We’re getting a blizzard as I type this on March 15th. All the snow you’re about to see actually melted in the early part of the month, but I hoped we’d get some more to play in before mud season began. So yay…I’ll get to put the snowshoes on again, but probably no bog walking.
Bog walking? Yup, something I started doing this year because everything froze pretty solid, even the shoreline of Lake Superior, which doesn’t happen very often. I should have gone up for an ice caves tour, but didn’t. Dumbass.
Anyway, here’s a collection of winter images that represents what the season was like. First bendy trees!
A combination of snow over ice made everything bend down low. Hell on the snowmobilers, but great for me since I love a bendy tree. The bright sun and blue sky made everything even more magical, plus my husband was with me and so that was fun, too. I broke trail and we spent a few hours in the crisp air, taking it all in.
A couple of weeks later we went to another area where the trails are groomed for skiing so we carefully avoided stepping on those. I really hate it when people cluelessly walk all over them or let their dogs destroy the work people do getting it all done. Rude. I’ve spoken to some about it when I see it and one woman basically told me off. I just don’t understand the levels of assholery some people achieve. But anyway, on this trek we met a person doing the grooming and stopped to chat and thank him for his efforts. I even noticed a little lake that I might be able get the kayak into from the other end. Yay!
Another groomed trail on a day I was solo. The geometry of the trees and their shadows with the curvy trail was too much to pass up –
So now the stage is set, let’s take a look at some of the players and get to all that bog walking stuff. First up, a Charlie Brown tree –
No walk in the woods is complete without mushrooms and I found a couple of examples that I could isolate well because of the snow. The one above is a Birch Polypore and this one I think is a type of jelly fungus, but I’m not 100% on that ID. It was backlit so beautifully that I had to go off trail to get this and throw in some bonus contortions, too. Worth it though!
One trail goes right by a pond that seemed to be more of a bog judging by the plants I could see. The clean snow and long shadows helped make more artistic compositions and arrangements. The snow was pretty deep, but I didn’t mind at all. Sinking in up to my knees just makes me laugh because it’s so absurd.
While I can paddle a couple of bogs, most are too small, remote and shallow to even try. Deep winter gives the gift of being able to walk out on frozen ponds and bogs and I love to explore the different plants during their dormant period.
You didn’t think you’d get away without seeing leaves in snow did you?? Ha! This one I found on the trail itself and it’s less than an inch across. I moved it to a nicer spot and voila –
Hearing Chickadees directly overhead made me look up and oh, I nearly got dizzy.
After that successful outing, I decided to try another little pond that my husband and I went past on the trail in January. It’s near to the trailhead so was perfect and look what I found!
Labrador tea is so photogenic and it’s especially beautiful framed by smooth snow. I’ve shot it before and it always catches my attention when I’m out. And when I can tear myself away from these –
Check that out! Wild iris seed pods. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before since they are aquatic plants and so finding them this late in their life cycle was a treat. There were several little patches that I could explore with different lighting conditions. Each day I ventured out the forecast promised some clouds, but none appeared so I had to make do with blue bird skies and very harsh light. By sticking to the edges of the pond, I could find a bit of shade created by the trees. The sun does make for some great shadows though.
And opportunities to play with high key –
And of course minimalism!
So as the snow falls, I’m thinking about places to explore. No ponds this time since nothing will still be frozen, but definitely a quiet woods and maybe I’ll take a peek to see what my favorite section of the Prairie River looks like under all that. With all the melt we had before and the snow we’re getting now, waters should be roaring!
Anyway…I hope you enjoyed the winter season summary. I think that quarterly or maybe monthly posts will be more feasible for me in future instead of the weekly that just flat burnt me out. I’m already planning kayaking season and found what looks to be a totally “me” spot that I overlooked for 11 years, but hey, I found it now and I’m planning to hit it pretty early on. It’s above another big dam and so the water level should be high enough to see all of the curling backwaters I saw on Google maps. I also am going to try to get Nixon creek in before early June since the channel fills up with so many plants it’s really hard to paddle. Luckily, the Manitowish river connects there and I’m looking forward to exploring up that way more than I was able to last year on a group outing. Oh and my best friend and I have a 3 night kayaking trip lined up for the Apostle Islands! Woo hoo!
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