The heavens were filled with Christmas magic last night! Although Lady Aurora was shy and did not dance, she did show me the “green glow” at 4 am!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Click or press upon the image to view the Christmas magic at full size.
Old Vermilion Trail just north of Duluth, Minnesota
(iso = 1,600, aperture = 2.0, exposure =15 seconds)
Here’s an idea for anyone visiting the Bog and the Welcome Center this winter. This morning I set down cross-country ski tracks as noted via the Google Maps screenshot. One skis deep into the Bog via the drainage ditches. One may wax skis and put on your boots at the Welcome Center (open daily at 10:00 am till early March).
The ski itself is very easy … zero hills. Being a Duluth native I am well versed in skiing up North Shore Lake Superior streams to access areas not reachable in the summer. I decided to take that knowledge and apply it to the Bog. I will try to keep the tracks set through the winter. I saw plenty of birds during my ski … mostly Grey Jays and Chickadees. Sometime in the next few weeks I will ski in around sunrise as opposed to today (around noon).
Anyhow, I wanted to encourage “skiing the bog”. Many of you travel from a distance to visit Sax-Zim Bog; thus it’s nice to get out of the car. One covers distance much quicker on skis than on snowshoes. On my next ski I will head “south” at the T-Junction (dotted yellow line). Hope to see you at the Bog, and maybe even on the ski trail (I am a volunteer naturalist at the Bog).
I went looking for Bohemian Waxwings today. A few flocks of these northern birds had been reported in the local fruit trees. Instead, I found something much more unusual for northern Minnesota, a Townsend Solitaire. This grey bird was enjoying an afternoon feed in some fruit trees with temperatures that were 50 degrees warmer than Sunday morning (from -21F to +35F). Welcome to winter in the Arrowhead. I never did find the Bohemians, but they tend to be my nemesis bird!
Townsend Solitaire Eating Frozen Berries!
After some fun with the local rarity it was out to Old Vermilion Trail where I needed to refill my public bird feeders. While the northern finches have not appeared in the feeders, I do not have a hen pheasant enjoying sloppy seconds from all the local chickadees. Pheasant are rather usual in the northern Boreal Forest. Just the normal visitors out on Old Vermilion Trail!
Finally, here is a video I forgot to post of the pine grosbeaks from a few days ago!