Grand Marais Bird Count

Birds inspire me. They are so alive...so brave...so energetic.
Birds are often my best excuse to get out and explore. Today I went down to the harbor to see if any exotics were visiting. Instead I found a bunch of Golden Eyes. They are gorgeous birds., especially against a background of blue-green Lake Superior water and glowing ice. I'll get some pictures up at davidgrinstead.smugmug.com.
Yesterday we helped with the annual Grand Marais Christmas bird count. We had Pine Grosbeaks, Chickadees, Ravens, Blue Jays, and Grey Jays at our feeder. The Grey Jays are a delight for sure.

Lake Superior Ice

Lately I've been trying to get down to Lake Superior in the mornings. We live a couple of miles from the Lake. Our weather is one thing. The weather on the shore is another thing. What I will find two miles away is unpredictable and that's the fun.
Today the sun was trying to peak through the blue-gray clouds over the water near the Cascade River, and the waves were crashing against the ice-covered black basalt rock.