Retrospective: “Ghosts of the Fire”

In May of 2009 I took a solo trip into the BWCA to do a bit of unwinding and fishing.  I spent most of the few days I had on Seagull Lake as I did not want to make a bunch of portages.  This area had experienced a major fire and there was very little left of anything green on the north end of the lake.  I have many good memories of those few days, such as paddling under the watchful gaze of two bald eagles, each one perched atop dead, burned trees on the islands I was paddling between.  I also witnessed a group of loons doing what looked like a waltz, I’m guessing it was some sort of mating ritual.  In three days, the weather was very different each day.  Cold and misty, hot and windy, cold and windy, not unusual for the northland.

The fires that have traversed the area left many interesting remnants behind, this being one of my favorites.  The orientation of the roots seem to be so expressive.

Canon EOS D60, ISO 400, 38mm, f/ 13, 1/500 sec, tweaked in Adobe Lightroom