OCTOBER 2008 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake

Jim Hovda, Rice MN 56367-0265 jhovda.rice@jetup.net

WEATHER LAST OCT: In one word - WETTER. A lot of rain, 6.64" for the month occurring on seventeen days. When I looked at precipitation in the month of October, I found that in recent years we have received a lot of rain. 8.22" in 2005, the all time Oct record. 7.5" of that fell on the 3^rd & 4^th putting some lake docks under water and local streams to the top of their banks. We ended the month with 23.14" of precip for the year. About five inches below this year.

WEATHER: Except for rain/snow on a lot of days (17) temps were about normal The low temp for the month was a chilly 20.6 (F) degrees on the 29^th while the warm reading occurred on both the 3^rd and 12^th with a 70.7 (F) degree reading. Our first SNOW fell in the form of flurries on the 26^th. It was a cold day with the wind out of the NW at 44 mph. We ended the month with 3.59" of rain. Really welcome for the green things, especially our trees. On the 16^th the first hard ice in the bird bath while on the 28^th ice had formed on the back waters of local streams.

WEATHER RECORDS: Our local coldest temp occurred in 1896 with a 2 degree (F) reading while Roseau recorded a -16 degrees (F) in 1936 for the out state low. On the pleasant side of things, the St. Cloud area recorded a balmy 90 degrees (F) in 1953 but Beardsley topped out at 98 degrees (F) in 1963. Now that we are in the SNOW season, 4.9" fell on 23 Oct 1995. (We had thunder snow here in Rice but only 1.75" fell along with rain.) The rainfall record here was set in 2005 when we received 8.22 inches for the month.

PHENOLOGY: As fall takes a serious look at winter, October is a month of saying goodby to summer. Depending on temps, lot’s of things happen to the green things. Most of the summer birds have gone south for the winter. Looking at trees and plants: On the 8^th lots of maple leaves falling along with the more visible orange mountain ash berries. About the 9^th fall colors reached their peak along Benton Co Rd #2. The combination of maple, elm & ash trees produced some of the best color I’ve seen in many years. Not only that, the fall colors lasted a really long time. By the 12^th the oaks were in their full fall colors of deep red and purple. One of the most beautiful falls in recent times.

A formal inspection of our gardens on the 19^th surprised me when I identified nine different flowers in full bloom. Of those, I was surprised to see purple Monkshood, some yellow Day Lilies, Bleeding Hearts and a few Trumpet Vine flowers. In good supply were bright red American Cranberries and lots and lots of seeding milkweed.

BIRDS, CRITTERS & OTHER THINGS - - The first dock came in on the 11^th when Johnson took advantage of a real nice day. Dr. Ray Merritt while on a walk in his woods observed no less than fifteen different kinds of mushrooms. Ray said this was a bumper year for them because it was so wet all month. Jana Gondeck told me that she spotted a wolf on county road #78 and wondered if that was possible. In checking with our local hunters I’m told that both wolf and coyote are plentiful not to mention numerous bobcats. I was surprised to learn about the bobcats. One lowly Leopard Frog in the garden on the 24^th and a Pileated Woodpecker returned to the newly placed suet on the 30^th. At the end of the month, and still in Nov, the pocket gophers are still active showing their mounds of dirt as they dig their tunnels looking for roots and grubs. Also at the end of the month, two Brown Bats in my bat house. I sure hope they make it through the winter.

A couple of odds and ends - - A Monarch Butterfly was passing thru on the 19^th and the AC was covered along with the crawl space beneath the cabin tightly sealed in preparation for winter. I’m surprised that I’ve not seen the flocks of Cedar Waxwings eliminating all the mountain ash berries. They usually have been here by now. Randy Fernholz reports that Little Rock Lake is a bit lower but really clear.

NATURE NOTE: Time to get out the bird bath heater to ensure it is in working order - - make sure that your bird feeders receive a good cleaning - - stock up on your favorite bird seed. See ya’ all in Nov.