Enjoy the reports this week, which examine things as small as an acorn to as vast as a galaxy! (Plus, John Latimer starts the report with a short soliloquy on the changing seasons.)
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with your observations, nature tales and insights! Get in touch with me (smitchell@kaxe.org), John Latimer (jlatimer@kaxe.org), or text "phenology" to 218-326-1234.
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
Jess and Dick report from the Minnesota Astronomical Society's trip to Long Lake Conservation Center:
Jess: “We saw Dill Prickles, a rainbow, an ovenbird near the bog, a frigid bumblebee, a leopard frog, three otters on Long Lake, a tree frog, a nighthawk and a bunch of bats.”
Dick: “I was mostly interested in seeing things in the sky that we can’t see in the Twin Cities, where I live. I saw a whole bunch of things: I saw Saturn many times, MGC-891, a whole bunch of globular clusters (beautiful balls of stars). I can’t remember all else, but I saw a number of things through my big telescope.
“I did see a couple of things on the ground, too! I saw a whole bunch of frogs, the frigid bumblebees, various flowers (most of which I couldn’t identify), and sunflowers. I had a good time seeing all kinds of things both in the sky and on the ground.”
Both: “It was a great week in nature and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside, and LIVE CONNECTED!”
John is excited to hear about their nighttime observations, especially those of Saturn, which he calls “one of the most magnificent things you’re gonna see in the heavens.” Because John wakes early, he’s also seen Orion rising in the southeastern sky.
“Orion will be our nighttime accompanist all through the winter, and we’ll enjoy doing things under his shining belt,” he said. I bet you will, John!
Season Watch Facebook feature
Lisa Boulay posted to our Season Watch Facebook group:
“Anyone else have a bumper crop of acorns? I have oaks in my yard, I have lived here for 25 years and never remember my trees dropping this many acorns. I have a metal roof and it gets noisy. Any idea what causes this?”
As it turns out, this abundance of acorns is due to an interesting reproductive tactic the oaks use to ensure their acorns’ survival. Since acorns (particularly those of white and bur oaks) are a favorite food of squirrels and other critters, a small crop of acorns can easily be gobbled up.
A huge crop of acorns, however, overwhelms the animals’ ability to eat them all, and some remain on the ground (or tucked away by a forgetful or over-stuffed squirrel) to sprout and form new trees.
It’s quite expensive to produce a huge crop of acorns, however, so the oak trees can’t outpace the hunger of the forest critters every year. Instead, they will save their energy for a few years until they have sufficient reserves. Then, they will produce a huge, overwhelming crop of acorns. These acorn-heavy years are called “mast years.”
Sidenote: To tell the difference between bur oak acorns and red oak acorns, look at the caps: bur oak acorn caps are covered in coarse hairs. Red oak acorns have a smooth, tight cap.
That does it for this week! For more phenology, subscribe to our Season Watch Newsletter or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
