Archive for 2010
Arb Sightings 12/17/10
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Well, I think it’s safe to say that we’re overflowing in both lemons and lemonade here in southern Minnesota. This past weekend’s expected snowstorm was indeed the monster blizzard that had been predicted, dropping up to two feet of snow in some Twin Cities locations. Here in St. […]
Arb Sightings 12/10/10
Southern Minnesota is stuck in a bad late fall/early winter rut. I say this because tonight and tomorrow we’re in for yet another weekend snowstorm, with ice and up to a foot of snow possible for some areas (including the Twin Cities). Last weekend we received somewhere between eight and ten inches in St. Peter, […]
Perry Christmas!
Well, Perry has been chugging along, pumping nutrients into her/his berries, and some of them are now big orange whoppers. In addition, a few of them have ripened and fallen from the infructescence, and they contain seeds! Those first seeds have been sown (thanks Bob and Matt), and we await the result. Ok – now […]
Arb Sightings 12/3/10
Winter has decided to begin in earnest, one month earlier than usual. Over the past couple weeks southern Minnesota has seen more snow, several dangerous ice storms (one of which caused about 400 vehicle accidents in the Twin Cities in one night), and frigid temperatures struggling to reach the 20’s. Even today here in St. […]
Arb Sightings 11/19/10
After last weekend’s major snowstorm one wonders what other weather oddities we have yet to experience in this uncharacteristic year of weather. Here in St. Peter, 8 to 10 inches of snow accumulated from early Saturday to early Sunday, and similar amounts were recorded throughout southern Minnesota including the Twin Cities. The temperature during the […]
Arb Sightings 11/11/10
Shorts and sandals came out again earlier this week, as high temperatures reached the low 70’s in early November for the third consecutive year. Even yesterday the high temperature reached the mid-60’s, but a northwestern cold front moved in around mid-afternoon, bringing with it some rain and causing temperatures to fall back into the 40’s […]
Perry’s Berries II and The Dark Titan of Halloween
Perry’s berries, probably initiated through vicarious pollination by excited houseflies, continue to enlarge. At least some of them do – those on the periphery of Perry’s infructescence seem not to thrive to the degree of those that are more centrally located. Check out the comparison photos (taken on September 12 and October 26, respectively) to […]
Arb Sightings 11/5/10
November has begun on the chilly side, as temperatures on several mornings this week have dipped into the 20’s. Earlier in the week, as well as this morning, small ponds in the area have been topped with a fine sheet of ice, and our cars have required some frost removal attention. The added winds around […]
Arb Sightings 10/27/10
An unusual year in weather continues this week as a major storm blasts through most of the country’s midsection, including all of Minnesota. Around Monday evening the winds began to pick up in southern and western Minnesota, and by late Tuesday morning they were sustained at 30mph, with some gusts approaching 60mph! This morning snow […]
Arb Sightings 10/22/10
What a pleasant week of October-like weather we have had here in southern Minnesota! High temperatures have remained in the 50’s to low 60’s (with the exception of today, which might reach the low 70’s), and we’ve seen nothing but sun all week. The winds however began to increase around mid-week, and after this brief […]