Found four tiny monarch caterpillars on a single Swamp Milkweed blossom

Morning Cloak Butterfly spotted

Prairie Ninebark in the front yard

The local bees and butterflies seem to love it.

Monarchs Spotted

Numerous monarchs spotted on Sunshine Trail. Tent Caterpillars seem to be out in force as well. Wonder how much of this is due to the warm spring and the recent wet weather. Ravens heard (but not yet seen) lately around Linwood Township. Unusual as they generally stick north.

Black Cherry Tree in Bloom

Tiger Swallowtail seen feeding on some nectar-rich serviceberry blossoms down the road.

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.

Warm, 70s, a bit humid, patches of fog. Counted three Monarch caterpillars in the front garden this morning.

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.

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

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.

More Monarchs than a British tea party out in the garden. They seem particularly keen on the Swamp Milkweed, which is flourishing with all the rain.

Some fantastic storms yesterday; Sweet Joe Pye Weed is all ahoo, and there were rumors of tornado clouds throughout the state, though thankfully no known damage or injuries. Humid and partly sunny today, currently hovering around 80.

Red Admiral "Puddling" on Weed Whacker

Interesting. Just saw a Red Admiral butterfly "puddling" (gathering minerals or other nutrients from from dirt/sand/feces) on theweed whacker hanging in our garage. Was extremely single-minded about it, sat "licking" the plastic shroud with its tongue even as I took pictures from eight inches away.

Red Admiral butterfly on Butterflyweed.

Hot (90's-90's), humid, sporadic rain every few days. Woodland Sunflower in bloom, Blazing Star, Woodland Goldenrod about to pop. Butterflies more and more common; have seen two Red Admirals flying circles around one another, both Monarchs and Red Admirals on various Milkweeds.

Wildlife Spotted

• 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 Admiral Butterfly
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Squirrel, Grey

Natives in Bloom:

• Butterfly weed
• Early Meadowrue
• Glade Mallow
• Harebell
• Spiderwort
• Swamp Milkweed
• Woodland Sunflower

Glade Mallow now in bloom. Swamp Milkweed exploding in more shaded back, still not blooming in front. Milkweed Beetles and Monarch caterpillars both spotted. Storms constantly sweeping over twin cities, at least one every other day. Butterflyweed and Common Milkweed about to pop.

Wildlife Spotted

• 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
• Monarch Caterpillar
• Nuthatch
• Purple Finch
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Squirrel, Grey

Natives in Bloom:

• Blue flag Iris
• Early Meadowrue
• Glade Mallow
• Harebell
• Spiderwort
• Swamp Buttercup
• Swamp Milkweed

Skipper butterfly on Swamp Milkweed

70's, humid with regular bouts of rain. Swamp Milkweed exploding into bloom alongside Early meadowrue. First Monarch caterpillar of the year spotted, along with the first milkweed beetles.

Two monarchs, first of the year, spotted in the garden. Likely hatched nearby, as their wings are extremely fresh and they seemed a bit awkward at flight. Odd to have it so late; wondering if there is some sort of correlation between the recent streak of warm temps (80's with high humdity).

Stormclouds in Stacy, MN


Storms yesterday and throughout the morning, overcast sky and the almost constant din of thunder followed by a bout of sunshine that have pushed the temperature into the humid 80's. Swamp milkweed, that solid symbol of summer, is taking to seed, while more typical autumn flowers like Goldenrod and Sweet Joe Pye Weed are starting to bloom. Turtlehead grown taller than in past years, and looks like it will pop within the next week or so.



Still no Monarch caterpillars, though I did catch a glimpse of a butterfly in the front garden this morning. Something building a nest in one of our oaks; looks to be a robin's nest, but won't know until I catch sight of the bird.

Wildlife Spotted:

• Black-capped Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Canadian Goose
• Chipmunk, Eastern
• Cottontail Rabbit
• Goldfinch
• Grey Squirrel
• Nuthatch
• Sandhill Crane
• Squirrel, Grey
• Turkey Vulture

Natives in Bloom:

• Butterfly weed
• Compass Plant
• Harebell
• Spiderwort
• Swamp Milkweed
• Sweet Joe Pye Weed
• Wild Bergamot
• Woodland Goldenrod

Young Eastern Bluebirds in bluebird house Saturday

Well, the Early Meadowrue is fading, the Glade Mallow is quickly going out, the Swamp Milkweed is in its prime, and the Butterfly weed is just starting to burst. Sad to say we haven't seen any Monarch caterpillars on our milkweed yet this year. Usually they hang around for weeks.

Also, save for the single Tree Frog, no frogs in the pond, though we weren't technically filled with water until mid-June. While we're getting a little rain, it's been extremely dry lately; White Bear Lake is said to be down over six feet.

Wildlife Spotted:

• Baltimore Oriole
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Canadian Goose
• Chipmunk, Eastern
• Chorus Frog
• Cottontail Rabbit
• Eastern Bluebird
• Goldfinch
• Grey Squirrel
• Northern Cardinal
• Nuthatch
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Sandhill Crane
• Squirrel, Grey
• Turkey Vulture

Wildflowers in Bloom:

• Butterfly weed
• Glade Mallow
• Harebell
• Spiderwort
• Swamp Milkweed