The Arboretum’s East Side Trails offer access to the more wild, less cultivated side of the Arboretum. I set off on Ridge Trail from the Ordway Picnic Shelter, and the first thing I notice is that jewelweed is in full bloom and surrounded by bees.
I seek out and gently squeeze the jewelweed’s plumpest seedpods, startling every time at the tiny explosion that propels the seeds up to six feet away. This seed-dispersal trait has earned jewelweed its alternate name, “touch-me-not.” (Try this yourself—it’s a curiously compelling pastime.)
A sweet scent is in the air — wild cucumber is also blooming. This vine grows up and over other plants, seeming to smother them, but causing little actual damage. The seedpods are oval-shaped and covered in rubbery spines. The pods turn papery brown and eventually the bottoms open up, dropping four seeds to the ground (a more passive approach to dispersal than the jewelweed’s!).
The golden-yellow petals of brown-eyed Susan and the tiny white flowers of white snakeroot glow in the dappled sunlight. An autumn meadowhawk and a great spangled fritillary soak up the sun. Autumn leaves and berries are beginning to appear.
I sit on a fallen log and have a snack. The breeze is light and cool, the leaves are rustling, and birds are moving among the trees. I catch a glimpse of a small bird with black-and-white markings and my brain says “black-and-white warbler!” Then it asks, “But isn’t it too early for fall migration?” And then it says, “Or maybe this one spent the summer here!”
As a novice birder, I have lots of love for birds and lots of learning still to do. (Upon arriving home I do a little research and discover that these birds do breed in Minnesota, AND that some have begun their fall migration. I also discover a nifty resource—Birdcast—that shows numbers and species of birds moving across the state on any given day or night.) A little later I spy a bird that turns out to be a chestnut-sided warbler (either female or immature male). Again, this one may have spent the summer here or may be migrating through (thanks, Birdcast!).
Wood ducks perch on a dead tree overhanging Lost Pond. The males are in “eclipse plumage” — they have lost the bright colors they displayed during the breeding season and now resemble the duller females, though they retain their red eyes and orange-and-white bill.
Bees are drawn to the abundant goldenrod and Joe-pye weed. The former is often blamed for hay fever, but the less-showy giant ragweed is the real culprit.
Many other flowers are blooming in the woods, displaying various shapes and colors, all of them beautiful.
The next time you’re at the Arboretum, consider walking some of the East Side Trails. The signage is excellent, and you’re sure to see much that surprises and delights.
Visit the Arboretum's website for more information on walks and trails at the Arboretum, including information on the East Side Trail network! Plan your route with helpful photos, maps and trail descriptions.
Holly Einess is a Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer.
Cover photo by Sarah Jackson