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A mood-lifting look at the signs of spring in Minnesota

Melting ice and flower buds: Star Tribune staff photographer Brian Peterson captures the changing seasons.

By Brian Peterson

April 25, 2020 at 5:03PM

It's not a season. It's a moment. A glance. You see it, then something changes — the clouds obscure a shaft of sunlight, a gust of wind ripples the surface of the water, it starts to rain (or snow) again — and it's gone.

That's early spring in Minnesota. And that's exactly what staff photographer Brian Peterson captured. From Caribou Lake north of Duluth to the banks of Mississippi River in Minneapolis to Whitetail Woods Regional Park in Lakeville, he discovered simple, often overlooked sights. Whether it was the grace of a pasque flower breaking through the snow (above) at Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area in Cottage Grove, or a resilient oak leaf melting the ice on Schulze Lake in Eagan, he trained his camera lens on the beauty on display, however briefly, in our most mercurial season.


One of the first flowers to emerge in spring are the Pasque Flowers. With their fuzzy winter coats to protect them from late spring snow and ice. This Pasque Flower reaches for the warming sun, emerging through the fresh Easter snowfall at Central Park in Bloomington.
One of the first flowers to emerge in spring are the Pasque Flowers. With their fuzzy winter coats to protect them from late spring snow and ice. This Pasque Flower reaches for the warming sun, emerging through the fresh Easter snowfall at Central Park in Bloomington. (Kevin Martin — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Brian Peterson

Photographer

Brian Peterson has been a staff photographer at the Star Tribune for 0ver 30 years and has focused his attention most recently on professional sports and the many environmental issues affecting Minnesotans. Peterson has also photographed five winter and summer Olympic Games, the Superbowl and both Twins World Series victories.

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