The mosquitos in Linwood Forest moved like cumulus. Must be all the standing water.

Some pictures from this past week:

Nodding Beggar's Tick on the Linwood Trail


Was working around the pond this morning when I saw a frog leap out of the water, nab a grasshopper sitting on a leaf near the pond's surface, and dive back down. Though it's warm these days, with temps in the 80's, it is feeling a lot more like Autumn.

Saw a Turkey Vulture picking at road kill on the Stacy side of Carlos Avery today. Thought it was a crow from a distance, until we came up close and noticed that it was larger than even a hawk.

Linwood Trail's majorly overgrown. They must only tend it during the school year. Saw quite a few frogs and toads, as well as grasshoppers, cicadas, and a Pileated Woodpecker. Rough Blazing Star was in bloom, as were Nodding Beggar's Tick. Sneezeweed was reduced to a yellow puffball, as it is at home.

Still a few Monarch Caterpillars and Butterflies in the garden.

Garden Report:

Wildlife Spotted:

• American Toad
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Chorus Frog
• Cottontail Rabbit
• Crow, Common
• Goldfinch
• Gray Catbird
• Gray Squirrel
• Green Frog
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Leopard Frog
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Cardinal
• Nuthatch
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Red Squirrel
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Robin, American
• Turkey Vulture
• Virginia Opossum
• Wood Frog

In Bloom:

• Brown-eyed Susan
• Butterfly weed
• Elm-leafed Goldenrod
• Harebell
• Leadplant
• Prairie Onion
• Purple Coneflower
• Sweet Joe Pye Weed
• Turtlehead
• Woodland Sunflower

Leopard Frog at William O'Brian State Park

Some phenology to note at William O'Brian State Park. Monarchs everywhere at William O'Brian today; saw a caterpillar on a stand of Swamp Milkweed and seven or eight butterflies between the prairie plantings and bog; one hanging almost drunkenly off a stand of Rough Blazing Star. Frogs were also making themselves known; saw several Green Frogs and a Leopard on the trail itself. Saw a Turkey Vulture circling high over the swamps and bogs.

Beaver Lodge at William O'Brian

Water in the beaver pond was way down, and the beavers' lodge covered in more vegetation than I've seen in summers past. Likely due to the lower water levels and bog-like conditions in the soil and detritus atop the lodge.

Flowers we spotted included Woodland Sunflower, several varieties of Goldenrods and Asters, Sneezeweed, Culver's Root, some monstrous stands of Arrowhead, Rough Blazing Star, Brown-eyed Susan, White Water Lily, and Harebell.

Garden Report

Wildlife Spotted:

• American Toad
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Chorus Frog
• Cottontail Rabbit
• Crow, Common
• Goldfinch
• Gray Catbird
• Gray Squirrel
• Green Frog
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Leapord Frog
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Cardinal
• Nuthatch
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Red Squirrel
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Robin, American
• Virginia Opossum
• Wood Frog

Natives in Bloom:

• Brown-eyed Susan
• Butterfly weed
• Elm-leafed Goldenrod
• Harebell
• Leadplant
• Prairie Onion
• Purple Coneflower
• Sneezeweed
• Swamp Milkweed
• Sweet Joe Pye Weed
• Turtlehead
• Wild Bergamot
• Woodland Sunflower

Blueberry Flowers seen in Linwood Community Park and School Forest

We took a walk Saturday evening (somewhat out of order here) in Linwood School Forest. Fat cumulus clouds of mosquitos drifting across the wetlands(a feast for the vocal Tree Frogs, American Toads, and Chorus Frogs), but the hills were less infested.

Sweet White Violets seen in Linwood Community Park and School Forest

Stands of blueberry and clusters of tiny Sweet White Violets seen from the boardwalk that crosses the bog near the middle of the park. St. Solomon's Seal blooming sporadically in the wetlands, while Wild Geraniums, interspersed by the occasional Columbine, Canada Anemone, Rue Anemone, or Wild Sasparilla could be seen in the hills. Flowers in this forest do not occur in the large clusters you'd see in William O'Brian or even Pine Point Park in Stillwater, but these forests are much more densely packed, and there's not nearly as much sun let in by the intrusion of hiking trails or bike paths.

Pasque Flower seedhead

First flower of the year goes out of bloom in the pond garden; the Purple Pasque Flower has officially gone to seed.

Wild weather yesterday in the North Metro. Hugo saw deadly tornadoes and Forest Lake, less than ten minutes down the I35 corridor, saw torrential hail. All we got was a noncommital burst of dime-sized hail and a few hours of Dish TV fuzz. Temps in the mid-upper sixties today with overcast skies and a cool breeze; supposed to be dipping into the thirties tonight with the possibility of frost!


Landscape at William O'Brian State Park

We took a trip to William O'Brian State Park today with the dog. William O'Brian was the first places I really realized just how fluid life is. In their wake, the glaciers leave left a litter of boulders. Over years, water erodes a strean just wide enough for pine needles, oak leaves, dead bugs, or bird doo to dam it. Moss latches on to this organic detritus, preventing erosion and making way for small plants and trees, which eventually grow and cover the lifeless rock; a small-scale analogy for our planet.


Stream running through William O'Brian State Park

Interesting hike, though the combination of a skittish dog and overcast skies made it somewhat less conducive for photography. Tree swallows are everywhere now; performing their acrobatics over the wetlands and ponds, sitting on the wires near the restored prairie or atop their houses by the visitor's center. You can tell Spring is fading; not a Marsh Marigold to be found (though their foliage (as seen above) is still quite prevalent in areas of moving water), and the calls of the peepers have already died out.

Wildlife Spotted at William O'Brian:

• American Toad
• Chorus Frog
• Painted Turtle
• Robin
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Ring-necked Pheasant
• Swamp Sparrow
• Tree Swallow

Columbine growing in William O'Brian State Park

Wildflowers in Bloom at William O'Brian:

• Columbine
• Declining Trillium
• Hooked Violet
• Large-flowered Bellwort
• Marsh Marigold
• Meadowrue
• Pussytoes
• Rue Anemone
• Wild Blue Phlox
• Wild Geranium
• Wild Strawberry
• Yellow Violet
  

Photos from the Maplewood Nature Center:



A Pair of Wood Ducks in a small pond along the Heron Loop



Shot of the Boardwalk going over the pond



A lot of wildlife along the boardwalk as migratory waterfowl returned to the pond in search of food and a quiet place to nest among the cattails and swamp grass; here a Canadian Goose eating a lily pad stem.







Tree Swallows wheeled over the surface of the pond, nabbing insects, pausing now and then to perch and sun themselves on the boardwalk



A Yellow-rumped Warbler perched along the boardwalk



The trees and reed beds were alive with the "rusty wheel" call of the Red-winged blackbird.



A photo of a Red-winged blackbird belting out its call. Eager to get at their nesting grounds, these are one of Minnesota's earlier Spring migrants, and can often be seen picking away at seed feeders in the late winter before shifting over to insects and cattails as the snows reside.

The MNC is always interesting. Such a unique location, with its shallow pond and handsomely maintained woodlands bordered by busy streets and suburban houses. It looks like the first pond lilies are starting to spread their buds, the elms begining to spread their budding leaves, and the earliest Marsh Marigold just about to pop.

On a short walk, we spotted or heard:

• Black-capped Chickadee
• Canadian Goose
• Grackle, Common
• Grey Squirrel
• Mallard Duck
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Robin, American
• Tree Swallow
• Wood Duck
• Yellow-rumped Warbler

No egrets or herons, though I have seen them in the park along 35W just North of Hugo. Weather is warm and sunny; pushing 50's in the morning. Spring Peepers and Chorus Frogs heard last night as the overnight temps slowly climb.