Short stories and photos about the natural happenings on Wolf Ridge this week. Animal sightings, northern lights, berries ready for picking...
2/26/20 15 degrees F, sunny, calm The recent warmth of February has left the snow waterlogged and crunchy. My snowshoes are necessary for the trek to […]
Read Full PostOctober 31st Overcast, calm, 29 degrees F The winds that played music for the dancing aspens proved too much for others in […]
Read Full PostOctober 6th, morning Windy, sunny, 45 degrees F It’s a windy day here at the mandala. The largest aspen, just a few feet in front […]
Read Full PostOctober 1st, early afternoon ~50 degrees F, partly sunny Recent heavy rains The forest is familiar today, comforting. Although it is not how it was. […]
Read Full PostSo there I was, hanging out with our raven, Korppi. We were working on her new training exercises where I ask her to pick up a pencil and jab it down […]
Read Full PostA forest can seem very constant, immovable, and unchanging. It is easy to get lulled into a sense that a specific forested area has always been here and will always […]
Read Full PostAs I meander down to Wolf Lake from the Lakeview House with fishing pole in hand, it becomes hard not to notice all the changes going on in the forest […]
Read Full PostSpring is finally ~actually~ here on the ridge! New little ephemerals such as marsh marigold, bloodroot, and ramps (wild leeks) are sprouting all about the ridge! Beavers were seen in […]
Read Full PostSpring is finally ~actually~ here on the ridge! New little ephemerals such as marsh marigold, bloodroot, and wild leeks are sprouting all about the ridge! Beavers were seen in the […]
Read Full PostRamps, also known as wild leeks, are a wild onion species and one of the first spring ephemerals in the Wolf Ridge woods. Spring ephemerals are ground plants that sprout […]
Read Full PostIf you go on a walk through the woods in the spring, you might hear a distinct drumming sound. Looking around, you can see a woodpecker. But alas, which one???? […]
Read Full PostIt’s been a chaotic week in the North Woods. It reminded us of riding the Wild Thing at Valley Fair. We monitored the weather for a week, from 2-13-18 to […]
Read Full PostWhat animal can withstand -65 degree F temperatures, has a pouch in their esophagus to store food and digs tunnels in the snow? The answer is the common redpoll, a […]
Read Full PostThis week in the world of phenology we explored everyone’s favorite winter precipitation, snow! In our exploration we visited several locations along the North Shore. We delved deep, observing multiple […]
Read Full PostThis week the Forest Ecology building had an exciting visitor- a barred owl! Perched in an aspen facing the Northeast side of the building, the bird remained perfectly still observing […]
Read Full PostEarly in the week we were able to see a phenomenon normally isolated to spring. When soil freezes, the water inside it expands, pushing up and out in all directions. […]
Read Full PostSnowshoe Hare, Lepus americanus, is the most common “rabbit” of Minnesota’s North Woods. Living in the dense thickets of northern coniferous forests, the snowshoe hare feasts on a bounty of […]
Read Full PostAs the saying goes, beavers were and are busy as usual this year preparing for and living through winter. They spent the spring and summer working on their dams and […]
Read Full PostIt’s that time of year again where the temperature starts to dip below freezing, especially at night. Because of this many of the puddles, streams, and ponds have begun to […]
Read Full PostWe have a few new animal friends here at Wolf Ridge, let’s learn a little bit about them! Our first new resident is a Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) […]
Read Full Post
