Prairie A-Light

The snow is mostly gone and for the fourth day, we've had temperatures above 70F.  The icing on the cake today was getting to see the prairie by the Main Office building being burned. Prairies need to occasionally be burned in order to get rid of thatch from the dead forbs and grasses and kill off any trees that are trying to establish themselves. The ash will act like fertilizer and the now-dark soil will warm quickly helping the plants to sprout and grow.

This is the part of the prairie near the ephemeral pond west of the office building.

Is it finally over?

The skies cleared and sunshine sparkled off the fresh coating of snow. Tracks criss-crossed the nature center grounds. As the day wore on, you could listen to clumps of snow falling to the ground leaving tracks of their own on the landscape.

So, does this describe December? February? No - it was this morning. I think I have a much better understanding of how Phil Connors of Groundhog Day felt. For Minnesotans, winter has never gone. We wake up each day to temperatures in the 20s or 30s that almost never go above 50F. And if we do have a warm day, within 48 hours we get snow. Last Thursday we got around 5". And then again yesterday it snowed another 5". Things are so weird we're having tornado drills while it's blizzarding outside. How's that for how odd this winter has been?

There is a theory that all the systems of Earth (e.g. hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, etc.) need to stay in balance. So, if one area gets overly hot, it will be especially cooler in another area. If there is excessive rain in one part of the world, it will be balanced by drought somewhere else. I'm thinking Mother Nature is just balancing things out from last spring. We had a fabulous warm early spring last year, so...yes, she's holding back spring this year to balance things out.

So, maybe next year will be back to normal. It can't be any worse than this one. (I mean really - we're supposed to have snow again tomorrow and highs of 70F on Sunday.)

All thawed out and ready for love

Yesterday, for the first time in ten days, we had fabulous, glorious sunshine. Not just the occasional glimpse as clouds parted briefly before covering the sky again. No, this was wonderful warm sunshine - for the whole afternoon.

And by late afternoon, naturalists around the nature center were hearing the call of the first of the year's amphibians to reawaken after being frozen all winter - the chorus frogs were calling! Three naturalists in three different areas heard the distinctive "brrup...brrup...brrup..." coming from the partially melted marshes near the still ice-covered ponds.

Chorus frogs are one of the kinds of frogs that actually freeze solid over the winter. In the fall, they burrow under leaves and mud. As the ground freezes and ice crystals touch its skin, chemical reactions inside the frog start making an "antifreeze." This "antifreeze" substance protects the cells and organs by preventing ice crystals from forming that would grow and burst the cells. Eventually, the frog's heart stops beating and all other organs stop, too. It seems dead, but given the right conditions (e.g. warm temperatures) the chemical breaks down and the frog thaws. And begins calling right away looking for a mate.

Yup - that's how small a chorus frog is - only about an inch long. So you are much more likely to hear them then to see them. And for being so little, they can make a lot of noise.

After the storms end in a couple of days (yes, winter storm advisories AGAIN - will this winter never end?) and the sun returns, head out to a marsh or pond and listen carefully. Listen for what sounds like someone running their finger up the teeth of a comb. That's a chorus frog - singing a love song - a spring song.

Anyone have a magical wardrobe?

Do you know C.S. Lewis's book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ? It's set in England during WWII. Four children, evacuated from London, spend time at an old house in the country. One day while playing hide-and-seek, they end up in a wardrobe (a big wooden cabinet) that takes them to another world. The land is enchanted by a witch that's made it winter, but never Christmas. And that is what it feels like as it snows again today. Winter with no Christmas.

I mean, really - snow, snow, and more snow. Even the winter of 2011 (2nd snowiest winter ever since they started keeping records) had a spring-like April: temperatures in the 60s with an occasional 70F. Yes, there was snow - in fact, on May 2nd. But it didn't snow every day. The temperatures weren't stuck in the 30s. The ground thawed.

And there isn't even any kind of event happening this month to relieve the monotony. Easter already happened. Memorial Day is six weeks away. And Tax Day doesn't count.

Yah, yah - I know I keep talking about the weather in these posts. But that is what is happening - as sucky as it is. April showers bring May flowers. And May is only sixteen days away. Maybe it will warm up in May. Maybe...

Snowmeggedon

It's April - the time you'd expect grass to be greening up, crocuses blooming, turtles sunning themselves on logs and rocks around ice-free ponds. Ideally, that's the way things happen.

But not in Minnesota - not this spring. We're under a Winter Storm Warning - six inches of snow expected by midnight with more on the way tomorrow. Does it even make sense to call it a "Winter" Storm Watch when it's April? If it snowed in May (or even June given how things are going this year), would it still be labeled "Winter"? Is it because of the snow? Then why not just call it a Snow Storm Watch?

Lots of questions, but few answers. And the main answer we're looking for is - when will it finally, really be spring?

What's blue and white and comes in the spring?

Yesterday was an example of the kinds of extremes we typically get in Minnesota. In the morning, the nature center receptionist/registar spotted a bluebird - the first sighting this year - yeah! Then in the afternoon, it started to snow. Not just incidental flurries, but full-fledged lawn-coating snow. Now we didn't get as much as they ended up with in northern Minnesota, (Grand Rapids got 8") but it is getting redundant to see snow showers again and again and again.

Oh well, if we're confused by it all, I wonder what the birds think...

Another migrator returns

Winging their way over the Farm Pond this morning, one of the naturalist at Dodge spotted male wood ducks.  Talk about flaunting it in the spring to attract a mate - of the waterfowl, wood ducks win hands down. They have some of the most spectacular coloring of any of our Minnesota birds.

Keep an eye out for them - they're not hard to recognize!

They're Back!

Friday, March 30th: Finally - the red-winged blackbirds returned. We spotted and heard several by the Farm Pond at the nature center. My sister heard one when she was walking along the Mississippi in South St. Paul. And one of the board members spotted one when he and his wife were out walking Friday night.

Can you picture it - a huge flock of males traveling north. They reach Minnesota and spread out along the rivers and marshes to start singing and claiming territory. The females will arrive in about two weeks.

For now, enjoy the raucous "konk-a-ree!"