From the North Shore of Little Rock Lake

MAY 2011 WEATHER & PHENOLOGY IN REVIEW

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

If variety is the spice of life, then May had spice. From a dusting of snow at the beginning of the month to a 82 degrees (F) temperature on the 31^st this was a true demonstration of weather spice.

Our Little Rock Lake area was spared the weather disasters that plagued areas of Minnesota and other parts of the nation in the form of tornados and flooding. For that we should be thankful. Many local farmers are getting in a bind for time to get crops in. A lot of water in the fields has made farm work difficult too impossible. Considering the short amount of time until harvest, we could use some dryer days. The moisture tho, had made for good lawns (six lawn mowings in May) and flower gardens that are doing really well. By the 15^th the trees really started greening up and it was clear, spring and summer was on the way.

WEATHER LAST MAY: Dryer by 1.71" of precipitation. Lest I forget, remember the .1" of SNOW on the 8^th? We ended the month (and year) with 7.72" of precipitation and the snow season with 30.2" of the white stuff compared to 10.81" and 67.3" respectively for this month. The most rain fell on the 11^th when 1.01" fell. Average temperatures were within a few degrees of this year. The coldest temp recorded was 27.6 degrees (F) on the 9^th while the warm reading was a very warm 89.2 degrees (F) on the 30^th.

WEATHER: The dusting of snow the first two days of the month coupled with temperatures in the low 20's made me wonder if winter was ever going to end. It seemed to me that our nearly seven months of winter might stretch on for another month. By the 5^th tho, day temperatures were in the 60's and day temperatures would not drop to the 40's until the 15^th. Ice would not plague the bird bath for the month except on the edges on the 16^th. The 82 degrees (F) reading on the 30^th (Memorial Day) was very welcome for those at the cemeteries honoring our deceased veterans. Our cool temperature occurred on the 3^rd with a 23.1 degree (F) reading. The first tornado of the year in Minnesota occurred on the 10^th in Mpls.

Seventeen days with measurable precipitation totaled 4.65" for a year total of 10.81". Rain fell for seven days (9^th - 15^th) making gravel roads really muddy. The most rain fell on the 21^st when I recorded .81" in the rain gage.

WEATHER RECORDS IN MAY: Locally, our low reading was a very cool 18 degrees (F) in 1907 while Greater MN saw the mercury dip to only 4 degrees (F) in Pine River in 1909. On the warm side of things we saw our temperature reach 105 degrees (F) in 1934 while 112 degrees (F) was recorded at Maple Plain that same year. Local rainfall of 9.68" recorded in 1912 is a record that still stands for May. Yes, the record snow for May is 3.2" in 1971. A record that really surprised me for May, was the all time record low temperature in Hawaii on the 17^th in 1979 of 12 degrees (F). No, not on the beach, at the 13,770 foot elevation of the mountains. That folks, is a good trivia question for the coffee table.

PHENOLOGY: The combination of rain and sun did wonders for all of natures flock. Green things sprouted, flowers bloomed and grass grew. I’d say this is one of the best growing years in a long time for flower gardens. My first lawn mowing was on the 7^th with four more to follow. It was a banner year for the apple and mountain ash trees blooming. Of concern, the lack of bees for pollination. Numbers seem to be way down. Even the little tiny bees seem to be absent. In plentiful supply, WOOD TICKS... They are all over. If you’ve been outside be on the watch for that familiar feeling of something crawling on you.

The summer birds and flying things are back and seeking their mates. On the 3^rd I saw a Great Blue Heron in Little Rock Creek and Emil Williams spotted a pair of Rufous-sided Tohees in his yard. They are very colorful birds. They’ve stayed and he believes they are nesting. Northern Orioles arrived on the 5^th, along with the Rose-breasted Grosbeak and on the 6^th the first Cabbage Butterfly. The 7^th ushered in the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds with lots more showing up on the 8^th. On the 10^th I observed a tailed-blue butterfly, the first (of many) Indigo Buntings, Jim Wainright spotted the first Scarlet Tanager (other neighbors also made the same observations) and Jerry Perske heard the first wren. On the 13^th a Yellow Warbler was in our yard and on the 14^th the geese were guarding their young swimming in Little Rock Lake. When I was taking out the trash on the morning of the 15^th I saw, for the first time ever on North Freedom Rd., a small deer. It jumped back into the woods at the sight of me. I’ve seen lots of tracks, tho never sighting one. It was really great. Another thrill came in the afternoon when Jan and I spotted a Red-headed Woodpecker on a tree only a few feet from the house. This was the first of several sightings the next few days. This is a rare bird, not often seen in this area. Late in the evening of the 16^th the never-ending call of the Whip-poor-will could be heard at the north end of Little Rock Lake. On the 31^st ten Wood Ducks were observed hopping out of our neighbors house that he constructed for them.

Some general observations - Purple Martins numbers are down by 50%. Not sure why, maybe the late lengthy cool weather stopped the insect hatching and they starved? Noted before, very few bees of all types. Wren & hummingbird numbers are down too. Stable are Northern Orioles, Brown-headed Cow Birds and a noted increase of Indigo Buntings.

NATURE NOTE: Did you know that the North American River Otter can hold its breath for up to eight minutes? It does so while fishing under the ice in MN lakes. Minnesota Conservation Volunteer pp 48.