One of the constants of the weather in Minnesota is the wind. We seem to attract the winds from all four directions, whether it’s a northern clipper coming down from Canada, a warm tropical surge coming from the Gulf Coast to the south, a wintry mix blowing across the northern Rockies from the west, or a wrap-around wind that skirts Lake Superior to the east. So when the air is calm and still it is most noticeable, and so it was one recent evening. A good friend (and wonderful photography scout) of mine was driving around Lake Como and noticed that the lake surface was as smooth as glass. I packed up my camera and headed over to the lake. The sky was filled with dark gray and blue clouds although there was a thin line of clearing to the south. I headed to a small bay where I knew I could include the pink clearing in my photo. As I walked up to the shoreline I found a flock of wood ducks who were not overly pleased that I was coming to their area. Their swimming out into the lake created a bit of water movement in the bay — just enough to blur the beautiful reflection that I was seeing in the water. It wasn’t until I got home and was looking at the photos on my computer that I saw the effect of their movement, and although subtle, I liked the end-result.
landscapes
Change of seasons
We are quickly slipping from fall into winter. Once Mother Nature has made up her mind it seems that the changes become so much more noticeable. Although our days have been unseasonably warm, this past week we had two mornings of frost. That and the shorter daylight seem to have triggered some major changes. These two images were taken one week apart — the top image was last weekend and the bottom image was this morning. The colors are gone, the leaves have dropped (except for a few hold-outs), and even the sky has changed to its winter shade of gray. There is some mention of snow flurries possible later this week so we are hurriedly preparing the yard and garden beds for winter’s cold. As with the change back to standard time we all seem to change our outlooks. We’re looking forward to soups and heavier “comfort” meals, along with the upcoming holidays.
And with the calendar change to November I’m happy to announce my 2011 holiday card collection and my 2012 desk calendar collection. Both of these can be found on separate pages at the top of my blog. This is my eighth year of offering cards and calendars and you’re sure to find something to delight anyone’s tastes. Some of the photographs you’ll recognize as images that have been posted to my blog, but many of them are new photos. Browse and enjoy! And email me with any questions.
Enjoy this time of changing seasons!
Reds of fall
While the east coast is digging out from its blanket of white, we’ve been enjoying a prolonged and beautiful fall. Many of the trees have lost their leaves and yet some are just now coming into their brilliant last burst of color. One of the best things about this year’s prolonged autumn is that you don’t have to drive far to see the colors — they’re in the neighborhood parks and up and down the streets. And with some sunny blue-sky days like we had last week it was the perfect time to get out for some photographing. This image is from a small park three blocks from our home. The sun was low in the sky about a half hour before sunset when I stopped by the park. Although this single leaf is tattered it was putting on its own brilliant display of fall colors. I’m not sure if the leaf was still there the next day as we had some gusty winds that brought much of the color down to the ground, but for this one evening this leaf was there to be appreciated and photographed.
Sheyenne River Valley, North Dakota
We headed out last weekend for one final camping trip before the snow flies. Our original plans had us going to the southwest corner of Minnesota, but a prediction of one to two inches of rain changed our minds. Looking for “drier pastures” we drove to North Dakota. Nestled in the southeast corner of the state is the Sheyenne River Valley that seemed to have the potential for unlimited exploring. One of the national scenic byways runs through this river valley, and we found ourselves meandering down gravel roads taking in the scenery. The peak fall color was already past although there were spots of gold mixed in with the rich maroon and brown of the oaks. The valley is wonderfully scenic and has beautiful rolling hills, as well as much history. We camped at Fort Ransom State Park near the spot where the original Fort Ransom was established in 1867. After the fort was dismantled in the mid 1870’s the valley was opened for homesteading. Many of the early settlers in this area were Norwegian farmers, and their heritage and influence is evident. Within the state park is the original homestead of Andrew Sunne who settled on the land in 1884. His home and original barn are still on the site. This photograph is of a cabin that is on the Sunne site, looking out over part of the river valley. What wonderful sights the Sunnes must have seen out their cabin windows, seeing the river and hillsides and following the progression of all four seasons.
The perfect photographic conditions
I had more than one reader ask about the foggy morning that I wrote about last weekend. Each person said they wanted to see one of the photos that had gotten me so very excited about the early morning time that I was on the St. Croix River at Wild River State Park. I’m pleased to say that I had a difficult time choosing which photo to post for my response as I had more than one “favorite” image for that chance morning. But I narrowed it down to this image “Single tree island, early autumn” because it seems to sum up the whole morning. The fog is hanging in the air and over the river; the water is still so as to show the perfect reflection; the tree and the opposite hillside are glowing with the colors of fall, and the sun is just burning through the fog providing some blue sky and some beautiful lighting on the tree and the island. Within two minutes the scene changed — the sunlight was harsh and the fog had disappeared for that morning. I realized how fortunate I was to be at this place at this time on this morning. (And on another note…my lost cellphone was turned in by an alert hiker who found it along the trail near this very spot. Perhaps I was too caught up in my excitement over these perfect photographic conditions that I was unaware of other things such as cellphones.)
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