Grand Marais

Like everywhere else in the world, the coronavirus has disrupted life on the North Shore. I have never seen Grand Marais so quiet. This is a photo of HWY61 in Grand Marais this morning. I am glad people are taking this seriously.

GrandMarais

Fresh Snow 001

The calendar might say it is spring but we are on our third snowstorm this week. It does make the woods beautiful though. Karla and I were supposed to be on our way to Georgia and Florida camping but now we are at home under “social isolation”. I feel fortunate to have trails behind our house where we can snowshoe and ski for exercise.

FreshSnow001

Fresh Snow 002

Remnant from the past, a burned-out white pine stump.

FreshSnow002

American Pine Marten

I was able to photograph the pine marten mid-jump.

PineMarten

Pileated Woodpecker 001

When snowshoeing this time of year, you can hear the male pileated woodpecker drumming on trees marking out his territory.

PileatedWoodpecker002

Pileated Woodpecker 002

They use a hollow part of the tree so the sound carries a long way. This tree has been used for drumming by pileated woodpeckers every year since we bought the property. Which was 1977.

PileatedWoodpecker001

Incoming Storm

Incoming snow storm over the Sawtooth Mountains.

IncomingStorm

Sunrise 001

Sometimes right before storms you can have great sunrises.

Sunrise

Sunrise 002

We did have a couple of cold nights again this week.

Sunrise001

Sunrise 003

Hopefully spring like weather will be right around the corner.

Sunrise002