Winter Layup Starts! The last ship of the season, the laker (ore boat) Kaye E. Barker arrived overnight at the Fraser Shipyards in Superior (across the harbor from Duluth)
Click or press upon to get full effect of image … it was cold very early this morning!
A slightly different treatment of the same photograph.
My friend Peter Ismert arrived from Colorado, and yesterday morning we were up in Sax-Zim Bog before the sun rose. Actually the morning was rather dark due to clouds and some snow which had just moved out of the area. Given calms winds it was a perfect morning for owling. Later in the day, the sun made an appearance. It is definitely a perfect day in the woods when the temperature soars to 27F, and the sun beats down on your back with no wind.
However, we did have to face the question of … What did the Fox say? Apparently the answer is “we don’t want know stinking Snowies in our field!” Peter and I watched a Red Fox calmly walk across a farm field and send the Snowy Owl which had been sitting on a hay bale flying. The fox also might have said … “owl trifecta!”. In total we saw two Great Gray Owls, two Snowy Owls and one Northern Hawk Owl. When we returned home to have dinner with my wife Molly, my two yard birds (Great Horned Owls) were hooting their love for one another in the gathering darkness. It was a good day.
Red Fox
Snowy Owl about to be flushed by said Red Fox
Great Gray Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
Snowy Owl #2
Although I watched Great Gray Owl #2 for 20 minutes, I chose not to take any pictures of that bird. I just wanted to enjoy the experience of watching it hunt (successfully).