Sunny Day Snowshoe -- Post 1

Yesterday I went on a four hour snowshoe with friends, Jamey and Lois Fite.  We trekked along the Grand Marais Creek.  The snow on the trees and the downed wood in the river was incredible.  There were so many photos that made the final cut that I have to include them over two days of posts.

Jamey took his snowshoes off and with his winter waders explored the river.

Octopus snow formation....

 Thanks to Jamey's knowledge, we learned that the pattern in the snow below shows the spot where a partridge launched into the air off the snow.

When partridge prepare for a night's rest, they dive into a snow gap under an evergreen and sleep under the snow.  The arrow below shows where the partridge slept.  You can see the tracks going off toward the right that show where the partridge exited his "sleeping chamber."  The launch off spot was a little farther to the right.

Right next to the spot shown above there was a second launching pattern that displaces the bird's wings,body and head....

I love the reflections in the river as well as the puff balls of snow....

Snow covered branches in a tree along the river...

Lois and I thought that the floating ice below looks like a butterfly.  Jamey thought it looks like a fish's tail....