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.
winter
Cue a new year
With our brown grass and unseasonably warmer temperatures it really hasn’t “felt” or “looked” like Christmas, let alone winter. For New Year’s Eve we planned a quiet day of running errands and making turkey soup, and then headed out for an evening movie at the historic Riverview Theater in Minneapolis. And as things seem to have a way of cueing up at just the right time, we came out of the theater around 9:30 to the sight of a beautiful snowfall. We walked across the street to a lovely cafe and wine bar, and enjoyed the mixture of lively conversation and a band while watching the snow collect on the sidewalks and trees. This was a wet and heavy snow, and the flakes were the biggest I’ve ever seen. Some could easily have been over an inch and half square! It was as if 2012 had taken its cue to enhance our mood with a much-needed and appropriate snowfall.
As I look back on 2011 I am thankful for so many things – friends, family, and good health (including one repaired thumb). I’ve had the opportunity to make over 5,100 photographic images this past year. Granted, not all of them are the “perfect” image, but many have served as “sketches” for a final image. I’ve also taken two short videos – one was intentional and one was not. And, for the 3rd year I have posted a photo and entry to this blog every week. I started to blog in 2009 as a challenge to maintain my love of photography. Some weekends I approach my computer and blog with joy, wanting to share a great photo and a wonderful experience I’ve had. Other weekends I start to panic on Sunday realizing that I haven’t had my camera out and I feel a deadline fast approaching. Each of those scenarios have taught me things about myself and my photography. Thanks to all of you that follow my blog, and to those who comment. Your interest in my scenes and stories, coupled with your comments and your stories keep me coming back week after week.
May this coming year be filled with peace, hope, beauty, vision, more photographs, experiences, and a life filled to the brim!
Blue sky Christmas
Wishing you the best and the brightest of this holiday season. I am ever so thankful for friends and family, near and far, who make this such a special day. Merry Christmas!
The rush and pause of winter
Here we are past the middle of December and quickly hurtling into the final week before Christmas. Everyone seems to be moving at an exaggerated pace trying to accomplish all that needs to be done before the holidays. In search of some very specific Christmas presents we headed north of the Cities today to Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. This small city was founded in 1839 and was the site of the first commercial sawmill along the St. Croix River. As we parked the car I could hear a rush somewhere nearby and upon following the sound I saw the cascading water of the creek that was emptying into the St. Croix River. It made a musical sound as it tumbled downward, and here in this one small spot was both the rush of the waterfall and the pause and suspension of the ice on the banks and the rocks and trees that were laying over and near the creek. I was reminded of how important it is at this season to enjoy the rush and the hustle and bustle of all we’re doing, but to also pause and appreciate the season of light and Christmas, the beauty of nature, and the friends and family that we enjoy. Wishing you the best of Christmas this week and into the coming new year.
Semifrozen Minnehaha Falls
Our weather in the Twin Cities has been cold this past week — the coldest temperatures since last March. With that many of our lakes have frozen over, and I even made a first sighting this winter of a person ice fishing on a nearby lake. We were in Minneapolis today having a delightful brunch with family, and afterwords stopped by Minnehaha Park. It was the perfect opportunity to see the falls in a semifrozen state, surrounded by large icicles. Minnehaha Park includes the area where Minnehaha Creek empties into the Mississippi River. The park dates back to the late 1800’s and the name Minnehaha is from the Dakota language meaning waterfall. Minnehaha Falls is a 53 foot waterfall drop surrounded by limestone bluffs. After heavy rains in early summer the falls flow full, and in times of drought they’ve even been known to stop. But today there was one stream of water flowing over the bluff above into a small pool of open water. I was at the falls in late morning and the sun was beginning to reach against the northern side of the bluffs. As it heated and melted some of the icicles, they would come crashing down with the sound echoing throughout the ravine.
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