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

On Thin Ice

These ice fishermen are a crazy lot. Despite all the warnings of thin ice due to unseasonably warm weather, they insist on driving out on it and putting up their ice houses. They must have their fish!

On Lake of the Woods, one person has drowned already, and over forty others had to be rescued by boat when the ice broke off from the shore and floated away.

On Red Lake, it’s even crazier; a plane and several vehicles have gone through the ice, and over a hundred eager fishermen had to be rescued. I love fish too, but not that much!

people are dying

to get out on the thin ice–

some more than others

–Photos by me