Walking beaches provides all kinds of surprises like this duck frozen in the ice at the edge of Allouez Bay. I think I muttered “hey little guy need some help?” before I realized it was a plastic decoy probably lost this fall. In my defense it did look REAL in the moment.
I can happily report the access road on Wisconsin Point has been resurfaced! No development on this portion of the world’s longest freshwater sand bar just a beautiful mix of beach, pines and wildlife. Wisconsin Point is in the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve and can be accessed just south of the city of Superior from Hwy 53 / 2 via Moccasin Mike Road.
Dry conditions and gusty north winds have pulled fall colors to the ground leaving patchy pale yellows and rusty reds in the canopy as we approach November.
The oak leaves have browned. Ducks, geese, swans and other waterfowl are ditching Canada for warmer ponds. It’s time to brace for winter though officially that’s not for another two months.
It’s a pleasure to witness autumn foliage on a warm sunny day. A mature sugar maple with its shaggy gray trunk displays bright shades of red with full fall gusto.
The sight, sounds and smell of a small fire in the wood stove is an inviting treat this time of year as the wind cuts to the bone leaving us with a runny nose, foggy glasses and very rosy cheeks!
The colors of fall lay quietly in the cold water and in the grasses that line the shore. Shallow ponds cool quickly even freezing at the edges. And migrating waterfowl rest in the bigger, warmer ponds and lakes hopscotching their way south some as far as Central and South America. 
A walk in the woods on your favorite ski trail is an opportunity to see who else enjoys the change of seasons. This female black bear was traveling with three cubs, two spaniel sized puff balls from the spring and a one year old who climbed his way to safety as we walked quickly by.
The bright colors of autumn are beginning to show with brilliant oranges, yellows and reds sneaking into the canopy in small brush strokes almost overnight little by little our summer green fades away.
Turning leaves, mushrooms poking through the understory and acorns aplenty; a sure sign of fall if ever there was one!
