This rock reminded me of the upper jaw of an alligator, waiting to clamp down on me with its sharp teeth. And winter is chomping down again with more snowfall today so it is a good thing some people have off from work for the Presidents’ Day holiday. Although it will be more work for those who have to remove the snow one more time.
Icy Alligator
Mother Nature is putting on a magnificent show this year so thousands are flocking to the ice caves on Lake Superior near Cornucopia, Wisconsin because it the first time since 2009 that the ice was thick enough to walk on to visit the sea caves. There was quite the crowd yesterday and while not the traditional Valentine’s Day gift, for the couples that visited the caves, mother nature probably made an impression on their soul. And there were a few caves that sort of resembled a heart to walk through for a close up view of the ice formations.
Heart Ice
During this long, extra cold winter, many people are taking vacations to some place warmer, but apparently my brain has already been frozen since I went further north to look at ice.
But mother nature can turn ice into something very spectacular, transforming sea caves on Lake Superior shores into magnificent ice caves. And when you add the glow of a setting sun, it made the long, chilly walk worth the effort.
Glowing Ice Cave
With the economy these days, I know budget cuts need to be made, but poor little Johnny could get hurt if he jumped off the dock.
No Lifeguard
The predawn landscape may be very muted in color, but the pink glow of a foggy morning seems more colorful than a chilly winter day, or at least seems warmer!
Morning Fog Rising Off Lake
Happy New Year!
Some may have rang in the new year last night, but church bells that rang today may have been ringing for peace in the new year. Pope Francis spoke of peace today and said, “This brings a responsibility for each to work so that the world becomes a community of brothers who respect each other, accept each other in one’s diversity, and takes care of one another.”
I wish everyone a wonderful, healthy and peaceful new year!
Ringing in the New Year
I don’t think I will be taking a Sunday afternoon drive to the lake to sit on the log and dangle my feet in the water, not when it is below zero this morning with -30 wind chills and floating ice chunks on the lake now.
Warmer Day at the Lake
No rush hour commute for this boat to make it to work on a Monday morning as “The Eagle” has been retired for a while even though it can see Lake Superior were the fishing boat worked for many years. I haven’t found when it was built but it operated out of Bayfield, WI until 1947 and after a short retirement, it continued working until 1972. The boat is presently sitting ashore at in a village park at Cornucopia, Wisconsin looking over Siskiwit Bay on Lake Superior.
Retired Eagle
The cold blast overnight has put an ice layer on my pond but the larger lakes retained enough heat in the water to prevent that from happening, at least for today, but soon most will succumb to winter’s icy grip.
Lake’s Morning Glow
The “gales of November” (also referred to as “Witch of November”) is used by Great Lakes sailors to refer to the peak storm season, which usually occurs in November. Storms during this time frame can be brutal, but also are marked by rapidly changing weather conditions, which can make it difficult to navigate the waters.
The Great Lakes Storm of 1913, historically referred to as the “Big Blow”, the “Freshwater Fury”, or the “White Hurricane”, was a blizzard with hurricane-force winds that devastated the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwestern United States and the Canadian province of Ontario from November 7 through November 10, 1913 in which 30 ships were damaged and twelve ships sank.
The “gales of November” was popularized by the Gordon Lightfoot song after the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald which sank on the evening of November 10, 1975, 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point on eastern Lake Superior.
So I don’t think I will go out on a boat in Lake Superior on November 10th and just watch the these calm waves from shore instead.
Gales of November
