To the Lake!

Someone's back and heading to the lake!  These images are from the archives.  Even after all the travel on the other side of the globe, this shore of Lake Superior is one of my favorite places in the world.  Happy heart.

Elephants

Random observations:
The tip of the elephant tail is like a flat bristle brush.
Elephants know how to avoid big piles of poo in the path.
The baby elephants like to play, sniff around and grab on to things, including cameras and backpack straps.
A swat from an adorable baby elephant trunk is cute but not pleasant. (They are strong & it hurts.)

Cleansing

Ancient Faces

Angkor Thom
Siem Reap, Cambodia

Ancient Structures

Hot and dusty feet
step along worn stones
of ancient structures.

Stone changes with rain,
lichen, bat poo, tree roots
and millions of feet.

Temples of the Angkor Wat area, Cambodia
World Heritage Site:  http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat

Winter Sun

The North Arm Trails were just the place to be today. I made a brief pause to snap this photo, and then I was moving onward on my skis. The cold seeped in despite the vigorous motion, and the skin on my face was feeling tender by the time I was approaching the end of the loop. But, what a spectacular day to be out!!!

Nature forms

Sculpted by nature and tapped and chiseled by man... the path of the river, the shape of the rocks, the patterns of snow and ice crystals. (See previous post.)

The days...

... are getting longer. Though not really detectable on overcast days, the lengthening daylight is quite evident on sunny days. Yay!

Last weekend I hiked to Kawishiwi Falls and down the river a bit. Countless times I've noticed how the windows of this building light up at the end of the day. On that day, nature and the manmade elements came together for this image: the electric lights lighting up the windows, the sun dipping into the trees, the river water controlled by the dam upstream and dressed up with nature's delicate adornment.

Edge of winter

Winter is slowly relinquishing its hold under nature's steady persuasion for the change of season.

I see you

This afternoon I went for a hike to the river.  As I moved out of the trees, I looked upriver to see this deer watching me.  I immediately stood still.  But, she, with the instinct to survive in this land of multiple predators, stepped away, paused for a minute, and then walked into the woods. (Click on the image to see it larger.)

Snowy day, yay!

Blessings

Swampers

In need of fresh air, I pulled on my swampers and went for a walk.

What did I find? Cold air nipping. Snow crunching. Grasses rustling.

Water flowing. Ice forming. Nose dripping. With fingers tingling, I returned to the coziness of the wood-fired heat and company of family, thankful for the blessings of this day.
(Thanksgiving 2008)

Note from Heidi Mae

Greetings!  Thank you to everyone who has left comments here on the blog.  I love having a place where others can enjoy my photography.  :-)

A bit of news:  one of my photographs was chosen to be included in the 2008 Arrowhead Biennial Exhibition, which features artists from Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, Michigan, Iowa, and Ontario.  "Solitude" (shown below) will be on display as part of the exhibit through February 1, 2009 at the Duluth Art Institute in Duluth, Minnesota.  The show opens on November 13th at 5 p.m.