To answer the question posed in my last post:
NO, it’s not cold enough!
That’s what we decided a few days ago as we headed NORTH!
Sure, we have snowbird friends in Florida and Arizona and a nephew in Louisiana and children and grandchildren destined for winter trips to the Virgin Islands and Mexico.
But our bird-watcher daughter, Emily, persuaded Margaret and me that we needed to trek to Lake Superior’s North Shore, where an irruption of Great Gray Owls has been thrilling ornithologists. The huge raptors have been flying south from their usual homes in boreal forests. They’re no doubt wandering in search of food, due to a population decline in the small mammals they typically feed on.
Sure enough, we were lucky enough to see a Great Gray perched on a utility wire not far from Split Rock Lighthouse along highway 61 north of Duluth. The bird seemed oblivious to passing traffic as they alternately stared at the ground to watch for the tell-tale wiggle of a vole lunch.
The magnificent bird was the highlight of the trip, of course – but we always savor the immensity of Lake Superior, with stretches of pounding waves and glass-calm, protected bays. Icicles decorated lakeshore boulders and beaches.
At Grand Marais, the strange, dark shapes among the chunks of ice in a protected bay materialized into four river otters, who dove, played, and fished in the frigid water.
A small flock of mallards dabbled in another quiet cove, while a common merganser paddled nearby. With bright sunshine and the temperature in the teens, it was balmy (?) enough to briefly explore Artists’ Point, which is a popular destination for hikers, tourists, and photographers.
Later, on a back roads drive near Grand Marais, we stopped to watch a pair of ruffed grouse hungrily nibbling buds and catkins from the treetops of paper birch trees. We chuckled as the ground-loving grouse balanced precariously on flimsy branches, reaching for the tasty morsels.
Not wanting to miss the NORTH opportunity, we visited Minnesota’s Grand Portage State Park, where we hiked the trail to the frozen High Falls on the Pigeon River. We stood looking across the ice-clad river to Canada, reminiscing about our 1971 hike along the 9-mile Grand Portage, which voyageurs and fur traders trudged two centuries ago. The voyageurs would bring furs from the inlands of Canada to the shore of Lake Superior, where they’d resupply with trade goods and food before returning to the north country.
Now back home in Iowa, we’re wishing (maybe not TOO hard!) for a bit more Iowa winter.
We could use just enough snow to freshen the winter-weary gray/brown landscape!
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Wonderful stories and photos I can only dream of taking!
Some beautiful photos, Larry!