February 9, 2014 It's been a long winter........

I was out trying to capture a nice sunset, for a change, yesterday evening.  I haven't done that in a while.  For one thing.....the area where I live has very few places where you can get a scenic sunset.  Most people like to go to the shore of Lake Superior to do that.  The directions are such that most places out here don't face properly to catch it.  The sun will go down below the hills and you will sit there wondering how come you don't see anything....to take off, drive down the road....and see....an OMG beautiful sunset happening before your eyes.  Location is everything.  Most of the time, I take them from my yard, which has only a few trees and the hills in the background.  No water for the beautiful reflections a colorful sunset can make.
I hadn't been to this spot since early winter for a sunset shot.  Therefore, I wasn't even sure exactly where the sun was going to set.  There were enough clouds to make some color....but, as it turned out, too many.  It didn't happen.  Of course, if you stay home.........it will color up beautifully.  So it goes.  I hadn't been to this spot for over a week; so, I was unaware of all the really nice ice forms that had built up since the last time there.  I was pleasantly surprised.  If there appears to be any hope of a pretty sunset tonight, I will be back.  I would sure like to catch that sunset in the split of this neat piece of ice.  I also found a few really neat ice caves.  One was so long......I'm not sure I could see anything but sky once I got in there.  :)

Here is another neat ice formation I found last night.  I walked a lot more shore than I ever imagined I would, just because.  The ice was just fantastic.  The wolves had been patrolling the whole shore too on this stretch.....just because they could.  The sunset wasn't cooperating so I figured I might as well look at all the fun stuff.  I was tempted to go this morning just in case the sun had moved far enough around this point to make it glow.  I wasn't too sure that was going to happen either.  So, with the cold north wind to discourage me.....I stuck to deer chores and walking the dog up here.  Sunrise wasn't completely blah......but, it is a pretty overcast day.  Plus, the deer liked me being out there on time!

Speaking of deer, they aren't having an easy winter this year.  I think we have every orphan fawn in the area plus plenty of other deer.  The one thing we have very few of is bucks.  Winter isn't always kind.  Last year, winter didn't want to go away.  Bucks are always the first to leave and sometimes they get themselves in predicaments and the wolves get them because they left before they should have.  The does that have been wintering here for a number of years are doing ok for themselves.  They are mostly safe from the wolves, good going on well packed trails, good food to supplement their browsing, fresh running water, shelter.....what more could they ask for.  We have anywhere from a low of two dozen minimum to over 60 at a time this winter.  Thankfully, we don't have 60 plus regularly.  Deer feed has gone up considerably since the years we started doing this. 
Anyway, it has been a long cold winter already.  We started in with the below zero temperatures pretty darned early this year.  And....they haven't quit.  It was 1999 the last time I saw -30 below 0 or more.  We have had -32 this winter.  At least, that was the coldest I saw it.  We have had far more -20 below or more than necessary too.  I can handle a lot of cold.  But........we have also had a lot of cold wind this winter.  That freezes you up pretty darned fast.  I have heard more people complaining about the wind than I have the cold. 
Hopefully, we will get on to spring in a timely manner this year and the deer.....and everything else, will go about its business in a reasonable fashion.  That means, also, no rain ........any time soon.  If we got rain with all this snow.........it wouldn't be good.  That is the one thing we can be thankful for.  We haven't had what has gotten to be the usual....a rain storm in December and January, to make icy messes out of everything. 
Well.....here's to a bit of warmup soon!  Not over 25 degrees tho.   :)