Archive for 2008

58 Days Until Winter

With low temperatures in the 20’s forecast for next week, it seems that winter will soon be upon us.  The tree colors have already peaked, our first hard frost has already appeared, and it’s possible that our first snowflakes are just around the corner. But winter doesn’t officially begin until December 21, which means we […]

47 Species in Two Days

Bird migration is progressing well through the Linnaeus Arboretum. In fact, the last two days have been nothing short of amazing in terms of both the number of species and the number of individuals. The following is a list of the species that have been observed in or from the arboretum over the past 48 […]

Warbler Wave!

Last night’s cold front brought with it several new migrants into the arboretum. This morning I found the following 8 species of warbler among these migrants: Nashville Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, American Redstart, Mourning Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, and Wilson’s Warbler. A “wave” is the term used when you come across a large […]

Early Signs of Fall

As students return to campus, one cannot help but think of how fast the summer has gone by. While the trees are still green and lush, and the days are still very warm, autumn is approaching faster than we probably realize. Monarch butterflies can be seen migrating south already; last week I counted over 200 […]

A Perry Potpourri

Michael & Company Visit Perry Earlier this summer I received a bolt-from-the-blue e-mail from my former student/student-researcher Dan Eppley. Dan graduated in 1989 and is now a professor in the Religion Department at Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania (this illustrates the great versatility of a Chemistry degree from Gustavus…). Dan and his family and some […]

Views from the Summer Solstice Garden Tour

On Sunday, June 22nd, the Friends of the Linnaeus Arboretum hosted a Summer Solstice Garden Tour that included gardens in southern Minnesota. The group departed from Gustavus and headed west to New Ulm making stops at both the August Schell Brewery Gardens and the home of Gigi and Scott Rysdahl, as well as New Ulm’s […]

New Hire in the Linnaeus Arboretum

The Linnaeus Arboretum has hired its new Naturalist to start in August.  Bob Dunlap is an ’08 graduate of Gustavus with tremendous experience in both plant and bird identification.  He brings with him vitality and excitement and will surely do a wonderful job in the position. His knowledge of birds is amazing and as you […]

What Did Perry Smell Like? Installment #2

For those readers who might initially have thought otherwise, this post deals with Perry, our largest plant of the Titan Arum / Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum), not with a human of that name. Quite a while back (May 22, 2007), I posted a preliminary transcript of written comments by people who were exiting the Perry […]

Gigantic Leaf Garners Gawkers

The leaf of Perry, our largest plant of the Titan Arum / Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum) continues to induce rapt attention in humans. A trickle of gawkers streams by, lingering in the hallway like objects slowly shifting in a gurgling brook. (Note: keep in mind that I’m considering submission of an entry in the Bulwer-Lytton […]

Summer Solstice Garden Tour

Join the Friends of the Linnaeus Arboretum for an early summer garden tour to three southern Minnesota botanical treasures. Van service from Linnaeus Arboretum will leave at 10:15 a.m. for the August Schell Brewery in New Ulm. German Park will be our destination for a picnic lunch. Then it’s on to the Rysdahl residence to […]