It appears the weather we had all hoped for in October had instead been reserved for November. Since November 1 the weather has been fairly dry and pleasant, with high temperatures reaching the mid-50’s. The forecast for this coming Saturday calls for high temperatures in the low 60’s; while this seems unseasonably warm for November, note that last year high temperatures reached the low 70’s on several days in early November.
With the warm temperatures have come warm fronts from the southwest, which equates to windy days here on top of the Minnesota River valley. Most of the leaves from the Arb’s deciduous trees have fallen in the past week except those of the oaks (which may hold on to their leaves into early spring); the basswoods, whose foliage was still relatively green and lush at the end of last week, are now looking quite bare. Besides the still-green lawn, the only other green color left in the Arb is that of our evergreen conifers.
Here are some other highlights from this week in the Arb:
– Bald Eagle flying southwest over Coneflower Prairie 11/5
– Cooper’s Hawk hunting south of Borgeson Cabin 11/5
Cooper's Hawk in crabapple tree south of Borgeson Cabin, 11/5/09.
– Sharp-shinned Hawk hunting behind Interpretive Center 11/4
– 3 American Badger holes discovered in lawn west of Interpretive Center 11/2, followed by an impressive 16! the following day 11/3
– Late Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel foraging in lawn north of Interpretive Center 11/5
– New York and New England Asters still blooming in Bird and Butterfly Garden behind Interpretive Center 11/5