The first colors to change each autumn are the leaves of underbrush. Look to the small plants and bushes occupying the forest floor below the tree canopy, along trail edges, lake shorelines, and in ditches. The colors can be as varied and striking as tree leaves – yellow, gold, orange,  red, maroon and bronze. Just remember to direct your gaze down.

See suggested Fall Color Drives & Hikes and get the weekly Fall Color Report, starting Sep. 9th.

Colors start with a leaf, a streak of orange, or an occasional tree, isolated and red. This is the season of the maple in the valleys behind the headlands rising out of Lake Superior. You will find the best maple colors from about Split Rock Lighthouse northeast up the shore. The ridge line is one to two miles inland from Highway 61.

See suggested Fall Color Drives & Hikes and get the weekly Fall Color Report, starting Sep. 9th.

Canada geese migrate south because they need open water for food and as a place of refuge from predators. They fly at 40 mph, but can reach 70 mph with a good tailwind. They fly in a V formation with each bird a bit higher than the one in front. Some speculate the lead goose breaks wind and allows the others to draft. Do you know why one side of the V is longer than the other? More birds on that side.

Upcoming events and courses at North House Folk School

September
2-6 :: Build Thoreau’s Cabin
3 :: Needle Felted Critters online class
3 :: Intro to Wood Fired Baking
4 :: Intro to Wood Fired Baking
3-6 :: Intro to Floor Loom Weaving
4-6 :: Beginning Hallingdal Rosemaling
9-13 :: Mechanical Marvels in Wood
10 :: Needle Felted Critters online class
10 :: Intro to Wood Fired Baking
11 :: Intro to Wood Fired Baking
11-13 :: Rug Hooking Designs – Patterns from Nature
11-13 :: Celestial Navigation
12 :: Saami Inspired Four Braid Bracelet online class
15:: Harvest & Weaving with Cattails online class
15-17 :: Bowl Carving with Axe, Adze and Gouge
15-17 :: Rag Rug Weaving for Beginners
16 :: Artisan Cheesemaking online class
17 :: Using Invasive Species as Natural Dyes
17:: Needle Felted Critters online class
17 :: Exploring Canister Design with the Ancient Shrink Pot Technique online class
18-19 :: Unplugged 2020 – Bring it Home, an online Fundraising event and concert
19 :: Saami Knitted Mittens online class
21-24 :: Viking Era Smelting
22-29 :: Basket Week
22-24 :: Red Osier Dogwood Frame Basket
23 :: Building Muzzleloaders: An Introduction online class
24 :: Painting with Wool: Flower Fantasy online class
25 :: Handsewn Leather Shoulder Bag online class
26-28 :: Winter Bark Folded Baskets
26-29 :: Birch Bark Large Tote
27 :: Craft of Sail
30 – Oct 4 :: Fall Equinoz Photography Session

Find detail on the North House website.

Workshops, opportunities and events

September
5-6 :: Drawing with Pastel: Hummingbird
5-6 :: Memory and Poetry
7-11 :: Develop Your Artistic Potential
11- 12 :: Animal Mobiles
11-13 :: Memoir and Yoga
11-13 :: Changing Colors with Woodblock Prints
19-20 :: Print: Towels and Cards
291-20 :: The Poetry of Plein Air
21-25 :: Carborundum and Collagraph Printmaking
26-27 :: Exploring Gouache and Mixed-media
28-Oct 2 :: Write What Haunts You virtual class
30-Oct 3 :: Deep Dive

Check our site for additional information

Plein air [French for outdoors] is the act of painting outdoors. Join the JHP Art Gallery with the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota for an outdoor painting competition in Cook County. Enjoy watching artists from afar while they paint for a week. The artwork will then be displayed at the JHP Art Gallery as well as online

Competition
September 11 – 18

Quick Paint
September 17, 3-5pm

Online FB Opening Reception
September 18, 5-6pm

Exhibition
September 18 – October 10
The Gallery is open Fridays from 1 – 4 pm & Saturdays from 10 am – 2 pm.

Each fall thousands of raptors migrate south toward nesting grounds and/or better food sources. The North Shore is one of the best places in North America to view this migration. While kestrels and hawks begin their southern journey in mid-August, the peak of the big bird fly over is mid-September to late October.

Species include Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Golden Eagle, American Kestrel, Merlin, and Peregrine Falcon, [pictured here].

Viewing Tip
Head out on a day with northwest winds which concentrate the birds down the shoreline. West winds are almost as effective in concentrating the flock movements. South and east winds produce fewer birds, but they often fly lower and are easier to spot.

Bring binoculars and head to the high point in the area – usually a ridge line, typically a mile or so inland from Highway 61. Hawk Ridge in Duluth is the quintessential [and busiest] place to see the migration. They give daily bird counts and have more info about the migration.

As the maple colors peak and fade, the birch and poplar and tamarack turn yellow, creating a second golden fall color season. You will find these colors right along the Highway 61 corridor and just inland, especially from Duluth to Split Rock Lighthouse.

See suggested Fall Color Drives & Hikes and get the weekly Fall Color Report, starting Sep. 9th.

Plein air [French for outdoors] is the act of painting outdoors. Join the JHP Art Gallery for the exhibit of the autumn Plein Air Exhibit. The artwork will then be displayed at the JHP Art Gallery as well as online.

The Gallery is open
Fridays from 1 – 4 pm
Saturdays from 10 am – 2 pm.

Fall Studio Tour

Fall in Cook County is a time of tumultuous beauty, so take some time to explore the colors and meet artists during the Fall Studio Tour!  Stops include home studios as well as galleries with guest artists. Some of the tour stops may not be open to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Check for last minute updates. 

All locations open to the public will be open from 10am-5pm daily for the duration of the tour.  Masks are required and some studios may limit occupancy. 

An online component to the tour has been added because of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you can’t make the tour in person, visit the artist and gallery websites linked in this directory. The websites show and describe the art, and many offer online buying options, or contact information for phone sales.

Download the Brochure and Map

True hibernators’ body temps drop, their heart beat slows, and they don’t ‘wake up’ when prodded or exposed to loud noises. Black bears, chipmunks, snakes, frogs, toads and some turtles hibernate. Other mammals go into torpor, a state of deep, temporary sleep from which they wake to eat, drink, release waste.

Learn more about bear hibernation.

3 beautiful courses this year: the 100 mile with 50+ miles of remote gravel road; the challenging and scenic 55 mile; and the ‘introductory’ 20 mile course.

Properly worn face masks required

All of our vendors are local and offer ::