Filed under: Corn, Farm, Minnesota, Trees, weather | Tags: Corn, dew, farm, fog, leaves, Minnesota, nature, trees, weather
With the whole center of the country in a drought, it was delightful to come out this morning and see water hanging from all of our plants here in southwestern Minnesota due to the morning fog. I hope you enjoy these foggy picture as much as I did.
Tiny water drops hung from each needle on this small Norway pine.
Delicate water drops graced the spider web on our bridge railing.
Corn leaves were gathering bits of fog and congregating them into water drops big enough to funnel down the stalk to the roots.
Tiny hairs on alfalfa leaves were holding on to smaller bits of fog. Notice the large crack in the dirt. It will take lots of rain to fill them.
Tree leaves were gathering fog into drops that would cascade to the ground whenever the wind would rustle their leaves.
It was indeed an enchanted fog.
Michael
Filed under: cats, cold, fish, Minnesota, pond, winter | Tags: cats, cold, Koi, leaves, Minnesota, pond, snow, trees, winter
I thought after my experience with my goldfish pond I had it all figured out. Obviously not.
My new, larger, Koi pond has had more than a few problems. One of the worst has just surface now that winter has truly set in. I’ve been losing koi.
During the fall, the falling leaves fell freely into the pond. This has never been much of a problem before, so I ignored it. The water that once was so clear, turned brown and started to stink as the leaves rotted. I netted wheel borrow loads full of dead leaves out of the pond. Every time the wind blew, more leaves blew into the pond.
The first cold days came, with the pump hose threatening to freeze up, I turned off the pump and drained the hose. The pump was removed and stored in the house. I added a heater to keep the water open, and fish started to die.
Today I have a small air compressor running to pump air into the bottom of the pond. My theory is that the rotting leaves were using up all of the oxygen in the water leaving none for the fish to use. With four large koi and several small ones dead , it is emergency time. I’m not sure how long I will have to run the compressor. It is not meant to run constantly, but I hope that with the cold weather it will not over heat. As long as the air filter stays clear, it should run for a while.
It has been an expensive lesson. The two largest koi were the first to die and they cost me $50 each. But nothing goes to waste here on the farm. My cats have been eating well.
Michael
Filed under: cold, Fall, Farm, frost, Minnesota, pond, seasons, Trees | Tags: autumn, falling leaves, farm, frost, leaves, Minnesota, pond, trees, wind
With all of the cold we’ve had lately most trees have been shedding their leaves quite quickly. The lack of rain has meant that the leaves have remained dry and light in weight. Some trees, like the catalpa shed their leaves mostly in one day, its large leaves dropping like rain as the frost went out one morning. Many leaves in our area blew off in the wind and made piles in sheltered areas, or blew into the water. A few leaves are still hanging in there. Here’s a few pictures for you.
Only a few leaves remain on this maple. The leaves have been turning from red and gold to brown as they wave goodbye to fall.
While most of the leaves are gone from our trees, this maple has hung on to its leaves. Oak also are waiting to shed their summer glory as their now brown leaves cling to the branches. Locust have compound leaves, and so may shed a leaflet or two before the whole leaf drops.
The pond has been a leaf magnet. Leaves hit the water and stop. I have scooped wheel barrows of leaves out and still the water is brown with leaves. It’s a wonder that the fish can swim in it sometimes. The leaves dam up our little creek and cause the water to run places I do not want it to go.
As the temperatures cool we will lose more of the leaves, a little at a time, as each leaf lets go of its summer hang out and drifts to the ground. It has really been a colorful autumn here in Southwestern Minnesota. Perhaps one of the most colorful I have ever seen. Just 44 more days to winter.
Michael
Filed under: Farm, Minnesota, planting, rain, Soybeans, spring, Trees | Tags: cold, garden, leaves, Soybeans, spring, trees, weather, wind
Many of our trees are losing leaves. It’s not that they are losing all of their leaves, it’s that some of the leaves are falling.
I’m not sure if it was the wind or the cold that damaged them, but they are being dropped. Some areas have a lot of little green leaves on the ground.
Most of our trees are nearing full leaf. We do have a few trees that are still struggling to put on leaves. The ginko and catalpa are always late leafing out. Some trees that were damaged last fall or winter are really struggling to leaf out. Two of my young maples may not make it.
We have a week of warm dry weather if the weather man is right. This should allow things to dry enough for us to start soybean planting. I’m not sure things are dry enough yet. I’m still seeing a few wet spots out there. I’ll be out checking fields to see what the next step is.
Michael
