A812DE6A-A94A-4185-B79F-90964E6B703A Winter has a way of either slowly showing up or hitting us with a massive storm where we are stuck in our houses, unable to go anywhere. This year is a plodding towards winter. Snow seems to fall upon us at night and then either melt away or stay for a few days on the ground. The ice on Lake Superior is slowly freezing and looking like glass. Will we see skaters on the bay before long? I have already seen two ice fishers actually on the ice.

The one thing about taking photographs in the morning is that the universe never lets one down. Every morning there are people, like me, who gather together on the shores of Lake Superior and gaze at the sky, anticipating when that first ray of light will appear. Whether it does or not doesn't matter. What matters is that we are there, excited at any glow of color in the sky or seeing the first sliver of the sun. Everyone smiles and greets each other. Shadow runs around chasing sticks and small dogs. Mostly he looks for his human friends who acknowledge him the same way every morning. Everyone feels happy at that moment. It's winter, cold, snow covers the ground, but there is still a patch of sand on the shore where we gather to let the universe capture each of our imaginations. Sometimes we talk about what we see; other times, we stand in awe of the beauty. The Ojibwe name for Lake Superior, gichi-gami, the "great sea," is the best description. However, Gitche Gumee, from the poem Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, is what is most are familiar with. For me, the dawn of every new day captures that moment in time on the big sea.