In To 2016!! First day hike of the new year and some catch up images

Melinda and I decided to start off the new year with a day hike in Tettegouche State Park north of Silver Bay Minnesota to do something a little different.  After purchasing a new house (one of our horses has already lived here for a year and half), getting settled, hosting the family Christmas, plus just the normal day to day chaos, it was time for a break again.  

But first, here are some images from the past few weeks.

Our horses having a pre-dinner snack.  I was trying to bribe one of them out further into the pasture for a silhouette shot but ended up with all 4 in group.

A fresh supply of lead-free raccoon and deer carcasses keep the bald eagle and other smaller birds well fed on the pond behind our house.  I get tired of getting calls from TRC and the DNR to pick up eagles which got hit by a car while feeding on road kill.  Back here the only threat is me taking a blurry photo from our deck.

The winter song birds have not been as plentiful as I had hoped.  We added a couple of suet feeders and a black oil sunflower feeder in hopes of attracting more.  We'll see.

Charlie, our main outside cat.  He is actually yawning in this photo.  He loves people.  Hates dogs and other cats.  Our dog is actually scared of him.

Crow landing fail on our pond by the carcass feeder.

Eagle butt print.

The deer are doing well.  We have a doe with triplets and another doe with twins which frequent our place.  Kind of a weird shot here with one deer facing me with the other looking away but the illusion of there only being 4 legs messes with your head.

My daughter shovels off a skating rink behind our home.

Back to the New Years Day hike.  The Silver Creek Cliff tunnel has always been our "gateway".  Once we hit this point, the fun starts.  After a later than planned start, the blue ice covering the cliff was a very welcome sight.

Once to Tettegouche, we took the short route to the falls since we arrived an hour later than originally planned.  The ice spikes were a wise choice as the trail is hard packed and extremely slippery.

Melinda checks out the scenery below the falls.

Heading back to the trailhead lot.

The bridge over the Baptism is still one of my favorites along the Superior Hiking Trail.

Pausing to look at the top of the falls from the bridge.

Another view from the top.

Looking down the Baptism River.

We may not have the snow pack we are used to in Minnesota this winter, but there are still a lot of opportunities to get out and live a little!