Category Archives: Year 3

After the Storm!

March 17, 2016Year 3MN North: Amity, MN North: Old Vermilion Trailrichardhoeg@gmail.com

Over the past 48 hours we have had high winds off Lake Superior, and depending upon your elevation above the lake … anywhere from 4 to 14 inches of heavy wet snow. The rumor is that the sun will shine tomorrow, but for the moment the world is encased in heavy white sticky stuff.

Before dawn this morning I took a hike along Amity Creek. It was fun to see the roaring river (not stream) all decked out in white. The hike made me realize that I needed to spend the day outside. After first stopping out on Old Vermilion Trail to fill the bird feeders, I spent a good amount of the day driving and hiking back roads. Many streams have flooded out of their banks, and I had to repeatedly stop and inspect the roadbed (good thing for muck boots) to insure there were no washouts.

Even with this return to winter, the spring migration is slowly starting. When I found some fresh roadkill 15 miles north of Duluth, I was treated to watching nine bald eagles. All and all, it was a great day!

Amity Creek (river?!) before sunrise

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Floods … Water Over Road Many, Many Times!

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Preening After the Snow … Immature Bald Eagle

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My Own Back Yard … 100’s of Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins

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Our own Homestead this Morning!

The Beauty of Snowmelt!

March 12, 2016Year 3Northern Lightsrichardhoeg@gmail.com

By tomorrow drizzle and snow will return in northern Minnesota, but for the past 48 hours the weather has been gorgeous. The unseasonable warm weather (60F this afternoon) has done some major damage to our snow cover. With the quick warmup, the Northland has been transformed. Water is screaming down to Lake Superior and setting the waterfalls to roaring. Area lakes have snowmelt ponds and refreeze, which made for neat photographic conditions.

This afternoon Molly and I took a quick 25 mile bike ride to explore some area rivers and waterfalls. Even though we were within 100 yards of Lake Superior and her 36F water, the mild winds meant we biked in shorts and light tops!

Here is some of what we saw over the past 48 hours, starting with a mild Aurora Borealis display two nights ago. I love the reflections and ice. These kinds of conditions are only present for a few weeks per year.
Boulder-Lake-11-Mar-2016-Ice-Meltdown-2

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Some of our waterfalls, including my favorite … the Splitrock shower waterfall. This spigot only turns on for about one week each spring during runoff!

(Splitrock Shower Waterfall … Beaver River … Gooseberry River)
March-Bike-Ride-Splitrock-Shower-Waterfall March-Bike-Ride-Beaver-River-Waterfall March-Bike-Ride-Gooseberry-Falls-Molly-Rich

Bald Eagles Behaving Badly!

March 12, 2016Year 3MN North: St. Louis River, MN North: Western Waterfront Trailrichardhoeg@gmail.com

At least this would have been your opinion this morning if you were one of the Canada Geese or Trumpeter Swans hanging out in the few open water spots at Chambers Grove on the St. Louis River. Some early Spring migrants are making their appearance in the Northland, and the Bald Eagles were hoping to have waterfowl for breakfast! Take a look at the last flight sequence photo for the mature bald eagle, and you will spy two geese paying close attention to Mr. Eagle!

In addition to checking out Chambers Grove, I found a large number of early migrating songbirds along the Western Waterfront Trail (63rd Ave. West). In addition to the mourning doves and red-winged blackbirds pictures, I saw pine siskins, song sparrows, grackles and robins! I hope they all know snow and cold weather will return within 24 to 48 hours. Today’s sunny 60F is an anomaly for Duluth at this time of March, but we all enjoyed it!

Immature Bald Eagle: Dive, Captain, Dive!