Hansel about Winter gloves. Somehow I had missed Bryan’s recent post n gloves, but interestingly enough I already have a pair of gloves on order which are reviewed by Bryan. If you don’t know Bryan Hansel, he is a fantastic photographer who lives up in the Grand Marais area. Should you ever want to increase your photography skills, Bryan teaches both “in person” and “online” photography seminars. Check out his web site.

Finally, like myself, Bryan lives in northeastern Minnesota. He understands severely cold weather. Most of the reviews for products on Amazon and other websites are well intentioned, but from people who don’t truly experience super cold weather. In NE Minnesota it is likely that at some point in the winter the mercury will plunge to -30F or worse (not including chill factor).

Once again, What was your Spark Bird and Why? Leave a comment.