October 1st, early afternoon ~50 degrees F, partly sunny Recent heavy rains           The forest is familiar today, comforting. Although it is not how it was. Like coming home for the holidays only to realize that your parents have repainted the outside of the house; what was once an odd grey-green […]

A 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 be here. However, this is actually far from the truth. A forest is a living system, and like any living thing, there is constant movement, […]

Spring 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 pond in the wetlands, as well as many new waterfowl. Recorded so far are trumpeter swans, Hooded Mergansers, Common Mergansers, Red-Breasted Mergansers, Buffleheads, Pied-billed grebes, […]

If 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???? Here at Wolf Ridge, the most common woodpeckers are the downy, hairy and pileated. The downy woodpecker is the smallest of the three at 6-7” […]

It’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 2-19-18. The start of the week was fairly cold with a low of -13 and a high of 11. By Wednesday, Finland experienced a high […]

Early 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. When the ice hits a large rock, it pushes it upward thus deforming the soil around it. This phenomenon is known as frost wedging. But […]

Snowshoe 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 needles and buds during the winter months. In the summer, the snowshoe hare is overall a dark brown color with black-tipped hair and a white […]

It’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 form ice. The ice may come quickly but generally is still thin as the days stay above freezing. Remember, ice is not safe to walk […]

We 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) named Betelgeuse, who is very social and outgoing. His hibernation was disrupted and didn’t have much fur on his back when found. So he was […]

Keep an eye out for changes in chickadee behavior in the coming weeks. To prepare for winter, chickadees form flocks in the late fall. The flocks are formed around a dominant mating pair and contain other adults and juveniles. These flocks of 6-10 individuals provide protection and food security for the birds.   Try at […]

Wolf Ridge experienced its first snow of the year this week! An unexpected 10 inches! The heavy wet snow stuck to the trees, bending tamaracks and small shrubs over the paths onto the ground, making for creative path walking experiences. The view off the observation deck has totally changed, with only a few big-toothed aspens […]

  The change of colors in autumn never fails to bring a sense of wonder. People will travel hundreds of miles to witness brilliant oranges, bright yellows, and deep reds. Leaf peepers, a term that I heard just recently, are those that travel to view and photograph fall foliage. So, what is going on “back […]