Early October Fog

Early October at Smith Lake brings cool, crisp nights.  Air temperature dips below the lake temperature and the sunny mornings are softened by fog lifting off the surface of the still water.

The trees were still mostly green when that photo was taken on October 4th, but by now they have turned to brilliant gold.  We will be up soon to see their autumn finery.  The price of that delightful view is having to rake the fallen leaves up off the lawn.  So worth it!

Fall colors are coming

The longer crisp nights and shorter sunny days of early autumn means it's time for the leaves to don their glorious fall colors.  The reds and golds are starting to show up here and there among the green leaves.   Some early leaves are starting to fall and accumulate on the lawn and along the roadside.  The tops of the trees have a hint of gold, giving us a taste of their brilliant fall coloring just a week or two away.

The woodbine on the Smith Lake shoreline is turning bright pink!

In the garden, the cheerful sunshine-yellow Brown-eyed Susans bob their heads in the breeze and say "Good-by" to summer!

Lunar eclipse

A once-in-a-lifetime lunar event happened this weekend.  The September 2015 full moon was a 'super moon', when the moon is at it's closest point to the earth in it's orbit.  Only 7% closer, but when the moon is on the horizon it certainly looks bigger than usual.

Saturday evening we zipped out onto the lake in the pontoon to snap a few photos of the moonrise.

Sunday evening we were treated to a complete lunar eclipse - and at a reasonable hour.   No trying to get up at 3AM for a glimpse.  The eclipse began as we were driving home from the Lake.  Clouds were gathering to the north, but cleared as we drove south.  The farm fields gave enough clear viewing that we were able to keep an eye on the disappearing orb in the sky.

At home in the city the trees are so tall and close to the house that we had a difficult time seeing. But the skies were still clear.  Finally, I had enough sense to grab a camera tripod and walk down the block and across the street to get a clear view of the moon, just as it reached total eclipse.  For those of you who had a cloudy evening -  here's what it looked like from Bloomington.  The photo was taken with the 'fireworks' setting on the camera.

It was so tempting to howl at the moon just for fun!  And I think some appropriate music for watching an eclipse would have been nice...Moon River?  Moonlight Serenade?  Cat Stevens- Moonshadow or Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon?

I skipped out again just before heading to bed, and snapped this shot as the eclipse was nearly over.  The moon was too bright for the fireworks setting, so I tried 'night landscape' which had a shorter exposure time.

The end of a beautiful summer

September nights are cool at Smith Lake, and the days are noticeably shorter.  What happened to our 9 PM sunsets?  There is a hint of color in the leaves and soon their spectacular autumn display will arrive.  A boat trip out on the lake after dinner to drop a line is a quick trip these days.  Sunset comes before you know it.

Woody Woodpecker

Do you remember Woody Woodpecker from Saturday morning cartoons in the 1960's?  The cartoons were produced by the Walter Lantz animation studios.  Woody first appeared in 1940's film cartoons, and then from 1957 to 1972 on television.  The Woody Woodpecker Theme song was a 1948 hit, and was the only song from an animated short ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song!

The Pileated Woodpeckers frequent the Smith Lake area in the summertime, and my sister claims that their call sounds just like the Woody Woodpecker Theme!  Can you hear it in their song?  The pair near our cabin successfully raised two young this year and they are getting big!  All four were looking for bugs in the grass on Labor Day, but only two were willing to stay around for a photo.

August skies

A neighbor reminded me that I have been negligent in posting photos recently.
Looks like I have some catching up to do!
Summer thunderstorms in August are so typical in central Minnesota.  The towering Thunderhead Clouds can be seen for miles.  This storm blew through early, and after the storm passed, the storm clouds on the eastern horizon were highlighted by the sunrise.

Not to be out-done, the western sky put on it's own spectacular show at sunset.

Summer storm clouds

A thunderstorm was brewing in the distance just before sunset on July 11th.  Smoke in the air from wildfires gave a red-orange glow to the sky and lots of layers and colors were visible in the clouds.

Hummingbirds

We love to watch the birds that visit Smith Lake.  From the majestic stillness of a Great Blue Heron fishing along the shoreline to the quickly darting little Hummingbird, they are amazing and delightful to see.  This summer a hummingbird family has built a nest in a maple tree near our deck.  Mother bird was caught at home one July afternoon and Jim snapped this photo.

Hazy Days

Smoke from wildfires burning in Canada and Alaska filled the air around Smith Lake in early July.  We could even smell the smoke in the air!  The sun became a huge red ball in the early evenings, and sunset came at least a half hour earlier than usual as the sun suddenly disappeared behind the smoke that cloaked the horizon.

Not a cloud in the sky... smoke from wildfires at sunset.

Here is a map that shows how smoke from the fires traveled around the globe in early July.  The article notes how Minnesota was "hit particularly hard."

Boat launch weekend

Lots of boats were launched on the Lake this weekend, including our pontoon.  The weather was spectacular, nearly 80 degrees on Saturday, and we took our first sunset cruise of the year.  Looking forward to many more.

Friday sunset, "Before"

Saturday sunset, "After"

Ice out, docks in!

What a lovely weekend at the Lake!  Days are noticeably longer and the sun is setting in the west rather than the southwest of winter days.  The ice went out on Wednesday, April 8th this year.  We arrived Friday in time for a sunset photo in a perfectly clear sky.

A sunny Saturday was just right for putting in the docks, and by sunset we were relaxing by a small campfire without a mosquito in sight.  We barely needed a light jacket.

Sunday there was a strong breeze that brought very warm temperatures.  Our thermometer registered 75 degrees!  Then, around 4:15 pm a thunderstorm rolled through and lasted about 20 minutes.  There was even some small pea-sized hail as if to say Winter was not going out without a fight!  The rain was welcome, as conditions are so very dry right now.

We saw so much wildlife this weekend!  Just after the thunderstorm rolled through on Sunday a flock of nearly 100 pelicans circled the lake and the pot-holes for a while.  Chickadees, Robins, Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, a pair of Wood Ducks, Swans on Mille Lacs, Turkey Vultures and Eagles were only some of the birds that could be seen this past weekend.   The earliest wildflowers are starting to poke their leaves out of the cool soil.  Soon the Hummingbirds and Orioles will return and spring will burst forth once again.

Almost Spring

What a spectacular weekend.  Sunny and near 70 degrees: it sure felt like spring was coming at Smith Lake!  The sun is up later now thanks to Daylight Savings Time.  Nearly a 7:30 pm sunset on Saturday over an icy lake.  Snowdrifts still hug the shoreline.

The lake ice was looking dark and crystalline all weekend, and by Sunday it was getting puddle-y.

Spring is on the way!

Winter sunrise

A cloudy blanket kept temperatures hovering near freezing last weekend.  The ice fishing was successful and there were even a couple keepers on Saturday evening!  No sunsets on cloudy days, but for a brief moment on Sunday morning the sun peeked through, and the far shore turned from grey to gold.

2015 - a new year of sunsets

New Year's Day 2015 was a beautiful day at the Lake.  The sun came out, and temperatures in the 20's were perfect for outdoor activities.  We had a lovely campfire, and there were several folks out ice fishing.

The first sunset of the year was spectacular!