Spring in the Marengo River Valley, Wisconsin

 I had heard about a beautiful overlook, Juniper Rock, along the North Country Trail but it wasn't until last fall that I was able to go there. It is located about 10 miles south east from Grand View in Bayfield County, northern Wisconsin. The views into the Marengo River valley are spectacular and I knew I had to come back in the spring. 
The following photos were taken on May 4th (except for the last one which was taken in the fall). I was captivated by the subtle colors and textures of the early spring forest - everywhere I looked I saw something new, another possible composition. 
The silver grey color of the Aspen trees were lit up by the sunlight, little clusters of red from the Maple trees and the green color of the Fir or Spruce trees lined up along the river - a perfect painting by Nature! 
As the clouds were moving and casting their shadows over the landscape, even more interesting patterns emerged. 
It was a most delightful spring day in the north country!! Enjoy!
Susanne

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The Chippewa Flowage, spring 2020

We all have a few special places we like to visit repeatedly. One such place is the Chippewa Flowage in northern Wisconsin. I have spent countless hours either in a canoe or kayak or walking on the frozen lake in the winter time. That was mostly before I started taking photos.
Now I am going to certain locations to watch the sunset or moon rise. 
This year I have had time to go there more often than usual.
The following photos are from 2 recent evenings (April 27 & 20, 2020). 
It was windy both times so I was not able to capture any reflections but the sky was so amazing and changing every minute.
I did an earlier blog post about the April Full moon where you can see images with beautiful cloud reflections. https://soulcenteredphotography.blogspot.com/2020/04/april-full-pink-moon-2020.html
As always, Enjoy and thanks for viewing. Susanne

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Following information about the Chippewa Flowage is copied from the DNR website:

The Chippewa Flowage, a 15,300-acre impoundment, is located in central Sawyer County, 15 miles east of Hayward.
First filled in 1923, the "Big Chip" was created as a means to augment downstream water flow for power generation and flood control. Dotted with approximately 200 undeveloped islands, it is Wisconsin's third-largest lake and boasts a highly irregular, wooded, and generally undeveloped 233-mile shoreline. Although Xcel Energy still owns and maintains the dam which creates the Chippewa Flowage, the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Band of Lake Superior Chippewa operates an electrical power generation facility at the dam on the Chippewa River near Winter, Wisconsin.

For decades, the Flowage has been highly regarded throughout the Midwest for its spectacular natural scenery and high-quality recreation, especially fishing. Historically, the Chippewa Flowage has been considered a premier muskellunge lake and earned the reputation as the waters that produced the world record musky. 

The Flowage offers a fishing experience generally found only on lakes farther north in Minnesota or Canada. Its seemingly endless maze of islands, points, bays, floating bogs and channels offers visitors numerous opportunities for exploration, discovery and a feeling of wildness within the northern forest landscape. Camping at one of the primitive island campsites is an opportunity not common in Wisconsin. Visitors rate the natural scenery, undeveloped "wild" character, "uncrowded" atmosphere and the fine fishing as the Flowage's outstanding attributes.

The local topography is a mosaic of rolling hills, valleys, streams, and bogs that reflect the glacial origin of the landscape. The Flowage's shorelands are generally forested with a mixture of aspen, birch, pine, northern hardwoods, and oak. Mature aspen forests predominate but in many places longer-lived hardwoods and conifers are gradually replacing them. Almost all birds and animals that are indigenous to northern Wisconsin are found within the area and include bald eagle, osprey, and loon. Wildlife viewing opportunities enhance the attractiveness of the Flowage to visitors.

Setting sun framed by branches

Budding Maple tree

Colors of dusk

Colors of dusk

It was snowing in-between sunshine and clouds

Clouds illuminated by the setting sun

Best of 2016

2016 was quite the year. As I looked back at the best photos I decided to choose 14 as they are all a bit different and tell a story that I like to remember. So here they are in chronological order. 

Enjoy, and a Happy New Year.

Susanne

Early January at the north shore of Lake Superior near Grand Marais. There was not much ice to be found but the soft hue of these morning clouds made up for it.

Sunrise on a very cold February morning not too far from home. North of Bruce, Wisconsin on Cty Rd. H

The ice started to break up in mid March. This scene greeted me at Audie Lake on a foggy, calm morning; Blue Hills, Wisconsin. I think this is my number one favorite of 2016. 

Spring is a busy time for me with greenhouse work but I was able to get out to photograph a few times. I watched this goose family for a while at Audie Lake and counted 19 goslings!! The parents did a great job keeping them in line.

Foggy mornings are a photographers dream but they don't happen too often in my area. This was unusual for being it in June and I was able to capture the sun rays right down my drive way.

Summer night at the Chippewa Flowage in northern Wisconsin. The first stars and half moon appeared with the last of the sunset colors. I was hoping to hear some loons but instead people were out there in boats and listening to loud music - go figure!! Eventually they disappeared and I was able to enjoy the sounds of nature.

Bill and I travelled to New Mexico end of August and stopped at the Badlands of South Dakota. Out of the many Buffalo photos I took this turned out to be my favorite with the warm glow of the setting sun.

On our way back home in early September we stopped again at the Badlands. I was determined to get a Milky Way image on this trip. This was the last chance. Clouds started to move in and the moon was rising. This is certainly not a master piece but it was a beautiful night under the stars.

Fall is my favorite season but this year we had a late and very short fall. I managed to get out only once to capture some spider webs with morning dew and golden light.

Early October we spent 2-3 days at Lake Superior. This long exposure of the rocks and water was my favorite from that trip. 

My favorite creek in the Blue Hills. I have many, many photos from that location but this one is very different. I liked the way how the leaves arranged themselves and are pointing down the stream.

We had many cloudy and dreary days in late fall. This image of a railroad trestle across the Chippewa River captured that mood very well.

Mid November morning at Audie Lake. I watched how the light of the rising sun moved across the water and started to light up the trees. Shortly after clouds moved in and turned off the magical light. 

Our first good snow fall came end of November but the snow melted quickly. Hemlock trees at my favorite creek in the Blue Hills.