Tag Archives: MN North: Greenwood Forest Fire Area

Stony River Forest Road Reopened!

Year 11,

The HUGE rains of June did a number to many of the wilderness roads in northeastern Minnesota, including Stony River Forest Road. It had a significant number of washouts over its 20 mile length. However, it was reopened yesterday!!! I love to both drive and hike this road. Actually, truth be told … like a bad boy … I actually was frequently on the road after it was closed, but I had to restrict my travels to areas where holes would not swallow my car!

This morning I enjoyed a 20 mile drive on Stony. I tend to drive north to a boreal bog at the 10.5 mile mark, and then turn around. I decided as long as I was up on Stony, I might as well head over to my feeders and trailcams (9 miles distant) I hope you enjoy this video of a lone timber wolf. He was filmed yesterday, and I swear he smelled my scent on the trailcam. Towards the end of the video, the wolf stops and stares right at the camera. Have I been outed??! (video link for email subscribers)

Perhaps the wolf was hunting Spruce Grouse. A few days back I photographed this male within 50 yards of this trailcams. While I could have zoomed in closer with my camera, it is often better to show wildlife  in their habitat … in this case the golds of late Autumn. Apparently tomorrow morning our first winter storm of the year may hit with 1/2 foot of snow.

Coming Soon to a Forest Near You: The Golden Time

Year 11

I took this bog image two mornings ago, and the photograph is indicative of the “Golden Time” coming soon to the Boreal Forest. Tamarack Pines are one of the only pines trees which lose their needles every fall. In 7 to 10 days every Tamarack in the Boreal Forest will be bright gold. Venture out near sunrise or sunset, and Uff Dah … an explosion of gold!!!

On another front I was interviewed this morning on KSTP’s Minnesota Live program about birding the Northland. If you follow the link to their web site, you should be able to watch my segment for about two weeks. My wife took this picture of me during the broadcast. The interview is about five minutes in length.

It was a fun day! Now I’m up at my cabin 200 miles north of the Twin Cities with plans to bird the Pine Island State Forest near Big Falls for the next few days.

Summer Northern Lights

Year 11, ,

While it is true that the best Northern Lights displays may be seen in Alaska or Norway, their proximity to the Arctic Circle (above or below) means that in the summer months the Land of the Midnight Sun means Aurora watching is just not possible. Down here in northern Minnesota as the days stretch towards the end of summer, we actually have some darkness. After the moon set last night at 11 pm there was a fantastic Northern Lights display.

Earlier last night I had driven up from my home at the northern edge of Duluth to the Isabella area near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), but I found the best show was when I returned home. Up by the BWCA there was too much water vapor in the air (it rained during my drive north). This image was taken at “The Deeps” … Duluth Lester / Amity Park (200 yards from the end of my driveway).

Sand River near the BWCA

Lake County 2 … Road Scene and Zenith

Please note … many Northern Lights photographs you will see from the Lower 48 will show more dramatic colors, including red tinges to the images. I like a photograph that more accurately reflects what I am able to while Aurora watching. Thus, in post image processing I lessen the color and saturation found in my Northern Lights photos. The camera can see more light, and more spectrums than the naked eye. The other images are not wrong, but I prefer to capture something much more in line with what I actually am able to view.