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"