Tag Archives: MN North: Mouth of the Lester River

Surfing … Lake Superior Style

Year 6

Another day … another storm, but the 25 to 30 mph winds out the NE meant waves on the Duluth end of Lake Superior. Our local surfers were quite aware of that situation, and were surfing this afternoon off the mouth of Lester River on Lake Superior. It may not be quite the same as sunny southern California … air temperature: 33F; water temperature: 35F

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Last night before the rains came overnight I visited Glensheen with my wife, my youngest son and his wife. It was a Winter Wonderland with about 5 inches of new snow which had fallen in about four hours. Happy New Year!

A Fox’s Winter Wonderland

Year 6,

Winter has arrived in the Northland. You may be thinking … hey wait, it is only November 7th! However when the overnight lows for the last week have been 10F, and the highs only reach to the mid 20’s, it’s winter. The calendar is not important.

Today I moved up the shore of Lake Superior, and then inland on the Gunflint Trail. When I say I was remote and in the wilderness today, most folks can have no conception of what this really means. Only on the Gunflint Trail would moose give my car the tongue licking car wash … see my post from last March!

I actually started the day viewing the seasmoke over Wisconsin. Given the cold air temperatures Lake Superior was steaming up a storm. My local mallards were all down on the big lake because all the inland water is already frozen solid. However, the real treat of the day was watching “Red” hunt not once, but twice. During my explorations of the Gunflint this afternoon, I found my Red Fox hunting in the same exact spot fifty minutes apart. At this time of the year, mammals and birds start to hunt the roadside areas. There is more likelihood of catching a meal, and the snow is not quite as deep. I saw the fox make one successful kill during the 15 minutes I watched it hunt.

In total I moved 100 miles up the shore of Lake Superior today. Molly is attending a Northwoods writer’s conference, which allows me to escape into the woods!!!

Red Fox Hunting on the Gunflint Trail near the Canadian Border

Sunrise SeaSmoke Mallards off the Lester River on Lake Superior

Sunset at Grand Marias on Lake Superior

Live Long and Prosper!

Year 6,

Trekkies will recognize this phrase. Apparently Merlins are fans of Spock. Sorry Kirk.

However if you are a “tweety bird”, the phrase is most inappropriate as this young merlin demonstrated shortly after sunrise this morning.

Eventually the Merlins moved out into the morning sun for some good morning stretches.

Finally, the Kingfisher kids have fledged at the mouth of the Lester River. Thus, there is lots of fishing going on between the London Road and RR Bridges. Here is a photo of Mom watching the young.

Now it’s off to Tromso, Norway tomorrow morning.