Tag Archives: MN North: NorthStar Lake Region

Cabin 2022: It’s a Wrap!

Year 9,

Molly and I just returned from two nights at our small Northwoods cabin not to far south of the Canadian border. Temperatures were forecast to reach the 20’s each night, and I knew that meant it was time to pull the water system out of the lake, and get the boat out of the water. We pump water directly from our lake, NorthStar Lake, which is the first lake of the Hudson Bay Watershed. Yup, it would be possible to canoe downhill all the way from out lake north to the big bay and then the Arctic Ocean. We bring drinking water in portable containers, but Northstar’s clean spring fed H2O is perfect for everything else. Pulling the water system and perfectly draining it is required because water in pipes or the pump freezes … then expands … and then breaks whatever within it is contained. We still visit from this point on, even through the winter months, but the wood stove and outhouse become very important! I was glad to get everything out of the lake by October 1st. The water is getting rather chilly when one has to spend significant time in same. Two mornings ago I took these photographs 15 minutes after sunrise. You can see my view from inside, and then one is looking the other way in the “great room” (Kitchen, Dining, Living Area).

I also had some fun with this image and video! (link for email subscribers … 15 second’s of a wood stove)

Given all my chores that needed to be done, I obviously could not go birding at sunrise. Instead, I took a break around mid day to explore some roads which were new to me. I was surprised to find amazing numbers of Black-Billed Magpies. I think I stumbled upon their southern migration near the western edge of the boreal forest.

Migrational Pause

Year 9, ,

The winds have switched strongly from the south (30+ mph) and the southern migration has stalled out. Birds are much more frantic during the spring migration to reach prime breeding territories and lay a claim to a prime area. In the Fall, without this need, one waits for a nice tailwind.

Thus, I am finding some of the same birds in the countryside. While wild turkeys don’t migrate and seeing one or two used to be unusual, I saw over 250 turkeys feeding in fields bordering forests yesterday morning! Turkey Vultures are also now pushing south when favorable conditions are present.

Here are a few pics from the last two days …

Wild Turkeys Galore (Sax-Zim Bog)

Eastern Phoebe (Northstar Lake)

Turkey Vulture Drying Off from the Morning Ground Fog (Sax-Zim Bog)

Broad-Winged Hawks (Pine-Island State Forest)

Belted Kingfishers (Pine-Island State Forest)

Lady Aurora Dances for 3 Generations of the Family

Year 9,

Lady Aurora came out and danced last night … oh my did she ever dance! The Northern Lights at our small Northwoods cabin near the Canadian border with Minnesota were fantastic. I knew moonset would be at 11:15 pm; thus I set an alarm for 12:05 am and was I thrilled with what I saw when I awakened. I then proceeded to wake up my friends, my grandchildren and their parents (my kids). Everyone was transfixed with the sky’s shimmering beauty as we watched the lights march across the night sky.

After viewing the Aurora for about and hour, I moved on to Suomi Lutheran Church and Smith Lake (2nd church photo has been light painted with a flashlight for about one second). I wanted to try taking a few photos at other locations. At the bottom of this post you will find a couple of images from the “morning after.” Fog was forming at sunrise given the temperature was only 41F. The Northwoods are magical.

I finished back at NorthStar Lake where I even took two selfies!

As a fyi, unlike many folks who take photographs of the Northern Lights, I edit in post processing to remove color and reflect what I saw with my naked eye. The Aurora last night was very white.

Finally, a photograph taken the next morning of the same scene. The sun had just popped over the treetops, and given the 41F heavy fog formed within the next ten minutes.