winter... spring..... winter....?

Was so cold yesterday with the gales that came through the past couple days, that the ice piles reformed in a huge way on some bays on Superior at least 10-20 ft tall. I ventured out to the north side of Presque Isle out of curiousity and saw this- pretty typical for an April "thaw":
Lake Superior in April, Presque Isle

Went around the other side of Presque Isle, and the air was so clear, I could see Granite Island Lighthouse that sits five miles out- about the clearest I've ever seen it:
Granite Island Lighthouse
After I got the breath pretty much taken away by the absolutely brutal winds howling out of the north,(enough to make your eyes run like a faucet), I was tired of fighting the wind and opted for a more sheltered hike from Wetmore Landing to Little Presque Isle. Ice cleats were necessary as the entire trail was pretty much frozen solid with either sheet ice and snow that had thawed to slush then refrozen. Was a beautiful two mile or so hike sheltered from the wind along the Lake Superior shore- I'll have some pics ready probably tomorrow.

Marquette Lighthouse

I have a million photos of Marquette Lighthouse. So, what's one more added to the pile? Just couldn't help myself. The setting sun was giving the sky that winter pastel look and when I got to the lighthouse with the lighthouse reflecting off the ice, there was a few minutes of sunlight left, providing just enough illumination. There were some crazy fishbone designs going on in the clouds above, too. Winter can be so long, but so interesting as well.

Shadows and Hilights

Lake Superior, near sundown, in a steel grey, ominous, almost colorless mood

These are two pics, first taken the day before the storm and second pic during the storm yesterday. Winds and waves didn't seem to be near what was forecast,probably because the lake is ready to really freeze. It's brutal cold now. What's left of open water on Lake Superior is looking real syrupy now, being in an almost supercooled state.


Presque Isle, with the bay diffused by blowing snow, taken with a 15mm

"oh what a beautiful morning"

Not this morning, but yesterday!

Sunrise, Marquette Upper Harbor, near the mouth of the Dead River.
After having it snow for 20 some odd days straight(which means LOTS of cloudy skies), the sunrise yesterday was a most pleasant change of pace. In this picture you can see how the frost builds up on the plants from the outflow of the power plant nearby, and boy was it chilly, below zero again this morning.

Wind n Waves

One thing I never get tired of in the winter is the sights of lake effect squalls moving across Lake Superior.

Shore ice is really starting to build now, so as long as it stays cold, the ice mountains are really going to pile up on the shore line. We'll have to wait until a big thaw to see waves like this:

Presque Isle, Marquette MI shoreline, "black rocks"

Resolutions?

So here it is. 2009.

What better way to kick off the new year than to eat right, exercise more and START A BLOG...! (I hear chuckles already...)
I thought a blog might be a nice way to share current sights of the Upper Peninsula, Lake Superior, and our travels, as well as provide some impetus to getting my website updated and overhauled.
Should be interesting to see how this blog develops, or see IF it develops, lol.
This is going to be my attempt at doing something daily, and sticking to it, in attempt to do something in a disciplined manner!

Finally, our art show "off" season is here. Time to relax a little? We'll try to squeeze that in as well before the madness starts up again in earnest in May, 2009. However, now is when all the deadlines start coming up for juries and applications, lots of work.

Big news in these parts is we've had 24 straight days of snow.










This is the view out our patio door- it's piling up!
Yep that's right, it's been snowing every day for almost a month straight. We are forecast to get a good dumping tonight and tommorrow too, so the streak will continue at least a couple more days.
My Christmas gift this year was a 15mm fisheye lens. I'm busy testing this baby out to see how creative it can be. It offers some really cool perspectives-










Presque Isle, Marquette, MI. Winter 2009 Now that's a wide angle view.