My Minnesota

Heat, humidity, thunderstorms, tornado watches, deer flies, smoke from Canadian wildfires -- must be Summer in the North Country. At least t...

I’d be outside doing some yard work if not for a fresh hatch of deer flies that set upon the dogs and I a little earlier. I decided that tod...

Lazy, hazy, sleepy, days of summer are here. If anyone stumbles over my ambition, please feed and water it until cooler temps arrive. Then l...

As noted previously on these pages, we live at the easternmost edge of the well drained Anoka Sand Plain. We’re currently under a flood watc...

For all the times we’ve seen wild turkeys around the place, and the few times we’ve heard toms gobbling, this morning is the first time I ca...

There’s not much new and exciting to report on today. Deer flies are becoming more numerous. We’ve responded by installing a new blue ball c...

I’ve noticed lots of comments (complaints) on social media about how bad the mosquitos are this year. Local, and, I think, national, news ha...

We’ve already had a mosquito hatch that has filled the air with the little biters. So far, there are not enough predators to reduce the popu...

 The day-lily garden is mulched. When we get a favorable wind, we’ll leaf blow the drive with our electric leaf blower. At least we’re going...

 For the record, female ruby-throated hummingbirds are still coming to the sugar water feeder. Yesterday, or maybe the day before, a male ru...

We’ve reached a time of year when acorns are dropping from bur oak trees. They are among the more interesting looking acorns around. I’m dou...

Cloudy, cool, calm, confusing, considering it's the end of the first week of July and June set record high temperatures throughout the s...

Today's rain won't hurt, but it may not be enough to really help the plants very much. At least the temperature isn't in the 90...

This morning's blue, clear, sky held a rising sun in the East and a setting, full moon in the West. It felt almost as if the universe we...

woolybear caterpillar climbing screen Photo by J. Harrington We're starting to come into woolybear caterpillar season. I know that b...

There's an old saying to the effect that "if you find something you really like, buy two before they stop making it." I've...

A couple of bucks in velvet wandered across the far fields behind the house yesterday. I managed to get some pictures but not with both rais...

From time to time in these blog posts I've mentioned the "wet spot" in our back yard. In Spring-time it's full of frog cho...

Perhaps the heat and humidity have got to me but I find myself pondering how it might be that, the more we look, the more we find signs of s...