Luckily I Took Pictures...

Power went out a couple times today.  Then it was on a couple times, and who knows what will happen anytime soon?

Come on, Brain.  Come on.  The people want a post here.

So, yeah.  Today is one of those days they write songs about.  I even hope to write a poem about it (once my brain is capable of going beyond everyday tasks).  

In an effort to celebrate the high winds, big waves, bone-chilling rain and lack of electricity, my little bun and I went out to Hunter's Point.  

It was definitely windy and cold and wet.  The video I took proved my timing to be a bit anti-climactic.  Not even worth the bandwidth to upload.  But I thoroughly enjoyed the lush hike to the tip of the Point.  Here is the best wave picture I got.

Waves at Hunter's Point 9/10/14

The lake was (and still is) really agitated.  She can be such a beast at times.  It's a good thing the Queen IV wasn't scheduled for Isle Royale today.

On the way back, I found some little friends.  I've been seeing mushrooms everywhere lately because it's been so wet and cool.  If I had my normal level of curiosity, I would start learning mushrooms this fall.  They have been quite spectacular.

Fungi in the woods

On Monday, I sought out to capture the full moonrise because I knew it would come up near the lighthouse if I sat on the Harbor Haus dock.  While the sun sank and I got chilly, the geese came around.

Geese and The Gap

I also got swarmed by a flock of seagulls.  It was really something as they came around from all directions.  I didn't have any food, and I'm not really sure what stirred them up.  Neat experience, though.

Then I got chillier and chillier as I waited for the moon.  I didn't think the clouds would hide it because the horizon was somewhat clear.  Just at the moment when I thought, I bet it's gonna be really cool, I saw a glow ascend from a low strip of clouds.  The moon!  I watched in awe as it crowned.

And then it hid behind a cloud in the layer just above.

So here's a picture of the middle of the full moon.

Moonrise 9/8/14

That's East Bluff in the far background on the right side of the shot.  It was a beautiful night.  And the clouds looked all purdy too, so here's one more of the evening.

Facing north during the sunset

Earlier in the week, I took some other pictures from around town.  Boy, am I glad I took pictures.  I don't know if my words can create them as well right now!

Gladiolas in front of the Gas Lite

Though they don't have a scent, I LOVE gladiolas.  I remember, growing up, that my parents always had a rainbow of these beauties around their garden.  This is one of the few domestic flowers I would actually go through the effort of planting.  It could be a nice project for the little one and I in the spring!  Remind me I said that, will you?

And at the Brickside Brewery, Project 49918 is exhibiting the Beginning of the Road collection.  It gets some cool comments when visitors realize that they have met some of those people on the wall.  I am just glad that snow is gone now....

"Beginning of the Road" Exhibit

Yes, I know it's a bit blurry, but that's how things usually look in the Brickside.  Ha!  Unless you can't drink beer!

I also wanted to show you this because I am proud.  This is my first professional book review done by Charlie Eshbach.  He is a long-time Keweenaw resident, naturalist and author himself, so his opinion holds some weight around here!  Thank you, Charlie and the Keweenaw Traveler!

Book review by the Keweenaw Traveler

Having trouble reading it?  Try clicking on the image.  Still having trouble?  Pick up your printed copy of the publication around the UP for free!  It's great for visitors and locals alike.

Wait.  I have to put a different hat on.

Our band, Powers of Air, is scheduled to play the outdoor gig at the Chili Cookoff September 20th!  We are sharing the stage with Frank an' da Beans -- one of my favorite funky dance bands in the area.  Music starts around 4pm, and I think we're on around 5:30pm.  Please view the poster below for more details.  

And for heaven's sake, make some chili to bring!

Chili Cook-off time again, baby!

Color Report

Well, I haven't been down the Covered Stretch lately, but I'll go on Friday.  Whatever leaves are still hanging on the branches that haven't blown off the trees are mostly green, I would imagine.  But this cold snap could change things.  Stay tuned!

A New Spring in My Step

If someone blindfolded you, drove you to Copper Harbor, cloaked you in only a light jacket, set you in the middle of Highway 41 in front of the General Store, then took off your blindfold, you would be surprised at the large snow drifts before you.  And everywhere else around you.  Today and yesterday, for the most part, were gorgeous, sunny and warm (relative ~ 50 degrees, maybe?).

The snowbanks are currently melting.  And draining.  And going back to the lake from where they came!  My plan is working perfectly.

However, it wasn't all sunshine and melty banks all week.  The latest blizzard started Wednesday night, and went through most of Thursday.  Aaron and I had to drive to Houghton for a meeting.  Here is the Covered Stretch at about 1:00 pm on Thursday.

Highway 41 in Thursday's blizzard

April 17th, 2014.  Still want to live in Copper Harbor?  Oh, yeah.  Not in the winter.  Or spring.

The following day showed a nice sunset, though.

Sunset after the storm

What's that?  A sunset picture over the lake would be better?  You're telling me.  Hopefully I'll get out there again sometime when the sun looks all lavish.

In the mean time, you're stuck with this Fort Wilkins sign I promised you.  I believe that today, it's a tad lower then when this picture was taken (between the 14" of snow and now), but it's close.  And hopefully it will be lower yet the next time.

Ye old Fort sign, grinning and baring it

For Easter, I took three of my four-legged friends (cuz they're the only ones that will hang out with me) up to Manganese Falls.  The last couple times I was there, I got skunked, so I wasn't expecting much for rushing volume.

On our way up Trail 134/Manganese Road I realized that it's going to be a snow trail for quite a while yet.  Look at all that snow on the road still!

Snow-covered Manganese Road... still

We saw some cool icicles hanging in the moss.

Icicles in the mossy rock

We didn't even get passed by any snowmobilers.  Imagine that.

Also on the way up something new happened.  I was so hot that I had to take my jacket off!  Outside without a jacket since probably early November -- what a treat!  It was truly glorious.

And then I heard it.  The falls.  So loud I could hear them before I crested the hill!

We perched as close to the edge of the top of the falls as we could to see what we could see.  With all those cedars casting shadows, I could barely make out the moving parts, still mostly under snow.  And the darkness made my pictures turn out terribly, so I will spare you that.  At least it sounded refreshing!  I can't wait to go back!

Oh, and I saw Jacob's Falls yesterday as well, on the way to Eagle River.  It was doing pretty well.  Probably triple since the last time I saw it!

I also caught a shot of The Gap between Hunter's Point and Porter's Island.  The ice is still at least 2 feet thick on the Harbor.  People are even out ice fishing yet.  It's a bit slushy out there, but I'll have to get out to Porter's another time yet, so I can check out that lane of open ice on the Big Lake.  I believe it's for the freighters to cross.  Man, are they having a heck of a time this year.  Have you been keeping up with that fiasco?  I'm glad I don't have reservations to be on Isle Royale in early May.  How would I even get there???

Holy cow, look at the train of thought in that last paragraph.  I didn't even show you that gap picture yet.  Please forgive me.  Here it is.

The Gap

It may look a bit puddly, but it's crossable.  And ice for quite a ways out after that.

I think the end of winter is in sight, my friend.  Probably not going to be a swim-in-Lake-Superior kind of summer, but the berries should be juicy!  I am pumped to see some colors around here.  But the forecast doesn't show much more than high 30's for max temps.  Better than earthquakes, I guess!

Sunset Over the Harbor

After that last post lacking in visuals, I figured I'd give you a quick sunset time lapse.  This one is from a couple weeks ago, but I just figured out how to edit it correctly.

Enjoy this rainy day!

By the way, I saw Canada anemone, twin flowers and birdsfoot trefoil starting to bloom during my hike today!

Sunsets in the Lake

Yesterday the only sun to be found was at sunrise and sunset.  The rest of the day was gray, windy and cold.  Am I complaining?  No.  I made the best of the sunny times.

In the morning, right as the sun came over the trees, I grabbed a beach towel (along with my down jacket, hat and mittens) and laid out on the dock to absorb some rays through my, um, face.  Ahh, what a treat.  Soon the clouds blocked that diamond in the sky, and I went back inside.

As the day grew to a close, I watched the clouds loom over the horizon, leaving a gap just above the lake.  When the sun sank low enough, it blasted through the gloom.  I watched the sun sink, and I even took a picture for you.

You can even tell how windy it is by the wave rolling in.  With the sun setting between the gap, this is the best time of year for sunsets, and I get to be around to watch every single one of them!!!

Below is one from the day before.  

I'm not showing you these because I think they're the most beautiful sunsets I've every seen.  I'm showing you them because the sun is sinking right in the middle of the lake, as viewed from my house, and that is pretty stinkin cool.  Soon enough, though, the sun will sink behind the land on the right (where the lighthouse is).  By then, I'll be too busy to notice!

Snowy Ride Home

Yesterday I woke up in Wisconsin to a snowy morning.  Oh, I thought, the sap won't be running today!  But the air was surprisingly warm.  The muddy ground was covered in a thin layer of fluff.  A nice day to drive home...

The ride North was snowy, but at least the roads were clear.

One cool thing (that maybe only I think is cool) was while driving East and West, the slopes on the South side of the road were snowy, but the slopes on the North side were brown and snowless.  I thought it was so neat how the sun can only melt the North side because if its position in the sky.  So, yeah, I'm still probably the only one who thinks that's cool, but now you know about it!

Despite the fact that we were driving in snow on April 4th, the view was still striking.  When we got north of Bruce Crossing, everything was white: the ground, the sky and the trees.  Such a splendid, ahem, winter scene.

On the Covered Stretch, close to home, the snow was so thick that it pulled the branches straight down.  That's some heavy, wet snow all right.  I didn't even care that this shouldn't be the time of year for such a scene.  I relished in it like it was the first snow of the winter.

And then I saw her.  My Queen.  My Majesty, Lake Superior.  She was all open and shining with a slit of clear sky behind her.  She's always my favorite part to come back home to.

The view of the sunset when I got home was breath-taking.  The Harbor was completely open, and the waves were rolling in -- a combination I haven't seen since fall.  The sky was only open along the horizon, and dark clouds covered the top of the sky.  As the sun sank, the tops of the waves danced pink and orange.  Oooh, I sat outside and stared as if it was my first sunset ever to behold.  I remembered how lucky I am to live here.

To share my luck, I took a picture for you after the sun sank, casting its glow heavenward.  Not bad, hey?