Boundary Waters

Recently, Melissa and I had the opportunity to stay with some friends at their cabin in northern Minnesota. This was a great chance to become unplugged for a few days. To some the ideal of no running water or electricity can be down right scary. For me it becomes relaxing not having to deal with distractions of technology. After a while, I come into a mellow frame of mind. The sounds of only nature brings peacefulness.

 I had a first while here. I caught my first Smallmouth Bass here. I have been fishing for thirty some years and have caught many different species of fish. I can now put a check mark beside the smallmouth. While it was not a trophy, it is something I have never experienced first hand.  

Loon.

This is one of the entrances to The Boundary Waters and also the view from the cabin. Between the trees no motorized boats are allowed. It is here wear I heard a pack of wolves the night before. Their howls filled the darkness carrying over the water only a long enough to let you know that they are out there. I would say less than a mile away.

Let The Air Waves Flow

    The HBO series The Sopranos turned me onto a lot of music I might otherwise overlooked. One episode included the song "Moonlight Mile" from The Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers. It is a great song. One aspect of the song relates to being on the road. I never was in a band but the road is something I can relate to I guess. I have a love hate relationship with the road. I hate the ideal of long trips but love covering ground that I have never seen.
    The picture taken with a thunderhead in background after a passing storm.

When the wind blows and the rain feels cold
With a head full of snow
With a head full of snow
In the window there's a face you know
Don't the night pass slow
Don't the nights pass slow

The sound of strangers sending nothing to my mind
Just another mad mad day on the road
I am just living to be lying by your side
But I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road

Made a rag pile of my shiny clothes
Gonna warm my bones
Gonna warm my bones
I got silence on my radio
Let the air waves flow
Let the air waves flow

Oh I'm sleeping under strange strange skies
Just another mad mad day on the road
My dreams is fading down the railway line
I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

I'm hiding sister and I'm dreaming
I'm riding down your moonlight mile
I'm hiding baby and I'm dreaming
I'm riding down your moonlight mile
I'm riding down you moonlight mile

Let it go now, come on up babe
Yeah, let it go now
Yeah, flow now baby
Yeah move on now yeah

Yeah, I'm coming home
'Cause, I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road
Down the road, down the road
Yeah, yeah, hey hey hey baby, now

    

Eye Push-Ups

The month of March flew by and now that we are into April the weather just seems to be getting better. I took a few pictures last month. Mostly just snapshots of random things and projects that I have been working on. These pics are from the Backdrop I made this week. I wanted a sunburst. My only wish is that the red would have remained that color. It dried to an orange color and I'm okay with how it came out.

 One of the great things about photography is that it does not have to be too serious. Only when I want to or see something that requires consideration do I engage.

This image of a budding tree is what caught my eye yesterday afternoon. It was late afternoon and I was just hanging out in the back yard and the light reflecting off of the limbs caught my eye.  How does it make you feel? 

Spring???

The snow had been hanging on. It just would not go away. Then we had about two weeks of above normal temps that melted most of it away.

With the nice weather I had the chance to work on was the left over wood from the tree the county cut down last fall. It was just a little more than a cord of wood.

Before

It has been several years since I have had the chance to use a chainsaw. A very useful tool indeed. I cut, moved and stacked the wood to dry so we can burn it next fall.

I had to get the wood off of the ground so it would not rot. So I used some old landscape timbers that had been used for a fence long ago. Now that it is stacked like this air can move freely around the wood allowing it to dry.

After

It is good to have this project out of the way. Some of the wood will have to be split and that can be done at a later time. 

Yesterday I was driving home from town on a route that I don't take everyday and saw this image. This corn is getting ready to be milled. Nice to be back in farm country.

Shantytown

I went out today and snapped a few images. With temperatures starting below zero, I headed out this morning to shoot some ice fishing shanties up in Wausau.

It was another hoary (heavy frost) morning. Even though this is a pretty busy county road. I try to stay on the backroads because there is better chance of seeing something that is picture worthy.

This image I had take the day before.  I drive by these horses all the time.  I have never owned horses. I can only imagine that it is a major responsibility to care for them especially on cold morning like this.

 
Ah! Shantytown. The image looks like something from the movie Grumpy Old Men. Ice fishing is something foreign to me.  At least for now. I went over and found fisherman just starting to begin fishing. He did not have a shanty.

The gentleman's name was Koua. I bent his ear about ice fishing. He gladly told me about how he did it. A lot of it was basic fishing information.  He uses ultra light equipment a depth finder, some luck and patience.

Winter Sunburst

This morning I went out to Schmeekle Reserve located in Stevens Point to take pictures. There were many cars and trucks in the parking lot at the visitor center. All off the people though were meeting inside the center. So I started down the trail to Lake Joanis. On the short walk I found myself alone with only prints from other people that have made the short hike recently.

Once I arrived at the lake, The sun was very bright and with the help of a filter I made this image. The tracks were fresh since the day before we had received a couple of inches of snow.  To venture out onto the lake is something that sounds absolutely crazy where I grew up.  I did. I have never done such a thing. I know people do it here all the time. On some lakes I have seen ice fishing shanties,cars, and trucks out on much bigger lakes in the area. Foolish some would say. I say, Alive!  Regardless, on this day a new experience.

Dark Ages

In a world of digital age. I need to try to get back to basics of a dying art form. Not a fancy darkroom but functional.