Day 4...A Blast From The Past

The winter storm and work obligations today kept me from sneaking out during daylight hours to get my shot.  I'm not about to let the day slip past without a picture, so I wanted to introduce you to a new hunting companion from this past fall.  On our trip to North Dakota we experienced many incredible hunts, adventures and laughs.  This is nothing new if you know my hunting crew and I.  While on our hunts I like to capture everything that is happening around us, the act of hunting isn't always first on the agenda.  Meet Bella, she's a young lab on her first North Dakota hunt.  There is just something about watching a dog react to the sky when it is teaming with ducks.  Bella wasn't always sure what was going on while we were hunting, and many times she just took it all in.  Isn't that a dogs life anyway?  This was my favorite shot from NoDak this year.  The colors of the brown on brown just seemed to jump.  I hope you enjoy it too!

Travis@mnbound.com

Day 3...Sunrise Over The Lake

There is something to be said about a sunrise.  Not that the sun setting over the horizon isn't sweet and sometimes beautiful with colors, but, you just cannot beat anything attached with that sunrise.  Heck, it's the start of another day.  A chance to rid yourself of all the crud that happened yesterday.  A new breathe of fresh air, and a chance to make something awesome out of this day.  I've said this many times in my past journal entries, but one of the greatest joys of my job comes from watching that very sun rise every morning.  When I'm on the water, there is very seldom any traffic when that sun is rising.  99% of our population is still wrapped in their covers and they just missed what could have been the best part of their day.  Today, I was blessed again.  I stumbled out of the fish house just in time to catch the sun rising in all it's colorful glory.  I hope you did too!

Travis@mnbound.com

Day 2...Coyote Tracks!

Sometimes I wonder what animals are thinking, and for this blog, coyotes are my observation.  It's no secret that coyotes have found a good home right in our back yards.  While we don't usually see the nocturnal animals around our houses, they are most definitely present.  Why they roam in certain places is beyond me, but like almost all criters, their curiousity and need for food will drive them to places near and far.  This place was near, and I suspect it was for their need for food.  These tracks ran across the open lake we were fishing, but the shoreline was slightly wooded with a few cattails nearby.  A perfect location for wintering rabbits and rodents.  The funny part is that behind the limited brushy shoreline stood several mansions.  These tracks are just a leftover reminder to how close we are to nature at all times.  Perhaps if we stop the hustle and bustle for even a few minutes each day, we could pick up on a few cool signs of nature in our own back yard.  Heaven's knows this homeowner is probably clueless about what is running in his...Day two was a doggone good one!

Travis@mnbound.com

Day 1... Again!

Alright, so I made it two days and already I have to start over.  I guess I picked a pretty bad time to start the continuous blog.  The New Year celebration kept me away from any computers for a few days, so I managed to fail miserably on my first attempt at 30 in 30.  I'm starting up again, so here we go. 

If you have lived anywhere other than a cave the last few days then you know it has been ridiculously cold.  I was feeling like this shot would warm me up a bit, which is why I took it.  If you ice fish, then you have seen this glow before.  If not, then you are now looking at my fish house heater.  It was running overtime on my last fishing outing.  The temps are struggling to find zero right now, so i'm going to be bitterly snapping images over the next week.  Oh yeah, the sunnies were still biting in this cold.   Brrrr......

Travis@mnbound.com

Day 2...Full Moon

I found this to be a pretty tricky shot for me to take.  Maybe it was the below zero temps, or the fact that I didn't have a tripod to use, but still I struggled to get the shot that I really wanted.  When the nearly full moon was moving through the trees, it was a pretty incredible view.  It was almost eerily creaping through the forest.  The brightness of the night with the fresh foot of snow really lit things up well.  I would strongly encourage you to sneak out the next couple of nights as the moon reaches the 100% Waxing stage.  You will get cold, but you won't regret it for a second.  There is something about that moon that effects everything on this planet.  Day 2 is in the books, I hope you enjoy it!