This past week we’ve had mild temperatures at night coupled with unusually high dew points resulting in a few mornings of fog — the kind that hangs around all day, never burns off, and makes the day gray and gloomy. It’s not a very usual occurrence here in Minnesota, so it’s always noticeable when it’s foggy for a day or two. That was the case until Friday night when the temperature dropped down to 24 degrees and the air was still thick with moisture. Even before daylight on Saturday it was evident that Mother Nature was gracing everything with hoarfrost. The moisture that was clinging to trees, plants, and even fences had frozen in the air. It was a wonderfully beautiful sight — our brown grass was dusted in sparkling white, and all the trees and branches were lined in frost. Even more unusual was that it remained this way until midday. The sun tried to break through the low clouds, and when the wind picked up ever so slightly there was a cascade of ice crystals that would fall down from the trees overhead. I hiked through a local park and the landscape looked like it was photographed with infrared film. I loved the way the frost outlined the individual links in this chain-link fence and the leaf that was captured within its squares.
winter
A winter’s sleigh ride
Amidst a light coating of snow and a bright and sunny day, I went to the 36th annual sleigh & cutter festival that was put on by the St. Croix Horse & Carriage Society. Because of our lack of significant snow this year I wasn’t sure if the event was going to take place. But this year’s smaller snowfall was much easier on the horses and ponies than last year’s two to three feet of snow that they tried valiantly to move through. With the somewhat “mild” temperature of 20 degrees and sunshine, the horses seemed to enjoy the outing, moving easily across the open spaces and kicking up a light dusting of snow. The drivers were dressed in period costumes and the horses and ponies were adorned with bells that rang and echoed across the course. If you were to block out the sound of the cars traveling on the boulevard nearby it would have been easy to think that the year was 1900 when this was the mode of transportation for winter days.
Trumpeter swans
Our landscape has become winter-like this past week with a couple of small snowfalls accompanied by sub-zero temperatures. Lakes that previously had thin ice have become more consistently frozen and our winter wildlife has become more at home with the cooler weather. Within the heart of the Twin Cities are many lakes and wildlife areas, and this morning we ventured north about seven miles to an area of lakes that feed into each other, connected by canals or waterways. This year there is a group of about 40 trumpeter swans that are calling this urban area home. As we walked into the park the snow enveloped us with its quiet and hush, even though a county highway wasn’t far away. After a bit we could hear the sounds of the swans and their accompanying mallard ducks as they traversed the canal. They seemed quite content in this homeland within the city. The trumpeter swans are large birds having a wingspan of up to seven feet. As we stopped and watched it was easy to lose ourselves in their honking and the sound of their wings flapping. The ducks were flying in and out of the waterway, and on the far shore we even spotted a mink as it scurried along the rocks and the ledges then slipped silently underwater. It was a wonderful treat to spend the time in the outdoors surrounded by the wildlife and waterfowl that have given us this opportunity to observe them so close to our homes.
Red Bull Crashed Ice in Saint Paul
Saint Paul has been on the international map this weekend as it hosted the 2012 opening race of the extreme sport of ice cross downhill. This also happened to be the US debut of the sport, and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The Red Bull Crashed Ice races were held over the past three days on a course that started next to the majestic Cathedral of Saint Paul. The ice track (think of a bobsled course) travelled a quarter of a mile with jumps and hairpin turns all going downhill towards downtown. The competitors wore full pads, helmets, and hockey skates and were clocked up to 40 mph as they made their way to the finish line. It was a party atmosphere when I attended Friday night’s elimination rounds. The temperature was about 10 degrees with a wind chill near zero, requiring my warmest boots, hat, coat, and gloves. As all good Minnesotans don’t let cold and/or snow deter their fun, the crowds came out in the tens of thousands to watch the races. It’s high-speed and fascinating to watch, and certainly not for the faint of heart. The finals took place last night in front of a crowd of 80,000 fans. I won’t mention who won; instead you can watch the rebroadcast of the Saint Paul series by NBC on Saturday, January 21st at 1:00pm CST. Check it out, or go to the Red Bull Crashed Ice website to learn more.
Winter sunrise
This past week has been filled with beautiful crisp and clear mornings. There’s something about the air in winter, especially in the morning, that is fresh and invigorating. In order to enjoy all that a winter morning has to offer we headed out before dawn this morning. As we left the house there was a nearly full moon hanging low in the western sky and although we don’t have snow cover the moonlight was bright and beckoned us on our early outing. We journeyed west of the Twin Cities to Wright County, an area that’s made up of farmland, rivers and lakes. As the eastern sky was just beginning to brighten, we arrived at the shoreline of Fountain Lake. The temperature was about 18 degrees with no wind, but in the quiet just before dawn we could hear a rumbling sound echoing across the lake. As the ice was contracting and expanding there was a moaning and groaning that shattered the early morning stillness. Once I was accustomed to this sound and understood what it was, we enjoyed the change of colors in the eastern sky and followed the sun as it lit up the tracks on the ice. With this cold start to the morning there was a thin layer of frost on many of the grasses and trees and the sun caused the landscape to sparkle and shine as it moved higher in the sky. After a delicious and filling breakfast in a local cafe we headed out to explore other areas of the county, taking advantage of our unseasonably warm temperatures.
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