Woolly Bear Caterpillars

   

Woolly Bear Caterpillars: Winter Predictors?   Click on the link for an interesting story from The Old Farmer's Almanac. 

Trumpeter Swans, Hummers, and Water Conservation

I didn't realize how long it had been since the last time I posted. It's been a busy, and all too quickly passing summer.

We finally were able to execute our Capstone Project for the Minnesota Master Naturalist Program. We spent the day with 18 K-5 students. I was utterly terrified going into it, but we had a wonderful day. Our focus was on trees and learning to observe our surroundings. In the afternoon I had them do an exercise that I experienced in my first Ecology class in high school. I marked off 5 x 5 areas on the grass using popsicle sticks and yarn. Before they went out I had them close their eyes and listen to see how many different sounds they could hear in the room. Then after a brief explanation, I had the students go outside and see how many different life forms they could observe in their 5 x 5 area. Anything from rocks, to roots, to dirt – – and whether it was wet or dry, how many different kinds of grasses and what state the grasses were in, bugs, seeds, etc. They were quite surprised at how many forms of life there were in such a tiny little ecosystem. I never forgot this exercise, and it was so much fun to be able to pass it along. Most of the other information for the day camp came from Project Learning Tree curriculum. It's an amazing organization that brings the interactive study of trees into the classroom, with an emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).

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I have been learning more and more about my surroundings. There have been so many creatures that I have been unable to identify, or catch with a camera. They are part of my memory only now.

I no longer mindlessly kill small bugs that land on me. Instead I try to take a look at them in hopes of identifying them and learning what their part is in the Circle of Life. There's so much going on around us and yet we're so unaware of most of it. It's all so mesmerizing to me and such a comfort to my soul. Now, instead of mindlessly swatting a  pest, I blow it off or shoo it away. It is a part of the food chain – – somebody's lunch. Just being aware of them gives me a whole new perspective. Now don't get me wrong here: if a mosquito lands on me, it is definitely survival of the fittest, and that sucker will meet its maker. :-)

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Down by the Basspond Trail on the edge of a wetland area was a patch of beautiful yellow orange flowers that I came to discover are called Jewelweed. (https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1431/#b) This Fall during the migration they were covered with Hummingbirds. Dozens of them. I would go down mid-evenings and watch them. They were so much fun, flying around from flower to flower and dive bombing each other.  Also, about the same time of the day the deer would come out from the Basspond to cross the road and head into the woods for the evening, lingering long enough to eat some of the grasses along the way. It was a magical, peaceful time of the day for me. The Hummingbird migration lasted about two weeks. I was sad to see them go.

On my way out of town recently, there was standing water in a field and in the middle of it were probably 8 to 10 Trumpeter Swans. (Images of Minnesota Trumpeter Swans) Trumpeter Swans were nearly extinct in Minnesota but have made a comeback. (Visions of Swans article) It was fun to see them, and they were still there on the way back three hours later.

We had a family of Coopers Hawks living in the neighborhood this late summer. I spent an afternoon tilted back in my wheelchair watching them learn to fly from branch to branch, and boy were they mouthy. There were three juveniles and one parent that I could see. They all flew the coop the last week of September. It's pretty quiet now, and I miss them.

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Starting October 8, 2018 I will be doing advanced training in water conservation. I will be assisting in developing a training program for Minnesota Master Naturalists and others. Most of the work will be done online, with a six-hour in-service in November to refine the program. I'm really looking forward to it.

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Autumn is upon us here in Minnesota and the leaves are starting to turn. These photos are from 2017.

This is always a bittersweet time for me. I love Autumn but I know what comes after and it's very difficult for me to get out into nature after the snow flies.

If you go out to rake your leaves please be conscious, especially here in my hometown of Hutchinson, that everything that goes onto the road and down the drains goes directly into the Crow River, which feeds into the Minnesota River, which then feeds into the Mississippi River and reaches all the way to the Gulf Coast. What we do here affects everyone all the way down to the Gulf and beyond. Please be very aware, and try to keep your leaves out of the gutters. I read recently that the Crow River is flagged by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency due to pollutants. Among other things, there is a high level of Mercury in the fish, which I discovered is mostly from the air. I will be looking into this, it has me very curious.

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As the warm season comes to an end here in the upper Midwest, I find myself a bit emotional, but I know another Spring is not far behind. After Nature has had a chance to rest she'll be reborn in all her glory yet again, and I'll be back out amongst it all, enjoying once again, My Beautiful River.

The Ney Nature Center/Minneopa State Park Field Trip-Part 1

Due to bad weather, my Minnesota Master Naturalist class had to make up a field trip, so we went to the Ney Nature Center in Henderson, Minnesota first, and then on to Minneopa State Park near Mankato, Minnesota.

NEY HOMESTEAD 

At the Ney nature Center we learned a lot about how trees were used in construction in the very early settler days, and how structures were built by hand, what it would have taken, and what the early settlers endured. We also got a sense of what the land was like in the late 1800s.. 

The little cabin that we were in is believed to be the first cabin built in what would later be known as Le Sueur County.  Minnesota was not yet a state and was known as The Minnesota Territory. That part of the state was still considered The Big Woods, so the most available material to build with was wood. The speaker estimated that it took approximately nine months to build an approximately  10'X14' cabin. You have to remember that Minnesota really only has about six months of decent weather,  if we are lucky. Their struggles were many, for while living out of a covered wagon, they were cutting trees with axes, shaping them with hand tools, and hoisting them manually. At the same time they would have needed to plant, nurture, harvest, and sell a crop. There were insects, famine, fires, blizzards, tornadoes, floods, and uneasy experiences with the stewards of the lands they were usurping - the Dakota People.

What those Europeans did was courageous, and they suffered greatly. They did what they knew...for good or bad...  All peoples suffered during that era. Their descendants are trying to bring reconciliation, healing. It will take time, understanding, patience, and the ability to listen, hear, and accept very differing world views.

POND CRITTERS

After the speaker at the Ney Homestead, we hiked down to a small pond and did an exercise where we scooped water into white bottomed buckets. What we saw was awe-inspiring: a pre"pond"erance of creatures and species of plant life unlike anything I've ever seen. A mere microcosm of a much larger ecosystem. Tadpoles, Damselflies, minnows. There was one with a name something like Backstroke Beatle, and it looked like it was doing just that. 

Shakespeare wrote: 

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. "
- Hamlet (1.5.167-8) Hamlet o Horatio.

 

Boy are there.

CATERPILLAR!

On our trek back to our cars, we came upon this little one. This is a Linden Looper Moth Caterpillar. This fine young one was also my first decent observation for iNaturalst, and said observation reached research grade. I know your eyes are glazing over from my nauralist geekiness, but my fellow geeks get it. :)

This is what it will grow up to be.

Photo from The Bug Guide Website

In Part 2 we'll talk waterfalls, Grosbeaks, and Bisson.

..June Begins

May 30 went out like a lion in my hometown. We had a severe storm with straight-line winds and downbursts, including a wind gust of 69 miles per hour. Many large and old trees went down such as the one in the photo below. It suffered damage in a store many years ago and yet a good portion of it had survived, but this time it took the whole thing. I'm sure the tree was well over 100 years old.

Here's the latest time-lapse photos of what I've come to call the Stearnswood Prairie. Stearns wood is the name of the business in the background. This spot is between  Stearnswood and the trail running along the river.

MAY 5, 2018

MAY 10

 MAY 20, 2018

JUNE 1

On one end of this Prairie is a little pothole that was mowed flat earlier this spring.

 MAY 20, 2018

JUNE 1, 2018

JUNE 2 AFTER THE RAIN 

Came across this little one on the trail. I believe it's a teeny tiny painted turtle, with some pond scum on his back. I'm not sure it was even the size of a quarter. At first I thought it was just a leaf blowing across the trail until I got closer. I stayed by it until a kind gentleman came by to help me move it across, because I guarantee you it would have been squished by a bike if we hadn't. Hopefully it will live to see another day. When he picked it up, that little one sure was ready and raring to go.

Some of these beauties along the trail as well.

Mother's Day

Spent Mother's Day fishing at the lake with a 4 year old, his very pregnant momma, and his beloved aunt.  The temperature was in the low 70s, light breeze, bright sun, very few bugs--a perfect day in The Land of 10,000+ Lakes.

The lake was posted for invasive species.

Just a bit of trivia: Earthworms are NOT native to Minnesota. They are actually considered an invasive species.

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The remnants of the neighborhood Pileated Woodpecker's hard work

Prairie grass restoration 1st week of May 2018

May 13, 2018

Had a wonderful discovery today--a Brown Bat hanging on a tree

The neighborhood Cottontail hoping I wouldn't see it.

It was beautiful out there today. The lakes must have opened up because the water birds were scarce on the river today.  

Some of these I took to put on iNaturalist.


Wild Turkey inside the wildlife sanctuary. He almost showed his full colors. Sorry about the rough footage. Not the best camera. Hopefully I'll get better with time.

Anyone recognize these?

A tough sight today. She was lying under my favorite tree. She wasn't there yesterday evening. There was no sign of predation. She was either pregnant or had just had her babies. Either way it was very sad.

This is an area that they're trying to restore to original prairie.  They just cut back all the dead growth. These two Oaks they left. I hope to take pictures of this spot as it progresses through the year.

Today's Views From My Wheelchair

I may have to rename my blog. LOL

I've been trying to figure out how to use a site called iNaturalist. https://www.inaturalist.org/  It allows you to enter your nature observations, and helps you make identifications. All observations have the potential to become research data. It's not the most user-friendly site but I'm not giving up. If you want to follow my observations, my username is Dreamweaver.

The local retired florist turned his front yard into a flower garden. When we scootered by today, it was a carpet of blue and white (flowers yet to be identified) playing host to a plethora of bees. Unfortunately they did not show up on the video. 

Found this one sunning itself along the Luce Line River Trail. It's a Garter Snake. It's non-venomous.

I'm trying to identify this tree. Can anyone help?

Tamarack?