On February 2, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow in a sunny Pennsylvania town. His prediction: six more weeks of cold fronts and snow flurries. Three weeks later and a thousand miles from...
During the spring and summer months in the Arb, birds are building their nests and raising their young. After the chicks have fledged, many birds abandon their nests and build a new one the next year....
Our Northfield winters are so very cold, and it can be difficult to find any reason to brave the outdoors. However, I’m here to share a few of the things that motivate me to don an alarming number of...
With the icy wind blowing and the geese amassing once again on Lyman Lakes, we have come to the time of the year when the idea of migration resurfaces from the back of everyone’s mind.
The Franklin’s...
If you just happen to run into this article in the Carletonian (as opposed to reading it on the Arb’s website), chances are you are one of the students who are totally unaware of the plot of land that...
photograph by Mathew Zappa ‘22
Imagine crossing continents using only your physical strength, then doing it again, and again whenever the seasons change. This process defines the wonder that is migration....
American toad.
Ever taken a walk (or a nap) in the Lower Arb when the sun is down and the moon glares bright? The woods, steeped in milky mist spiked with moonlight, slumber in the absence of the scorching...
A few weeks ago, I was in the Arb after sunset and heard a strange dog yowl... and then I heard many others join in, high-pitched and even a bit spooky, and I realized that I was hearing a pack of...
Rising out of the landscape like tiny islands in a vast sea of corn and soybeans, the hills of McKnight Prairie provide a refuge for rare native prairie plants. This 33-acre plot of land located...
As the weather in southern Minnesota warms and insects begin to emerge, the Arb will soon become host to a stunning group of migratory visitors. These are the wood-warblers, a diverse family of exceptionally...
Photo provided by Hannah Marty.
It’s spring, and that means that some parts of the Arboretum will be burned! Arb staff conduct prescribed fires every spring when the weather is dry but plants are...
Mating season is just around the corner for many animals that call the Arb home. For our native garter snake population, mating is quite the sight… and smell. Garter snakes, which are non-venomous,...
