December 1998

     Happenings in and around Linnaeus Arboretum

Listed below are a few observations from a year ago made in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas, including the Linnaeus Arboretum/Nicollet County area (and out of the area where indicated). Many of these observations have also been recorded in the Minnesota Weatherguide/Environment Calendar, published in conjunction with the Freshwater Foundation and WCCO Radio/Television, to which Gilbert has contributed since 1977. These events can be used to anticipate December 1999 happenings and will help to compare this year with last.
 
 

1 - European pasqueflower and some strawberry plants blooming in the garden. Mosquitoes, ladybugs, ants, and moths were a few of the active insects on this warm December day. Windsurfers and golfers, runners in shorts and T-shirts, each enjoying their sport.

2 - Lawn grasses growing, iris leaves shooting up, dandelion flowers showy. Picnickers enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures. Pine siskins visit a Laporte area feeder. 1995: About a dozen ice fishing houses out on Lake Waconia so far. Remember: 4 inches of new solid ice is needed for safe skating and ice fishing; 8 inches to a foot of solid ice is necessary to drive an automobile on it.

3 - House finch singing, a few leopard frogs out sunning, earthworms near surface, spiders ballooning, and gardeners out planting tulip bulbs. Grass fires a problem in Faribault area. At Park Rapids, lilac buds showing green.

4 - Small raft of American coots on Lake Waconia. In St. Peter, buds continue to swell on lilacs, magnolias, and littleleaf lindens, but not on green ashes and other native trees and shrubs.

5 - Lawns nice and green. Alyssum still blooming in outdoor gardens. Forest mosses lush green. Joggers and runners out in shorts.

6 - Tree sparrows, juncos, and northern cardinals are the first and last birds at feeding stations each day. They begin their feeding about 25 minutes before sunrise and continue to come until about 25 minutes after sunset.

7 - Ice formed again on small ponds. Fishing boats seen on Lake Minnetonka and Mille Lacs Lake. Freeze-up date for Wolf Lake near Finland, Minn.

8 - Each individual downy and hairy woodpecker roosts at night in a separate tree cavity and will retreat there during daylight hours if the weather is bad. About a dozen bald eagles, in scattered spots, counted by motorist driving in Minnesota River Valley between Le Sueur and Mankato.

9 - Sod is still being put down for new lawns. Late eastern bluebird seen near St. Peter. As of today, Caribou Lake near Lutsen and Pickerel Lake near Emmaville are ice-covered.

10 - Flocks of American robins seen feeding on crabapple fruit near shore of Lake Waconia. In Duluth and area, mountain ash trees are loaded with drooping clusters of red-orange fruit.

11 - Some aspen catkins are visible. Ice fishing began today on Lake of the Woods; Zippel Bay has about 9 inches of ice. Freeze-up for Upper Bottle Lake in Hubbard County. 1993: 178 bald eagles counted by one birder while standing in a single spot overlooking the lower end of Lake Pepin, which froze over today.

12 - Great weather for putting up outside holiday lights in comfort; also for yard raking and cleaning up. Golfers out on some Twin Cities area courses. Still attractive fruit on highbush cranberry shrubs, bittersweet vines, and crabapple trees.

13 - Dandelions still blooming on short stems. Flowering kale and parsley continue growing in gardens. Mosses at bases of trees nice and green, and growing. Lawns quite green. Tennis being played outdoors.

14 - Sailboarders out on Lake Waconia and Lake Calhoun, wind surfing on this blustery day. Late mowing of lawn in Farmington. Two opossums forage beneath a birdfeeder this evening in Bloomington. In Fairmont area, honey bees flying today, and some red-tailed hawks and gulls still around. 1996: Ice thickness on Lake Waconia ranges from a few inches to about a foot; northern pike and walleyes are biting.

15 - About 23,000 black bears live in Minn. Due to warm weather, and maybe from not having eaten enough, some of them are not hibernating yet. 1993: About 600 bald eagles are concentrated in the Reads Landing area where the Chippewa River flows into the Mississippi.

16 - Planted evergreens such as hemlocks, spruces, pines, firs, and yews are very attractive on the mid-December landscape. Juncos and chickadees numerous and active at our feeders as snow falls.

17 - Fresh pocket gopher mounds spotted on top of snow in Brooklyn Park. Lake Miltona in Douglas County and Leech Lake at Walker froze over. Snow buntings seen in Grygla area.

18 - Mallard ducks, Canada geese, and ring-billed gulls still quite numerous on area lakes. Two dozen American robins observed on golf course at Glencoe. Lake Ella and Lake Elizabeth, near Atwater, froze over.

19 - First frost patterns on windows this season. Freeze-up date for both Cannon and Wells Lakes at Faribault, Lake Virginia and Steiger Lake near Victoria, and Round Lake near Nisswa. On the Audubon Christmas Bird Count for Bloomington, 64 species were observed on this cold day, including northern shovelers and pintail ducks, hundreds of American robins and cedar waxwings, six common grackles, and a great blue heron.

20 - As of today, ice covers Lake Florida and Green Lake at Spicer, Lake Martha near Rockford, and Roberds Lake near Faribault. Also, freeze-up date for Ward Lake near Luck, Wis. Both spruce and ruffed grouse feed on abundant mountain ash fruit along North Shore of Lake Superior.

21 - Official freeze-up for Lake Waconia (Nov. 21 in 1997). Also, freeze-up for Kabekona Lake in Hubbard County. Some reports from feeding stations: A dozen mourning doves at Hastings, a rare varied thrush in Maple Grove, and a brown thrasher comes for seeds and raisins in Hector.

22 - First ice fishing houses on Lake Waconia; thickest ice is only 4 inches. Lake Minnewashta, near Excelsior, froze over. Bald eagles patrol open water areas of Lake Minnetonka. Quite a bit of ice on Minnesota River between Belle Plaine and St. Peter.

23 - Now two dozen ice fishing houses on Lake Waconia; 4 to 5 inches of ice cover, and crappies and northerns biting. Both Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet, in Minneapolis, froze over.

24 - The Christmas cactus, which is native to the tropical parts of Brazil, blooms nicely in our homes. A dozen bald eagles patrol open water areas of Lake Minnetonka near Wayzata. 1996: Downhill and cross-country ski conditions are excellent with one to two feet of snow over the state.

25 - A wintering-over common flicker comes to Waconia area feeders. Official freeze-up for Lake Minnetonka (Dec. 26 in 1997). 1922: Dr. Thomas S. Roberts reported that veteran golfers enjoyed the novelty of playing their game on Christmas Day. On this spring-like day there was no snow on the ground in the Twin Cities and the temperature was 51 degrees F. at noon.

26 - Fox sparrow comes to feeding station at Frontenac. Lake Superior is wide open and steaming, but North Shore streams are mostly frozen over with water running under the ice. There are fabulous ice patterns on the rocky shore produced by waves and wave spray.

27 - Now, untold millions of animals--toads, frogs, salamanders, snapping and painted turtles, garter snakes, bats, woodchucks, black bears, ladybird beetles, and mosquito larvae--are hibernating across Minnesota and Wisconsin.

28 - A few ice fishing houses seen on Leech Lake where ice ranges from very thin up to 8 inches thick. On Lutsen Mountains the snow covered evergreens are beautiful, northern ravens call and glide overhead, and red squirrels tunnel through the snow.

29 - Rather than fretting about the squirrels at a feeding station, it would be far better to spend one's time protecting wild animal visitors from domestic cats. The Mississippi River at Hastings is nearly frozen over. Due to very little snow on the Twin Cities landscape, iceboating and cross-country skating conditions are good if one is careful.

30 - Black-capped chickadees need to eat the equivalent of their own weight (1/40 of a pound) every day in cold weather. Chickadees, cardinals, mourning doves and house finches are among the birds using a heated birdbath.

31 - Wintering mourning doves like millet and safflower seeds at feeding stations. Chickadees sometimes take seeds from human hands. More plant and seed catalogs arrive daily, so we can begin planning the vegetable and flower gardens and landscaping projects for next year.