Sunrise, April 21

I almost didn't get to watch the sunrise this morning because my van had a dead battery.  I decided to walk instead.  It's about a mile, give or take, and the snow on the trail was packed down by snowmobiles, so it was easy to walk on.

The sun rose at 6:06 a.m., only a few minutes after I arrived.  It was only 9 degrees, but the color in the sky made up for the cold temperatures.

The color of the sun reflects off pebbles

Sun shines through the spray of a wave splashing on the rocks

Sunrise, April 14

After Friday's wild waves, the lake was relatively calm on Sunday.  It was a cold 7 degrees and the skies were clear with a thin line of clouds to the north.  The sun rose at 6:19 a.m.

Orange glow begins the day

Just a skim of ice on the lake

Not much ice left on this rock, either

Not a good picture, but do you see the deer running on the ridge?

RPP

Onion bread

Blackbird

Leftovers?

"Girl" Legos

What a Day!

In case you hadn't heard, a snowy/windy weather system has been moving through Minnesota the past couple of days.  When I went to bed last night, the snow hadn't really made it this far north, but the wind was gusting.  I was hopeful that the worst would stay south, but when I woke up this morning, the wind was still raging and the snow had started.  I usually go to the fitness center in town on Friday mornings, but I convinced myself to postpone until Saturday, and to stay in my cozy bed a little longer.  Then guilt set in, and I got up and went after all.  Every other Friday I've been doing a 5K walk/run on the treadmill so maybe by this summer I can take part in a real 5K run.  My time today was 51:03, so I have a little work to do.

Later in the morning, I went back out to a garage sale some parents of graduating seniors were having.  The bargain hunter in me was happy to get six shirts, seven books, a picture frame, a baggie of kids' sunglasses and two glass Minnesota Vikings steins for $10.25 total.  I left the garage sale site, hurrying  across the parking lot because a car was waiting to park, and wiped out.  Ice under snow for the win!

I bought the Vikings mugs to replace the one Jackson used to have that broke when I was doing dishes.  When I grabbed the bag out of the car to bring it inside, the bag ripped, and the mugs broke when they hit the ground.  Sigh.  I'll continue to look for Vikings glassware at garage sales and thrift shops.

After the garage sale, I drove to the lake to see how the storm was affecting the water.  Despite being pelted by blowing snow, I was in awe of the crashing waves.

Sunrise, April 7

Spring sure is slow to come this year.  We got about 6" of snow on Saturday, and a couple more inches Sunday night/Monday morning.  Despite the snow and the less-than-warm temperatures, I still see signs that it is spring.  Deer are always plentiful, but we've seen them three times in the past week in our neighborhood.  Most recently they were in a neighbor's yard across the street.

On Lake Superior, there is no more ice on the lake, and ice on the rocks is gradually melting.  This week the sun rose at 6:33 a.m.  There was heavy cloud cover with clearing at the horizon.  It was 30 degrees.

This lone piece of ice resists being washed away by the waves

The "zombie arm" I photographed in silhouette on March 17 is just an old tree in actuality

Backyard Visitors

We had some evening visitors in our backyard last night: two deer munching away on soggy, dead grass. They stood and watched me for a bit before running away.

Sunrise, April 1

Because we were gone for the Easter weekend, I went out on Monday morning for the 6:44 a.m. sunrise.  It was 18 degrees, but much of the snow cover has melted and the beach was more sand than snow.

Ships are out on the lake again, and if you look closely in the middle of this photo, you can see one

Dawn

I didn't even have to park on the road this time!

The big snow and ice piles are almost gone

See the debris line?  I think the biggest waves must be in the middle of the night when I never see them

Twisted roots

Finally, the sun shines through the clouds

A long-lost flip flop left from a summer camping trip?

The return of the tire
(Remember when it was buried in sand?)

The melting snow/rushing water formed a gully up to about two feet deep and 12-18 inches across

Trapped air bubbles

This might be a loon, but the sun was so bright I couldn't tell for sure