winter – Thomas J. Spence Images

Recent Photos – Winter 2019

Visitor at Father Baraga’s Cross – Schroeder, MN

The blues on a sunny day on Lake Superior

Frozen cove at 20 degrees BELOW zero – cold and beautiful Superior.

Morning arrival at the Sawbill Checkpoint on the John Beargrease Trail

Tending to the dogs at a John Beargrease checkpoint

Rounding the bend and crossing the Sawbill Trail – John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon 2019

Praising the team after a long run through Superior National Forest

Brown Thrasher is spending the winter here in Tofte, MN

Trestle Inn – a pit stop in the woods for snowmobiles

A touch of January aurora borealis in Superior National Forest

April – The Lake and its Moods, The Northern Lights and Wildlife

From Crazy to Calm – Lake Superior
April weather really covered all the bases this year. We had snow, cold, warm, rain, wind and gorgeous. The big April Gale on the 14th and 15th was a highlight for sure. The northeast winds brought massive waves crashing along the shore. some of the best places to watch a northeast gale are in the Split Rock and Tettegouche areas. The cliffs in the area can make for dramatic scenes from the waves crashing and rebounding off the cliff faces. Even a smaller gale can be impressive against these walls. This particular gale wasn’t accompanied by much precipitation which made for a fun day of photographing the waves. Often times, these gales come with heavy rain or snow which can hinder photographing them a bit.

_MG_1164 — Crashing waves at Tettegouche State Park – 4/14/2018

_MG_1121 — Massive splash on the cliffs along Lake Superior. Wave height was in the mid teens but splash heights were reaching 100 feet, 150 feet and more in places.

_MG_1100 — The ice coated trees take a beating in this little lake side forest at Tettegouche State Park.

The calm clear views from Tettegouche State Park and Split Rock Lighthouse State Park one week after the gales…

Earth Day was a picture perfect day to be outside in our State Parks. I made it a point to hit three in my travels that day. The calm, clear day was a huge contrast to the chaos of the previous week. Keep a circular polarizing filter in your camera bag. They are great for days like these. They can help you see into the water even more by removing some glare. They will also help create more contrast between blue sky and white clouds. A valuable tool to use in many photography conditions.

_MG_0054 — Lone tree on Shovel Point – Lake SUperior, MN

_MG_0067 — Beachside at Tettegouche State Park

_MG_0126 — Kayaking on the calmest of lakes…

_MG_0151 — Kayakers passing by Split Rock Lighthouse.

_MG_0042 — The view from Shovel Point looking towards Palisade Head

April Northern Lights – An All Nighter

_MG_1205 — April Aurora And The Setting Moon – 4/20/2018

The night and morning hours on April 19th and 20th produced a rather remarkable northern lights display. What started out as a faint glow for almost two hours, erupted into shimmering sheets and dancing waves of aurora which lasted until morning light. I put in a 4 1/2 hour shift of sky watching and photographing the lights. The slideshow shows you the progression, in a way, from around 10:00 PM CST on April 19th until around 1:00AM on April 20th. When the lights are strong, I have a pretty good view of the dark, northern skies from home. I spent another hour or two watching from the deck and even out the windows.
While there is no way to truely predict a good aurora display, you can do a few things to help alert you. Space Weather dot com is a great resource which can alert you via email when solar activity may cause aurora. They have a great photo gallery and information on all things space and sky related. Another resource are regional aurora “hunter” groups. These groups are full of entusiasts who will report in real time when the aurora are visible in your area. Great Lakes Aurora Hunters is a good one for my area. As far as viewing in Cook County, one needs to know that viewing with the naked eye and photographing the aurora can be two entirely different experiences. I won’t go into detail in this post, but our cameras see in the dark much, much better than we do, to make it short. So for viewing, you’ll want to get over the hills and into the darkest areas, away from towns, resorts, cabin lights. The overlook just past the Britton Peak parking area on the Sawbill Trail, just a few miles off highway 61 is a fantastic place to watch from a car or lawn chair. It has the best, widest northern view you can drive to that I know of. If you aren’t in Tofte, go up one of the “trails”, Gunflint, Caribou, Arrowhead, Cramer Road, and find a north facing lake, boat landing or hillside. Our dark skies won’t disappoint during a northern lights storm. For photography, I like to find a river, lake, or other point of interest for foreground attention and a sense of place or location. The scene becomes more important to convey the feeling, maybe, moreso than seeing the entire sky and display. If you have never seen the northern lights, and are not interested in taking photos, you’ll want to just stay put once you find a big, wide northern view. Hope this helps you see the aurora someday on the North Shore!

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April Wildlife

It was a good month in the woods for wildlife. From grouse to lynx to moose and loons!
Spruce grouse could be found most mornings pecking for roadside gravel. I have heard some drumming this spring, but not much. Moose sightings were few. I did manage to snap a few recent photos though. Two very healthy looking moose together at the end of the month.

_MG_1246 — Female spruce grouse – April in Superior National Forest

_MG_1247 — Male spruce grouse – Superior National Forest

_MG_1248 — Whiskey Jack or Canada Jay – Superior National Forest

_MG_0298 — Turkey vulture and the nearly full April moon.

_MG_0430 — Though I had heard loons the previous week, this was the first one I actually saw close enough to get a photo. Always a fun spring “first”.

_MG_0498 — A pair of moose on the run in Cook County.

_MG_0505-2 — One would emerge, briefly, and gone again!

20180412-_MG_1060 — I had a late afternoon encounter with 3 lynx in earlier April. I saw each one alone, about a mile apart from each other. Something tells me this was 3 of the 4 kittens I had been seeing earlier in winter with the mother. Once the mother mates again, the kittens are set off on their own to figure out how to hunt and survive alone. The size and proximity to one another tells me this is the same family, now entering the next phase of their lives as solitary animals.

20180412-_MG_1063 — A lone lynx prowls for an afternoon meal

_MG_0258 — Grouse – Superior National Forest

_MG_0265 — Male Spruce Grouse – Superior National Forest

Last year at this time we had already been on the lakes for almost two weeks. Now, we are still waiting for the thaw. The lakes still have a foot or more of ice on them in some areas. Recent warmer weather is helping to speed things along and I think we will see open lakes in the coming days. Fishing opener is near and I hope you’ll tune in again for all things May in my next post. Please subscribe so you’ll be notified when I post again.

Current conditions on local lakes as of 5/2/2018 – Little ways to go for that Fishing opener! 😉

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February – On The Shore And In The Woods

Here is a collection of photos and notes on February in the woods and along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. As some of you know, things began a bit exciting for me this month with a rare encounter with 5 Canada lynx. In the weeks following, I was fortunate enough to spend well over 2 hours with these cats during multiple encounters. It’s my opinion/observation that the family has moved on to a different area. I haven’t seen signs in a while. The mother has likely moved on to mate and left the kittens to fend for themselves. After watching them hunt on a few occasions, I think they will do fine. I’ll talk a little more about that in this post. There is also a fun video of the lynx family if you find the link at the end of this post. I’ll try to keep you posted on the conditions and activity in our neck of the woods each month and A few winter or seasonal photography tips will be added as well. Please subscribe so you get a notification when I update! Otherwise you’ll miss out on most of my photos each month. February was full of Ice, moose, lynx, wolves, pine marten, snowshoe hare, snow, cold and a few unforgettable experiences.

20180224-_MG_0087 — Lake Superior from the hillside – February beauty on the North Shore.

20180225-20180225_070817 — Tofte, MN sunrise after an 8 or 10 inch snowfall. We had some snow in February and it’s looking good. Even the smartphone can take a nice photo!

20180210-_MG_0893 — Sugarloaf Cove and Lake Superior Ice. We had some great Ice pile-ups on Lake Superior this month. Lots of below zero nights and cold, calm days caused a lot of lake ice to form. When the wind picks up, the sheets move, and often come into shore where they break up and pile up. It’s a favorite winter phenomenon along Superior. I have video over on Facebook. Plate Ice Piling on Lake Superior

Winter can be tough on you and your camera gear. There are a few precautions you can take and some tips that can help you on your February, winter excursions. Most modern DSLR gear can take fairly extreme conditions and still function, but there are things you can do to prolong and enhance your experience. Here are three big ones which will help you get into, and out of the cold…
Acclimate Your Gear – From your house to your vehicle, vehicle to your location, back into your vehicle, and back into your house, your camera gear can experience a lot of extreme temperature differences. Quickly going from one to the other extreme can cause unwanted condensation in and on your camera. The key is to acclimate slowly which can take hours. . You’ll also very likely want to look at those images on your SD card right away! Your camera body and lens are cold after a day of February shooting. Very cold. Bringing it into your 70 degree house or cabin has to be done slowly. Before you put your camera away, remove your SD card while outside so you can review your photos sooner, if that suits you. Then, seal your camera either in a plastic, zip-lock style bag, or in your camera bag if it seals up decent enough. Leave it alone to acclimate for a few hours before opening your bag. I also keep some silica packets in the camera bag to help with any condensation issues. When you can, bag your gear and try to keep it from going through those extremes. It can be a challenge in winter, but it’s worth paying attention to.
Batteries, Batteries, Batteries – You really can’t have enough fully charged camera batteries in winter. The cold can drain batteries in a hurry and you have to be prepared. I usually have 3 or 4 on hand. Try to keep them in a pocket in an inner layer, closer to your body to keep them warm. This can also prolong your battery life. Nothing can end a photo session faster than dead batteries, and winter is notorious for causing quick drainage. You can use the cheaper, off brand batteries, but I have had the best luck with my camera’s brand name Canon batteries.
Gloves/Keeping Your Hands Warm – This can be a tricky one as everyone is different in the way they handle winter temperatures, especially when it comes to fingers and hands. My best advice, and what works for me, is layers. I have a two/three layer system, depending on the conditions. You’ll need something you can control your camera settings with, so a glove is essential for a base layer. I often use a cheap, knit work glove that is comfortable to me. My other glove is a Fjallraven Forest Glove which is warm and comfortable on most days. When it gets very, very cold, I use a lorge, gauntlet style mitt over the gloves. I use a 20+ year old pair of Granite Gear Lutsen Mountain Mitts. I don’t think they are made anymore, but they have truly stood the test of time, and use. A lorge, gauntlet or chopper style mitt which can fit over a glove will do.

Those are just a few of the many survival tips you’ll need in winter months to explore the snowy, icy, frigid, rocky, unforgiving landscape and conditions along the North Shore.

More photo fun from February…

20180208-_MG_0824 — Great grey owl – I watched great grey owls on numerous occasions this month along the North Shore. Usually, you can catch them hunting near dusk along the edges of clearings. Early morning is another great time for owling on The Shore.

20180208-_MG_0820 — Great grey owl hunting a field – I watched this owl at dusk make a few plunges into the snow. It was a cold, windy evening, and the owl was having great success hunting a clearing in Superior National Forest. February is a good month for North Shore owling.

20180204-_MG_0738 — Beautiful February ice on the Temperance River – Winter photography on the rivers and on The Lake can be incredible. February was no exception.

20180204-_MG_0751 — More February beauty along Lake Superior

20180204-_MG_0772 — Ice on the river side…

Sunbursts can be fun with a dslr camera and I really like them in certain winter scenes. Here are a few tips on how to make the sun burst out in rays…
Sunbursts are fun and rather easy to do. You need to use a small aperture on a dslr. Anything around f/11 and up will work but the smaller the aperture the sharper the rays. I usually use f/18, f/20 or f/22. You want to partially block part of the sun with something, in this case, some of the branches of the tree. You can use a building, tree, person, the horizon, clouds etc. The number of rays coming off the sun is due to the number of diaphragm blades in my camera lens. The lens I am using has 9 blades and produces 2x as many rays, so there are 18 rays. I believe if the lens has an even number of blades, say 6, you get that many rays, 6. Odd number of blades it doubles. It can be a fun thing to experiment with in different situations.

20180224-_MG_0065 — Tall pines and sunrise in the forest

And now for some more February, winter wildlife…
February was full with many different sightings in all areas of our forest and shore. Owls, lynx, marten, moose, snowshoe hare, and even two very brief fisher sightings. I have yet to photograph a fisher. They are much larger and much more elusive than our pine marten. I saw a lot of marten and caught one hunting a snowshoe hare one morning. Fun photos below… The resident red fox made a few appearances as did the occasional roughed and spruce grouse. I’ll let the photo captions do the talking about the many reasons to enjoy February in the North Shore Woods.

20180223-_MG_0031 — Yearling bull moose with antlers in late February – Minnesota

20180222-20180222_162554 — Tracks, tracks, tracks… Use tracks to your advantage when winter hunting with your camera. You can tell how old tracks are by observing a few things about the tracks and knowing a few things about the current and previous days weather. If it’s windy, they’ll be washed out and drifted in. If it has snowed, less defined and slightly covered. If it’s been warm, they can be melted a bit on the edges, softened. You get to know how “close” you are by the tracks. You can also make note to return to an area based on the tracks you see and how old they appear. These were very, very fresh tracks. I knew that because I also saw the moose who left ’em!

20180223-_MG_0045 — Doin’ a little dance. Those hooves…

20180223-_MG_0036 — Yearling bull holding antlers in late February – My previous blog post talks more about a couple moose I ran into in February. Looking for moose in winter months can be a challenge, for various reasons, but the rewards are always special. This was the latest I can remember seeing a bull with antlers personally. This was February 23rd, likely a yearling bull. Those antlers will soon fall off, only to begin the regrowth process again. The bull moose can gain almost 3/4 of an inch per day in summer months when the antlers are growing strong. Here is a collection of Minnesota Moose photos Minnesota Moose Photos

20180210-_MG_0917 — Red Fox On The Temperance – See my website for purchasing this February favorite.Ordering Info Red Fox

20180210-_MG_0910 — Red Fox – The fox can be very curious, often to a fault. This red fox is a fixture in one area I frequent. While I don’t feed or entice the wildlife with food, it’s clear that this fox has been getting handouts. It often approaches me, sometimes very closely. It is always looking at my hands, especially if I reach for something or crinkle anything paper/bag like.

20180223-_MG_0020 — I watched this pine marten attack a snowshoe hare one morning in the woods. The chase went on and off for about 15 minutes. Both seemed to take rest periods. I think the marten eventually had it’s breakfast judging by the noise I heard in the brush at one point. The marten is a vicious little creature for its size.

20180223-_MG_0025 — Following in the hare tracks in fresh snow…

20180223-_MG_0027 — Hare hopping along, likely tired from being chased. The marten was nearby…

20180223-_MG_0022 — Not a good morning for the snowshoe hare.

And enter the Lynx…

20180217-_MG_0995 — Lone Canada lynx eyeing the woods for a meal

A mother and two young lynx get back to hunting after an already successful morning hunt. Their diet consists mainly of snowshoe hare. I was fortunate enough to witness them hunt on more than one occasion earlier this winter. The family would hunt together as a team. One or two would wait in the open, usually on a road or in a clearing, while the others stalked and flushed snowshoe hare out of the thick brush.

20180217-_MG_0971 — A lone lynx, or was it…

20180217-_MG_1764 — A few parting looks from the group…

16601647_1280704885346109_2251187724030205549_o — Hare in the snow – The hare is the main food source for the lynx in our woods…

20180217-_MG_1791 — One of the young kittens looks at me curiously through the brush.

20180217-_MG_1811 — Back on the hunt, following tracks and using their acute hearing and sight…

20180217-_MG_1734 — More about the lynx…The characteristic ear tufts which top the lynx ears are thought to further aid their already impressive hearing. Once the cats seemed to decide I was not a threat, they went about their business. They would sit and look, and listen, sometimes for minutes. When it appeared that they heard something, they would silently slink through the brush in search of the hare.

20180217-_MG_1755 — A cat-nap in the road after a breakfast of snowshoe hare. The cats would break for about 20 minutes after eating, and before resuming the hunt. It takes a few hare to fuel this large group on a daily basis. Lynx Link

20180217-_MG_1006 — Cat pile – young watching mom as she holds the newly killed snowshoe hare firmly, making certain it was dead. She would then tear it into a few pieces and which point the young took a hunk off into the brush to eat.

20180217-_MG_1832 — In a flash, they burst into action at the sight or sound of something deeper in the brush. Soon, the whole group would be back to stalking, watching, listening for snowshoe hare.

20180217-_MG_1831 — A re-take session with the lynx family earlier this winter. Getting them all to look at the camera is nearly impossible. I’ll take 4 out of 5! If you made it this far, here is a link to some lynx video footage I put together. See you next month! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog to be notified about new posts. Thanks – Tom

February Moose in the Minnesota Woods

I hadn’t had a good moose sighting in quite some time. A couple quick, blurred flashes of black in the distance, but nothing identifiable or photographable. Late February was better though! Here are some photos of a nice, healthy looking yearling bull moose. He and I had a nice standoff and photoshoot before he took off into the newly fallen snow, deeper into the woods. The bull moose will shed their antlers anytime between November and March. Larger, older male moose have likely lost their antlers by early and mid winter, but the youngest moose can hold them into February and March. This was the latest I had personally seen a moose with headgear. February 23rd, 2018. At first, I thought the rack was bigger but it turned out to be it’s ear I was seeing! This is a yearling bull moose and I hope to run into him when he’s older. Bull moose in fresh snowfall – Superior National Forest – Feb. 2018 Doin’ a little dance. Those hooves…
: Yearling bull holding antlers in late February – Minnesota

Then there was the cow moose… When I saw her, she was standing still with hair raised. She did not stick around long and I was pretty far off in the distance. She ran within seconds of me stopping, running through the deep, new snow. First tracks. I thought she would reappear on the other side of the clearing, so I waited. She looked to be pregnant, and hopefully with twins! She would be about five of eight months along right now. Usually they give birth in May to one, two, and even three!!! calves at times. About 15 minutes passed when I saw motion in the woods near where the cow went in. She had company, and who knows how long they were on here tail. Hope she is still out there fighting the good fight. Here are a few photos I got right at sunset. night was falling and the wolves didn’t look like they were in a big hurry. Mama was healthy looking.
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20180222-_MG_0003 — What appears to be a pregnant cow moose in Superior National Forest. She should be about 5 months along by now, usually giving birth in May. She had company about 15 minutes behind her.

20180222-_MG_0013 — Following mother moose by 15 minutes…

20180222-_MG_0005 — With hair standing up, mother moose had been on the run for a bit. A pack of 3 wolves were close behind.

20180222-_MG_0010 — Hot pursuit – just 15 minutes after I saw the moose, the wolves moved in.

20180222-_MG_0014 — Two of the three, sniffing the tracks of the pregnant cow moose as the sun set and night falls…

January

Winter is in full swing and the thermometer has really shown it in recent weeks. Sounds like we are in for a reprieve from the sub-zero and windy conditions for a spell, though! The recent cold has been fantastic for winter photography along the lake and in the woods. Here are a few favorites that you may or may not have seen from recent hikes, drives and trips to The Lake.
You can see weekly posts on Facebook, too – www.facebook.com/ThomasjSpenceImages

20141227-_MG_0111 — The High Falls on the Pigeon River in Grand Portage State Park. A MUST see in any season, though I prefer the winter ice that forms and the contrast of the snow on the cliff faces. Although, spring melt is a fantastic time to be there… and after a summer rain…

A winter hike up to Palisade Head. Some bilion years ago, rhyolitic lava flows formed these impressive formations along Lake Superior. — A winter hike up to Palisade Head near Silver Bay, MN. Some billion years ago, rhyolitic lava flows formed these impressive formations along Lake Superior.

The freighter Walter J McCarthy Jr. passes Schroeder, MN. The ships have been a regular site as the season comes to a close and the final loads are delivered around the Great Lakes. The locks will be closed in just a few days until the ice lets up in March.

I came across a the remnants of an otter party! These playful critters love to run and slide in the snow and on the ice. They had made a hole near a spring and appeared to have had a great time sliding and slipping!

And finally, the winter moose. I have been happy to catch up with a group of moose quite often over the past few months. Glad to report that I am still seeing a few of them out and about. I hope you get to see one of these fantastic animals on your next visit to the North Shore. — Winter moose!!!! I have been happy to catch up with a group of moose quite often over the past few months. Glad to report that I am still seeing a few of them out and about. I hope you get to see one of these fantastic animals on your next visit to the North Shore.

The Full Wolf Moon rising through the sea smoke on a VERY frigid January evening. Put a Lake Superior moon rise on your bucket list! — And finally, the Full Wolf Moon rising through the sea smoke on a VERY frigid January evening. Put a Lake Superior moon rise on your bucket list! I try not to miss one when I am around The Lake at the right time. There is a great moon/sun app called The Photographer’s Ephemeris that I would highly recommend to any sky-watcher.

This year I will keep you updated on the changing seasons and the changing light with frequent posts, so stay tuned! 🙂

Thanks for the visit –
Tom