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.