Calendars and phenology

Going Nature’s Way
By Kate Crowley

Do you look forward to putting up a new calendar each year, as much as I do?  And do you have special calendars that you buy almost religiously each year?  I do.  Or maybe you are happy to accept the calendars given out by local merchants during the holiday season.  I receive at least five unsolicited calendars each year from Environmental Organizations I support and these I save to give to my grandchildren.  Like the record keeping I do with my birdwatching, there is something refreshing and a bit exciting about putting up a new calendar with the numbers of the New Year for all to see.  So much possibility in those pages, even though I know they can bring sadness as well as joy, I prefer to dwell on the positive, exciting, and creative experiences that lie in wait.
For a long time I have had two particular calendars that I MUST get each year.  One is by a favorite artist, Mary Englebreit, whose colorful and clever drawings and phrases entertain me; the other is the Freshwater Society Weatherguide calendar, but more about that in a bit .  More recently I have become fond of the photo calendars that you can make yourself on-line with your own photographs.  The variations of background and format can be a bit overwhelming, but through these options you can make the calendar very personal, with important dates highlighted and written comments included.  Then each month when you turn the page you’re presented with another photo to stir memories and make you smile.
The Weatherguide Calendar has been a staple of mine for 34 years. I have saved everyone, because they are scientific documents that I have used to record temperatures, other weather conditions and phenological events.  For those who have never heard of phenology, it is the study of nature and its relationship to weather and climate. In other words, it is noticing and recording when the first robin returns, when the catkins begin to open on the aspen trees, when the ice goes off a nearby lake, when the chorus frogs start to sing – and when they stop.  The list is nearly endless, limited only by your ability to observe and recognize when something new is happening. 
This particular calendar began as collaboration between the Freshwater Society, The Science Museum of Minnesota and WCCO radio.  Today it is produced by the Freshwater Society and KARE11.  It is more than a calendar – it is a source of great information about astronomy, freshwater, and phenological events that happened (and the dates) in the previous two years.  Even as the format has changed over the years, it is still the place where I record my daily entries and where I go for information that I can use in my writing.  I would be lost if they ever stopped publishing these amazing calendars, but even if they did; I would still find a way to record our local phenology.    
I know that this information may not seem important on the surface, but it potentially has the capability of assisting scientists who in the future will be trying to study changes in our environment.  When did we start seeing significant changes in bird migration or flower blooming times?  How quickly did the change happen?  What has been lost, what has been gained, and what is still in flux?  I will make sure that my grandchildren know about these calendars; they are an inheritance that I believe they will really appreciate.  We are trying to influence them as they grow up to be observant of nature and I feel certain that one or more will pursue the sciences.
It’s so easy to be distracted in our daily lives by all the media and technology that surrounds us.  This is true for both adults and kids.  Focusing on nature for even a few minutes of every day grounds us and should remind us of our connection to it.  Going for a walk outdoors every day is an even better way of connecting.  It is a known form of mental and physical therapy.  Do this regularly; pay attention to your surroundings and phenology will come very naturally. You will find that you can see the subtle changes of color in the bark of some shrubs as winter wanes, or the swelling of maple buds, or hear the courtship calls of the black-capped chickadees (fee-bee, fee-bee).  I can guarantee you that your life will be enriched and a window will open on the world that you didn’t even know was closed.  And with that I wish you a New Year of beauty and discovery. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Munger Trail - Willow River to Moose Lake

Image
The Willard Munger Trail - named for one of the environmental heroes of MN is our neighborhood bike trail and the place I get my biking exercise and conditioning.  I thought it would be good to share some of its highlights and pleasures.  So here is a look at the trail and what I enjoy. The small towns that prospered during the days when the trail was a railroad track and the country moved by Steam Engine are just a shadow of what they used to be, but that shadow is filled with surprises and fun places to explore if you give yourself the time to engage in the setting, as well as the peddling.  Willow River is our little home town and the Mercantile is over 100 years old and still meets many of our needs.  It is a place for refreshments and Peggy Sue's is a local restaurant that makes a great lunch or dinner stop. There is also a local park that provides you with a sense of the RR past. The trail is very straight like most RR grades and lacks hills except between Rutledg
Read more

Sense of Place

Image
GOING NATURE’S WAY By Kate Crowley I am intrigued by the idea of Sense of Place; to feel completely ‘at home’ in one particular place.  I have read that people who grow up on the Great Plains feel claustrophobic when they are in forested environments and in reverse,  people who have grown up surrounded by forest find the openness of the plains unnerving, with nothing to break the view to the horizon. I grew up in the city, but the Minnehaha Creek and Parkway were just two blocks away and I spent countless hours playing and exploring there.  The city lakes were within biking distance. The Mississippi River was just blocks away from the apartment where I lived the first four years of my life.  When I was 36 I married Mike and moved to our current home and it was perfect.  When my dad first visited us in our new home, he said, “Kate must think she’s died and gone to heaven”.  This is where I am supposed to be.  Scientists who have studied the evolution of humanity have proposed
Read more

Rain threatens birds

Image
WINGIN’ IT By Kate Crowley As the floodwaters recede, a stunned and relieved populace can finally stop holding their collective breath. Throughout southern Carlton County and all of Pine County there is a sense of disbelief that only four years after a major flood event, it has happened again.  At our home we measured over 8” of rain in less than 24 hours. This is what the word deluge was meant to describe. Others said it felt like they were in the middle of a monsoon. Thankfully there was no loss of life in our region, but property damage and loss was significant for people who have in some cases finally recovered and remodeled after the flood of 2012, which was said to be a once in 100 years flood when 8 to 10 inches of rain were spread over three days. Here in Willow River, there was fear that the small dam holding back the waters of the river would fail, with catastrophic results. Roads throughout the two counties (and into Wisconsin) were hard hit and the cost to repair
Read more