Enormous bumblebees seen in the Wild Bergamot

Temps only in the 70's.  What an unusual summer.

Weather's highly suspect.  Two weeks ago we had snow.  Today we have 97 degree temperatures and a fire warning.

First Oriole of the Year Spotted

Frogs strident lately, though I believe that with the drop in temperatures (only 49.5 at the moment) and the gusty winds we're having they will be quiet this evening.

Carlos Avery is Ridiculously Dry

Hopefully we get some rain this evening.

Over 90 degrees in the shade today. Thistle feeder draining faster than my 401k.

Hazy summer weekend.   Sandhill Cranes and ravens both very vocal this week.  Also heard loons  and wood ducks and spotted mallards nesting in the flooded roadside ditches.

Dry Spell on the Sunrise River's Pretty Well Over

Trumpeter Swans

Spotted a pair near Stacy, MN that seemed to be travelling in a flock of Canadian Geese. Sandhill Cranes extremely vocal. While the morning was cloudy and in the 40's, temps seem to be picking up as the sun comes out. Cleaned out the bluebird houses, anticipate they'll be arriving early just as everything else is this year.

Wood Ducks scoping out potential nests in Circle Pines, MN. Cooler. Fewer chorus frogs, but Spring Peepers still heard sporadically.

A photo of what I believe to be a flock of coots in Carlos Avery. Unusually (and I emphasize the un part of usually) warm. Temps in the 60's.

Heard the first spring peepers and sandhill cranes yesterday. Peepers strident this evening as the first storm hits. Unusually warm&humid.

The leaves are already starting to turn due to the recent cold snap that has temps overnight in the 50s. Mostly it's just the sugar maples turning; Sumac are already almost gone.

Monarchs sometimes choose odd places to coccoon.

Humid again -- and rainy. Low 80's. Butterfly weed and Wild Berhamot have both petered out. Milkweed beetle eggs and young seen on Swamp Milkweed. Turtlehead and Showy Goldenrod almost ready to pop. Sandhill Cranes heard in the fields.

Rainy most fo the past few days, then windy Saturday and today. Cooler temps... almost like fall. Goldenrod in the woods exploding into bloom, and the Red Admirals are all over them. Counter seven on them at once point.

High 80's, very muggy. Almost like a broth outside. Storms yesterday, light rain today.

Lots of Monarch caterpillars on the milkweed outside, and loads of small, plain yellow butterflies seen all over the cities. Glade Mallow finally petered out, while Butterfly Weed is still holding on.

Loons heard on the local lakes, and wife spotted our first hummingbird. Counted eight young tree frogs on the window in the evening.

Both Creeping Charlie and Crabgrass are rampant this year. Have had to use chemicals to try to get rid of them.

Like a rain forest this morning; oppressively muggy with a cumulus cloud of fog over everything north of Hugo. Rain much of Sunday and all but a few hours yesterday. Temps in the 90s yesterday with the dewpoint in the upper 70s towards evening. Expected to be in the 90s today as well.

Muggy, raining. Woodland Goldenrod coming into their own; the golden clusters blazing into bloom and rolling like a fire slowly inwards towards their tall stems.

Saw turkeys out with their young along Stacy Rd, and several Sandhill cranes out in the fields along 61.

The name is almost unromantic

Cooler, less humid, 80's.

A number of native wildflowers coming into their own this week, including Sweet Joe Pye Weed, Ironweed, Sneezeweed, and Tall Boneset. Bumblebees seem prevalent this year. Have seen more of them than wasps and yellow jackets combined. Monarchs remain common. Though I haven't seen any Red Admirals lately, my wife spotted a Tiger Swallowtail.

Wildlife Spotted this week:

• American Toad
• Baltimore Oriole
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Canadian Goose
• Chipmunk, Eastern
• Cottontail Rabbit
• Downy Woodpecker
• Eastern Bluebird
• Goldfinch
• Gray Tree Frog
• Green Frog
• Grey Squirrel
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Loon
• Monarch Butterfly
• Monarch Caterpillar
• Nuthatch
• Purple Finch
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Squirrel, Grey
• Tiger Swallowtail

Natives in Bloom:

• Brown-eyed Susan
• Butterfly weed
• Dotted Blazing Star
• Glade Mallow
• Harebell
• Ironweed
• Purple Coneflower
• Purple Prairie Clover
• Sneezeweed
• Spiderwort
• Swamp Milkweed
• Sweet Joe Pye Weed
• Tall Boneset
• Wild Bergamot
• Woodland Sunflower

Dark skies overhead, and lots of activity on the radar. Winds whipping by from the W at 30+ MPH, with small grey to charcoal clouds scudding away from the body of the storm. Was a very humid 88 earlier today, seems to have plummeted into the 70s.

Blazing star and Purple Prairie Clover both exploding into bloom this week. Wild Bergamot going strong. Swamp Milkweed and Butterflyweed starting to slowly peter out. Joe Pye Weed and Forest Goldenrod is just about ready to pop. Heavy seems to have brought on the early maturation of many of these plants; remember years back that Joe Pye Weed was not blooming until late September.

Monarchs seen almost all daylight hours on the various milkweeds. Seen several caterpillars as well, and assuming there will be a second generation population boost in the following weeks. Seem to be many more bumblebees than in past years.