June 1999

     Happenings in and around Linnaeus Arboretum

Listed below are a few observations from a year ago in the Linnaeus Arboretum area, and out of the area when indicated. These events can be used to anticipate June 2000 happenings and will help to compare this year with last.

1 - Cow-parsnip begins blooming. Canada geese have just begun losing their primary feathers and will soon be in their flightless stage. Mourning doves feeding young nestlings.

2 - Smooth wild rose first flowering. Wild grape in bloom and fragrant. Ruby-throated hummingbirds forage on 'Dropmore Scarlet' honeysuckle vine which is covered with red-orange flowers. Barn swallows using fresh mud to build nests.

3 - First flowers open on Kentucky coffee trees. Baltimore oriole parents very busy feeding their young nestlings. Much alfalfa hay harvesting going on in southern Minnesota.

4 - Russian olive trees now blooming; they have small yellow, star-shaped flowers with a spicy fragrance. Hooded merganser seen with 11 ducklings on pond in Woodbury. Juvenile eastern chipmunks out and about. In Duluth and area, lilacs, tulips, crabapple trees and lupines are in bloom.

5 - Tall bearded irises at overall peak of bloom in gardens. Bird's-foot trefoil first blooming. Surface temperature of Lake Waconia is 66 degrees F; Leech Lake at Walker is 65 degrees F. Common loons incubating eggs in Brainerd area. In Two Harbors area, monarchs nectar on lilacs and lupines. Black flies bothersome in northeast Minnesota.

6 - Golden mockorange shrubs blooming nicely and very fragrant. Gardeners still cutting asparagus and will for about a week. Far into the night those moving gold specks of life called lightningbugs or fireflies can be seen on the wing. Statewide, 57 percent of the first crop of alfalfa has been harvested, 81 percent of potatoes are planted, and 95 percent of the field corn has emerged.

7 - Wild four-o'clock in bloom. Yews, firs and spruces are evergreens which look especially attractive with their new bright green growth. In the Walker area, blue flag iris is at bloom peak in wetlands, cliff swallows are collecting mud for nest building, and eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies are quite numerous.

8 - Our Minnesota state flower, the showy pink and white lady-slipper at bloom peak in the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Garden strawberry picking is excellent. Painted turtles come up on dry land to lay eggs. First deer flies. Cedar waxwings, rose-breasted grosbeaks and other birds are feeding on ripe scarlet elderberry fruit.

9 - Peony flowers very showy in gardens. Young birds which have fallen from nests should be put back into their nests as it's next to impossible to care for and rear baby birds. Northern catalpa trees begin blooming at Hastings.

10 - Deer flies on the wing. Mosquitoes very bothersome. Canada goose goslings showing pale white chinstraps and pale white bands on their tails. Baltimore oriole nestlings are very vocal now as their parents work to feed them.

11 - American goldfinches feed on goat's-beard seedheads. Bobolinks, yellow-headed blackbirds, warbling vireos all vocal. Belle Plaine to Waconia, much of field corn is up about 1 foot tall. Nodding thistle begins blooming.

12 - Lawns lush green from all the rain. Northern catalpa trees have begun blooming. White-breasted nuthatches and downy woodpeckers come to feeding stations with their fledglings. Cedar waxwings eating ripe serviceberry fruit. Gardeners are picking strawberries, pulling rhubarb and radishes, and cutting leaf lettuce and spinach.

13 - Canada thistle begins blooming. Eastern cottonwood trees continue spitting seeds on their cotton carriers. Yellow water lilies blooming.

14 - Marshlands look mostly green now that cattail leaves are up about full height. Juvenile mourning doves come to feeding station. In Walker area, banded purple butterflies are on the wing, purple martins and eastern phoebes are vocal, and columbine and Canada anemone are among the showy blooming roadside plants.

15 - Baltimore oriole young fledged. The surface water temperature of Leech Lake is 66 degrees F; white water lilies and the showy pink and white lady-slipper bloom in the area. Southern Minnesota farmers are cultivating corn.

16 - Staghorn sumac just starting to bloom. Some adult Canada geese still flying. Ruby-throated hummingbirds nectar on weigela blossoms. Indian paintbrushes blooming nicley in Hinckley area. Black-eyed Susan begins blooming on Uhler Prairie at Gustavus.

17 - Baby raccoons, skunks, deer, chipmunks, gophers and others are sometimes out wandering around. These are not orphaned young; their parents are probably hiding from you as they are more cautious. So don't pick up these wild animals and adopt them. Narrow-leaved cattails begin shedding pollen. Lightningbugs numerous tonight.

18 - Baltimore orioles feeding young nestlings. Red mulberry trees have ripe fruit. Garden roses at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum at June bloom peak. Blooming Japanese tree lilacs are beautiful.

19 - Northern catalpa trees blooming nicely and very showy. Gray catbird parents are feeding young nestlings. At Linnaeus Arboretum in St. Peter, rugosa roses are blooming nicely and very fragrant, and butterfly-weed is first flowering.

20 - Masses of white Dutch clover blooming in lawns. Tawny daylily now blooming. Garden potatoes have begun blooming. Honey bees forage on yellow sweet clover and staghorn sumac flowers.

21 - First ripe garden raspberries. White sweet clover, common mullein and common milkweed begin blooming. 9:20 to 9:30 p.m. is the time when most chimney swifts enter their chimney roosts.

22 - First of the new generation of monarch butterflies on the wing. Common pricklypear cactus now blooming. On a summer evening you can observe common nighthawks flying, calling and feeding over most of our Minnesota and Wisconsin cities and towns. They nest on rooftops.

23 - Lawns continue to be lush green. Some standing water in farm fields, Waconia to St. Peter. Gray catbirds, American robins, raccoons and humans are feeding on the ripe fruit of the red mulberry trees.

24 - European bellflower now blooming. First tiny American toads up on dry land. House wrens fledged. Woodchuck young out sunning. Canada thistle at bloom peak and also shedding first seeds on thistle down.

25 - Small 13-lined ground squirrels out and about. Common elderberry shrubs at bloom peak. Purple martin young hatching. Waterfowl are mostly in flightless condition now as they molt their flight feathers.

26 - North Star cherry fruit is ripe. Littleleaf linden trees at bloom peak; honey bees foraging. The surface water temperature of Lake Waconia is 73 degrees F. The cut-off for safe swimming is 70 degrees F. Common loon young seen with their parents on central and northern MN lakes.

27 - Swamp milkweed begins blooming. The surface water temperature of Green Lake at Spicer is 75 degrees F. Statewide, the average height of field corn increased 13 inches from a week ago to reach 29 inches which is 4 inches above the 5-year average.

28 - Honey bees visiting Canada thistle flowers. Juvenile Canada geese look like adults but smaller. In Walker area, common cattails shed pollen, many young Baltimore orioles are just out of their nests, and the surface water temperature of Leech Lake is 68 degrees F.

29 - First red showing on new clusters of staghorn sumac fruit. Second cutting of alfalfa hay is beginning in Carver County. Nanking cherry fruit is ripe.

30 - Native basswood trees start blooming on the shore of Lake Waconia. True lilies now blooming in gardens. Purple martins are busy feeding young nestlings.