Sable Falls

I heard that the flows from snow melt "freed up" Sable Falls. So yesterday friend, Renee, and I decided to go and check it out. I don't know if the flow is at its peak, but it must be close. Here are a series of shots I took of the falls, icicles next to the falls, and sand-covered ice still "decorating" the river.

More Grand Sable Dunes and Lake Superior Photos

On Wednesday we had unexpected sunshine for one more day. Friend, Wendy,and I decided to take advantage of it and we headed up into the dunes once again. Here are some more Ghost Forest shots as well as lake shore shots. Notice how the floating pancake ice and icebergs have been scattered all over the lake due to the southwest winds.







The next two photos were taken from the same spot, five days apart. We had sunshine and daytime temperatures in the 40s and 50s all five of those days. You can see how the conditions resulted in a lot of snow melt over that period.




Snowshoeing through the forested sections of the dunes is a real challenge, especially in the wet and soupy snow. Wendy insisted taking a picture of me. The other shot was taken from the bluff of one of the forested sections.

More Winter Beach Sunset and Beach Fire Photos

Here are a few more photos taken the other night. Well before sunset I took this photo while standing next to Lake Superior looking east. You can see the ice encrusted light house at the end of the pier.



This next shot is one of Renee and Wendy agate hunting. There was absolutely no wind and, therefore, no waves. The visibility of the rocks in the water was amazing.



This is a close up shot of some of the rocks "dredged" up by the icebergs.



It is not for certain, but we may be the first to have a beach fire this year. We were going to have the fire at First Creek. However, we brought our own firewood which have been difficult to carry down the partially snow covered steps. We bailed and had the fire near the boardwalk.

Winter Sunset and Beach Fire

Yesterday was the warmest day this year. The temperatures reached into the mid-50s with no wind. Rather than snowshoe in the dunes, I decided to venture down the beach to get some exercise. I found the first patch of exposed rock on shore, although the patch was only around 100 feet long. It was so beautiful out that I went and got a couple of friends to join me. Renee, Wendy, and I went back down to the same spot. We each found a rock with some agate in it, but nothing to write home about. We stayed near the First Creek area and watched the sunset. Then we climbed back up the hill and drove down to the boardwalk, where we had the first beach fire of the year. After I was down the beach the first time, I went home to get some firewood, which we carried down past the boardwalk. What a beautiful evening.

Floating Ice

Below are some more shots from the snowshoe adventure last Sunday. The wind at first blew some of the pancake ice in toward shore. When the wind switched, it started to blow the floating pancake ice back out into the lake.





This shot was taken from the highest point in the dunes looking east toward Grand Marais.



We snowshoed around 1/3 the way west across the dunes. This shot was taken looking west.



The snow is melting so quickly that you end up with weird looking deposits of sand.



I received the first set of proofs for the book on Friday. It is exciting to see the book in print, rather than just on a computer screen. Photos of some of the proof pages and the proof package are below. The schedule has now been set and it looks like I won't received printed copies back until mid-June. I have received requests from people who want to order a copy in advance. Therefore, to accommodate these requests I have set this up with my web master. Once the web page March update has been uploaded, I will let you know. The web page, of course, is www.agatelady.com.

Even More Winter Scenes from Grand Marais

The sunshine this weekend drew me outside for more snowshoeing adventures. Here are some shots I took on the trail between Sable Visitor's Center and Sable Falls. The first shot is the detail of some of the melting snow.



This shot shows the patterns that ice mixed with sand can make on top of the river.



Even though the snow is melting in sun exposed areas, it is still piled up in the woods and on top of downed trees.



The following shots were taken at or on the way to the Ghost Forest in the Grand Sable Dunes. The tree stumps are a few thousand years old. Also pictured is friend, Wendy.






Due to working on the new agate book I have not had much of a chance to make art lately. It felt good to have the soldering iron in my hand. Here is a custom agate window I made for a couple in Kentucky.

More Winter Scenes

Below are some random winter scenes from around the Grand Marais area.

This time of year with the warm days in the 30s and 40s, and the cold nights in the teens and twenties, there are some unusual melting and refreezing effects. This is a picture of a thin sheet of ice that formed a couple of inches above the sand. It appears to be floating in space, but is actually held up by blades of dune grass.



The high sun angle is melting the snow in the dunes at an amazing rate. This photo is of a valley that still has quite a bit of snow.



Sable Lake is still very frozen. This shot was taken while sitting on a large downed tree on the south side of the lake that is laying on top of the ice. I was looking back toward the dunes. You can see the guard rail that aligns the road between the dunes and Sable Lake.



When you walk (or snowshoe) from Sable Falls and head up into the dunes, this is a picture of the first blow out bowl once you get into the dunes after walking over the foot bridge.



This is a driftwood sculpture on the bank of Sable Lake.

Icebergs on Lake Superior

The sun has been out these past few days. With the higher angle, it is not taking long for the sun to melt the snow in the dunes. Last year at this time there was not much sand showing through in the dunes. This year, well over half of the non-forested area is already devoid of snow.

Friend Wendy and I explored the dunes again yesterday, but this time we walked up on the bluff going west for quite some distance. Icebergs are one way that rocks are moved around the lake. When large chunks of ice break off the shore, they float around Lake Superior only to be beached on a distant shore. When the wind switches, they again break loose, but this time carrying rocks that they "collected" on the shore. Since the winds on Lake Superior are predominantly from the northwest, the icebergs are pushed to the southeast end of Lake Superior. The beaches around Grand Marais have no peninsulas or islands to block the movement of ice, so the bergs are pushed onto our beaches where they melt and dump their loads of rocks.

Pictured below are some of the iceberg photos I took yesterday.