Bridge to Nowhere

from flickr user gamelaner
Smith Avenue bridge, St. Paul, MN

A bench on ice

from flickr user duluthdesigned
The spray coming from Lake Superior has totally encased this lakeside bench in Duluth's Canal Park in ice. Best of luck watching the lake from this seat.

It was this deep

from flickr user TedSher
Even Minnesota's own Paul Bunyan, apparently on vacation in St. Cloud, MN, is getting a bit overwhelmed by our near-record snowfall this winter as he stands between impressively tall showbanks in the granite city.

The Plunge

from flickr user rwalstrom
The photographer says: I took this shot at the Law Enforcement polar plunge at Weaver Lake in Maple Grove, MN. After jumping into the icy lake, the "plungers" had a hot tub waiting to warm them up.

St. Paul Riverfront

from flickr user monolight
Taken January 16th, 2011 - The photographer says: This powerplant helps heating the downtown highrises in St Paul. The steam rising is an extraordinary sight in the winter when it's cold. And it was a very cold morning. My breath formed solid ice on the camera.

The aftermath

from flickr user Matthew Traucht
Snowblower blown snow, Brick wall, Rapson Hall, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Wind

from flickr user duluthdesigned
The photographer says: Wind: From ESE at 41mph gusting to 49mph ripped the tarps on the Aerial Lift Bridge [in Duluth, MN] to shreds.

The waves were coming over the pier walls last night. The sidewalks were full of water/slush and ice was growing on everything the water could touch. It was really "cool". . . and windy.

Twins Spring Baseball

from flickr user Big League Stew
Minnesota Twins defensive coordinator Joel Lepel, right, and Ryan Maloney hit infield fungos for early arriving players at the Minnesota Twins spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla., Monday, Feb. 14, 2011. Pitchers and catchers arrive later in the week for spring training.

Path to More Snow

from flickr user monolight
The photographer says:
Took this with the Holga while out walking on a beautiful day in William O'Brian State Park.

Minnehaha Falls

from flickr user feltphoto1
As of Sunday -- and probably for the foreseeable future -- the Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis remain frozen and are an attractive place for intrepid photographers to venture behind the frozen falls and capture the vivid blue color of the ice and the suspended animation of the falls. Call it blue ice but this scene seems to be a must-see every winter.

Stone Arch Bridge

from flickr user Light The Underground
This perspective nicely captures the length of the Stone Arch Bridge with the nighttime lights of Minneapolis as a backdrop.

Is that Big Foot?

from flickr user Truth and Soul
The hunched posture, the dark fur (or clothes)...? Sure, it might look like Big Foot, photographed right here in Minnesota's north woods, but it's actually an intrepid Minnesotan doing some snowshoeing.

Not-so-Hollow Rock

from flickr user KarenR-TB
This little "island" is called Hollow Rock and is located just south of Grand Portage, Minnesota. However, I understand that a storm pushed ice and snow into the "hollow" earlier this winter and closed it off. It is a beautiful place to shoot...and if anyone is interested, they have added a few new cabins to the Resort - a wonderful getaway.

Redemption

from flickr user Dave Linscheid
If you aren't a person of faith, this photo might just be the ticket to change your beliefs. The small patch of light through a hole in the cloud cover shining on to this statuary makes for an almost religious experience.

Ice beacon

from flickr user mb_wen
As snow finally began to melt in the southern half of Minnesota, the north shore of Lake Superior was still a chilly and windy block of ice as evidenced by this photo of some ragged ice on our state's largest lake.

Moody in Minnesota

from flickr user AG3NCY
I think it's the industrial feel of this retro-toned photo that caught my eye and took me from considering it to posting it here. The flares hitting the lens and the combination of powerlines and bridge structure make for a pleasing photo.

Showing Off

from flickr user Mully410 * Images
Fire Spinners at the City of Lakes Luminary Loppet on Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Feb 5, 2011.

Hoar Frost Sunrise

from flickr user Dave Berryman
The photographer says: I worked the night shift and knew we might have fog during the night; it’s very cold right now so throw in fog and you get some very beautiful Hoar Frost filled mornings Add to that a crazy sunrise and you end up with a picture like this!

Hudson hot air affair

from flickr user Turn To Clear Vision
Would you think that it's crazy to venture up in a hot air balloon anywhere near the Twin Cities in the middle of February. Last Saturday these brave sould did just that and from what I've heard, the heat used to keep the balloon aloft takes at least some of the chill off.

City of Lakes Loppet Skijoring Event

from flickr user ShelleyJ
Held in Minneapolis this past weekend, the City of Lakes Loppet had an excellent run of weather perfect for skiing.

Cyclist in Fog

from flickr user DigitalObserver
A heavy fog descended over Rochester Saturday morning. This young man was speeding on ahead of us, and nearly lost his balance around the curve ahead.

Late Night Cheese

from flickr user austins
In my twenty-plus years of living on southeastern Minnesota I only passed through the small town of Pine Island a handful of times and never recall seeing this glowingly lit Pine Island Cheese Company building. Nice find!

Parasolitude

from flickr user LeicaNokota
Baker Park Reserve part of Three Rivers Park system.
Umbrella frame at Lake Independence beach

Trailers

from flickr user [the] printer
Kudos to anyone who can make a rather artistic photo from what others would consider a mundane setting of semi trailers in a vast parking lot. Maybe it's the saturated colors or maybe it's the slightly off kilter road but this photo just works for me.

Stranded on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive

from flickr user Diario El Carabobeño
Hundreds of cars are seen stranded on Lake Shore Drive Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 in Chicago. A winter blizzard of historic proportions wobbled an otherwise snow-tough Chicago, stranding hundreds of drivers for up to 12 hours overnight on the city's showcase lakeshore thoroughfare and giving many city schoolchildren their first ever snow day.

Lake Shore Drive in the Blizzard

from flickr user metroblossom
Chicago's Lake Shore Drive entirely filled with snow and some abandoned, snow-covered cars left in the aftermath of the Great Blizzard of 2011 which spread snow, ice, winds and sub-zero temperatures from New Mexico to New York City. Yes, those people walking are doing so on the concrete median barriers.

Chicago Snowstorm 2011

from flickr user jerkier
The great blizzard of 2011 has officially hit Chicago as this photo shows. After scanning through some National Weather Service reports from around Chicago there are plenty of reports of 18 inches of snow and 6-8 foot drifts. Impressive to say the least and this John Deere Gator making its way past a Marshall Field's store shows just what Chicago is up against.

frozen over in Indiana

from flickr user tara_tearex
This partially nude female Indiana student braved the ice-covered grass to take this side by side self portrait alongside a frozen river to chronicle the glazing of ice coating nearly every surface in Indiana and other portions of the country's middle section. Click here for more photos of the great blizzard of 2011.

Frozen Campus in Illinois

from flickr user jay grabiec
Photo from the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois on Tuesday, February 1, 2011. Classes were cancelled because of icy conditions. Click here to see photos from other states hit my the great blizzard of 2011.

Boonville, Missouri Blizzard of 2011

from flickr user robertstinnett
Photo from Boonville, Missouri during the "great blizzard of 2011". Check here for more from each state snowed in.

Oklahoma Snow Storm 2011

from flickr user Chuck Foxen
With a major snowstorm "paralyzing" a vast swath of the nation, my curiousity got the best of me and I found this photo taken in Oklahoma (Oklahoma City?) mere minutes ago. The drifts in this alley look to be no worse than what we'd experience here in Minnesota during a typical snowstorm.

Art sled rally

from flickr user Ren
Is it a Viking ship? Is it a sled? Or is it both? The Art Sled Rally at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis on Sunday drew quite a crowd of folks willing to potentially make their way down a snow-covered hill on anything that will slide.