Tag: photos

Thwarted

We had big plans for a pleasant Sunday drive yesterday, but the fog we’d expected to lift only got thicker as we went. Our target was the Sax-Zim bog, known among bird-watchers for its owl sightings, but as a retired truck-driver, I knew how dangerous fog can be, and I started to have second thoughts. That was the first strike against us.

We were carefully tip-toeing along when it came over the radio that there had been a terrible wreck about 20 miles ahead. Three young people were dead. That was the second strike, and yet we proceeded.

About a mile further we came upon a vehicle rolled over in the ditch. Fortunately, its occupants had already been rescued, but that was it–strike three! Okay, Universe, I get the hint.

We turned around right there and went home. I often go the extra mile for a good shot, but I also try to make sure it’s not my last. There would be no owls on this adventure.

–Photos by me

Mining Memories

My son Aaron and I took a trip to the (Mesabi) Iron Range in Northeast Minnesota the other day to check out one of the largest open-pit mines in the world, the Hull-Rust Mine near Hibbing. Although I worked on the other end of the range, this was the first time I visited the Hull-Rust.

Seeing the 240 ton production trucks really brought me back. I’d spent a good chunk of my life in one of them, and, in fact, almost lost my life in one.

On a midnight shift back in the 90’s, the catskinner accidentally backed me up under high-voltage power lines, and when I raised the box, night became day as 100,000+ volts coursed through my truck. The windshield and gauges blew out, the tires blew, and after I managed to get out, the whole truck burst into flames. I was ok, but it was a million-dollar loss for the mine.

Standing here today, I must say that we sure dug some big holes in the ground.

I never thought I’d say this, but I do miss it… a little.

–Photos by me

City on the Lake

It is impossible to get a good picture of the city on the lake. If I zoom in, I can only see a small section of all the icehouses clearly; if I zoom out, they tend to disappear in the haze before I can get them all in. It’s somewhat like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle: you can have one or the other, but not both. Unless you have a drone, that is, and I don’t.

only from a view above

could i directly take

an all-inclusive picture of

the city on the lake

–Photos by me

Sundogs

I woke up this morning to what appeared to be three suns shining into my frosty bedroom window and knew at once how cold it had to be outside. I was tempted to crawl back under my warm blanket and go back to sleep, but I didn’t want to miss the shot, so I quickly threw on a couple layers of clothes and headed out.

I was not disappointed. A heavenly halo, studded with sundogs as brilliant as diamonds, hung low in the ice-crystal sky. It was a sight to behold, even with a -30 degree windchill burning my face. Fortunately, I was able to get a few shots before my fingers started to freeze.

flanked by his two dogs

the god of the sky brightens

the frigid morning

–photos by me