connie's cottage

After the anxiety of Christmas, we were all invited to the wilds of Red Rock. Connie's cottage sits facing an inlet of mighty Superior. In summer the shore is littered with rocks, the waters are frigid and the pine trees lean sad. But in winter the land, the water and the trees sport new skins of soft powder. The pines are brilliant in new-fallen snow, the waters ice the sleeping rocks and the land turns magical with winter.

Because I have a 4-wheel-drive, I was elected chauffer. The trip is on a dirt road that in summer I remember being full of ruts. This time we drove through a winter wonderland of new-fallen snow. It was hard to concentrate on the sun-drenched beauty given that I was driving on snow and ice. I had never driven the road in winter. My annoyance was doubled by the locals who kept passing me as if they were driving on black pavement. It's at these time that I struggle and have to remind myself that I am not a local. I don't live there and I haven't in 40 years.

There are points where you hit a rise and look at Superior - icy blue in opposition to the winter white.
(The thumbnail points to the large image.)