Loving A Mild Winter, My Superior View

Ice on Lake Superior doesn't last long. — *Ice on Lake Superior doesn’t last long.*

“There is a privacy about winter that no other season gives you. Only in winter can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.” Ruth Stout

January has been a month of peace, quiet and intense beauty on Lake Superior. Snow frosted balsams radiate a charm that goes unnoticed during other seasons.

Then a few hours later open water on the big lake. — A few hours later, open water with a few ice clumps on the big lake.

The face of the lake can change hourly as the lake refreshes itself, and the wind shifts. The lake dramatically changes from ice-covered to a few floating chunks of ice, and then back to ice-covered. Sporting new looks adds to the mystique of this enormous fresh water lake.

Calmer winds allow the balsams to stay snow covered. A few ice chunks on the lake.

Just say, “No straw!”

Just say “no” to straws

My series on #31daysoflesswaste continues: How can you use less plastic today, and everyday? Below is an exciting campaign to eliminate the use of straws. It gives you hope!

Keeping plastic out our oceans, lakes and rivers is essential. Below is a video of a “No Straw” campaign being done by high school students in California. You will like it.

Superior Views, November and December

“In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous.” Aristotle

Both November and December have been unseasonably warm! Warm sunny days alternating with rainy days. It is quiet, very quiet. Crows, the call of the pileated, and bald eagles maintaining a continuous chatter are about the only sounds. Even the big lake has been on the quiet side especially with the wind from the SW.

Rough grouse and mystical snow buntings entertain as they fly up from the roadside. The large number of chickadees and grey squirrels is unusual, and I assume the mild weather has something to do with their numbers. Both chickadees and squirrels peek through the windows of our house watching our household. Chickadees were still eating flies off our house the first week of December, but cooler nights have turned the chickadees to the feeders, plants and trees.

An occasional 1000 foot ore boat passes through on horizon

While I was delighting in the charming chickadees. These stories about chickadees came from one of my favorite bird authors: http://www.startribune.com/chickadees-go-to-charm-school/360852661/

Superior Views, my observations on Lake Superior

Pick up One Piece of Trash a Day

This trash could end up in our lakes and oceans breaking into little pieces that last many years.

#TalkingTrashTuesday

The snow has melted, the sun is shining, it is time to pick up litter from the winter. Carry a bag with you to pick up trash. It makes our world look SO much better, and it keeps trash from washing into our lakes, streams and oceans.

Pick up One Piece of Trash a Day https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pick-up-One-Piece-of-Trash-a-Day/267910856667805?fref=nf

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-bassett/breaking-the-plastic-addi_b_781569.html

http://plasticpollutioncoalition.org/

A landmark new study shows there is 30 times more plastic entering our ocean than previously estimated. http://www.oceanconservancy.org/

Take 3 https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=867945456577550&fref=nf Take 3 minutes to pick up trash and what do you find?