Random Phone Pics (RPP)

Fall day on the beach by Lake Superior/Gooseberry Falls State Park, Remy and Raina 

Wish I had a CSA delivery right now! 

Lichen-covered rock 

 A nest that blew out of a tree

Painting pumpkins

Fall in the Northland

We had our first snowfall of the season this week, so while the calendar still says fall, it sure looks and feels like winter. No complaints here, though. We had a beautiful fall with nice weather and lots of colorful trees, and winter brings its own beauty.

Barry and I took off one day after the kids were in school to hike Oberg Mountain and drive along the shore.

Bark can have such interesting colors and textures 

In a state of decomposition 

The damp summer/fall made perfect conditions for mushrooms to grow on trees

Hiking up to great views 

Bird Hill School Forest

The school manages the Bird Hill School Forest at the edge of town. The location makes it a great place to go for a nice little hike. The kids have gone to look for leaves, examine habitat, identify mushrooms, see firsthand how trees decompose. discover the layers of the earth, and enjoy being outside. We saw lots a great fall color on our hike!

Tettegouche Hike

As I look at the forecast, I see the word "snow.". After a couple of gorgeous weekends, that's a little hard to take, so I'm glad we got out there to enjoy the great outdoors and some fall color.

Tettegouche High Falls

Super Hikers 

 I think this is a merganser

Split Rock Lighthouse

Remy had wanted to go hiking by Split Rock Lighthouse all summer, so we finally stopped one day on our way home from Duluth. It was a beautiful day with just a few clouds in the sky.

The Wenonah is based in Silver Bay and gives tours along the North Shore 

There is no bad view of Split Rock Lighthouse 

Back to School, Now and Then

We all made it through the first week of school! As you can see, the kids keep growing and changing.

Just a Few Pics

We're enjoying the last weekend of summer before the kids go back to school. I just have a few photos to share from August:

Interesting insect visiting my garden 

Young seagull 

I know sometimes people think of seagulls as rats of the sky, but I enjoy watching them

Looks like a dandelion puff, but is really much bigger

Growing Season

It's the time of year when my garden is producing, the tomato plants are growing out of their cages, and the vine plants are spreading beyond the garden boxes. Along the ATV trail and in the ditches, wildflowers are plentiful. I've taken some photos through the month of what I've seen.

I pick about a half of an ice cream bucket of peas most days lately 

Purple clover 

Mix of colors 

I purposely took this photo out of focus 

Dainty yellow flowers 

East Coast Vacation

Barry and I dropped the kids off at Grandpa and Grandma's house and took off on an East Coast vacation. I mostly took photos with my phone, but brought out my camera by Lake George in New York, at Cape Cod, and near Baltimore.

We had fun watching some people parasailing over Lake George (the Adirondacks are in the background).

The Merry Month of May

The end of April still felt like winter, with near freezing temperatures, snow, and gale force winds on Lake Superior. Barry and I braved the weather to watch some waves in Beaver Bay and Iona's Beach.

Sprinter in April

Spring has been nearly non-existent this year.  Our snow piles were just about gone last week, and then we got almost ten inches of snow again.  It's hard to believe that May is only a few short days away.

Bird on a wire 

 Sidewalk ice

I'm surprised I found these before the kids stomped on them! 

The weather has been slowly warming up, and we've been able to walk on the ATV trail where everything still looks pretty brown and dead.

Woodpeckers have been around