Category Archives: Year 8

Glensheen Christmas!

Background, Year 8

Earlier this week I attended Glensheen’s Photoshoot. This is another of my off topic posts, but if you are birding northeast Minnesota this holiday season, a visit to Duluth’s Downton Abbey should be on your agenda. Most of this post’s text is from a blog entry dated two years ago, but the images are from both years. However, for those of you who want birds, stay tuned. I spent quality time with Pine Grosbeaks and crabapples this afternoon! Post coming.

In the early 1900’s Duluth was home to one of the largest concentrations per capita of millionaires in the United States. Between the Mining, Railroad and Lumber Barons, this town was a hopping place where fortunes were made (and occasionally lost!). On the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth you will find the mansion of one of these magnates, Glensheen (now owned by the University of Minnesota Duluth). Chester Congdon was the owner of this beautiful home on the shores of Lake Superior. A small creek, Tischer Creek, runs through the estate grounds, but as a boy growing up in Duluth I only knew the stream by its local name, Congdon Creek.

While everyone from out of town seems to know about Duluth’s HUGE harborfront holiday lights display named Bentleyville, Glensheen now hosts an equally impressive Christmas display including Park Point resident’s Marsha Hale’s famous white lights. Unlike at Bentleyville, while at Glensheen when you get cold outside, you may then go inside and enjoy Glensheen’s indoor decorations! The mansion is truly decked out for the holidays both inside and out.

One final note, growing up both my wife and I always wanted to live down on the shores of Gitche Gumee just like Chester Congdon. Now older, and a few years wiser, we like our home 800 yards inland on Amity Creek across from the The Deeps waterfall. We are somewhat protected from the lake’s cruel winds!  🙂

Christmas Lights at Glensheen

Outside

Inside

Molly and Rich … on the grounds

Winter’s Red Bird

Year 8

Winter arrived last night in our yard with three inches of snow. I told my wife I wanted to photograph a red bird with the new snow. All day I hoped to catch a Pileated Woodpecker or Cardinal in a snow flocked pine. Not! Just a deciduous tree.

In addition I finally slowed these Snow Buntings in a short video I took last week by a factor of two. They move so fast, that slow motion was necessary. The buntings are down here in northern Minnesota from the Arctic. (video link for email subscribers).

Cabin Fever Birding

Year 8

The weather has been poor up here in the Northland for the past two days, and really horrible over the past 24 hours. For someone like me who lives for being outside, that means Cabin Fever. Thus, this morning at 7 am I informed my wife I was heading to Sax-Zim Bog.

  • Did it matter that once I got in the car a bad snow squall hit?
  • Did it matter that the forecast was for temperatures around freezing with sleet, drizzle and snow?
  • Did it matter that the wind forecast called for strong gusts within an hour?

My answer to all of these questions was a resounding “No!”. Now logic dictates I should have stayed home, but as I approached the Bog, the weather moderated and what had been rain at my house was snow in the Bog. The trees were flocked with snow, and it was a winter wonderland. Here is a 20 second video of the Bog’s backroads this morning. (video link for email subscribers)

I tried to hide from the wind, but Old Man Winter laughed at me. Unfortunately, even though I knew the Great Gray Owls had to be hungry, not one came out to play. Just when I was about to return home, much to my surprise the sun tried to come out.  Better yet, a Rough-Legged Hawk started hunting for voles and did not care about my presence (unusual). This particular bird hovered almost motionless directly over me. Cabin Fever cured!

As a fyi, the Rough-Legged Hawk is one of my favorite raptors. It breeds in the Arctic, and I get to see it twice per year … during the Spring and Fall migrations.