By Mary Beth Pottratz
This morning’s dappled sunshine has given way to bright haze. Geese squawk overhead and disappear behind the woodland.
Blue tubing crisscrosses maple trees in the forest, and I see several blue bags and buckets attached to some trees as well. Is it maple syrup time already?
I head to Frog Hollow to find out and happen upon the Arboretum’s Natural Resources Horticulturist, Richard DeVries. He manages the process of tapping, collecting, boiling and producing maple syrup. I ask how our record-warm temperatures will affect the maple syrup.
Richard said trees were tapped on Jan. 31 and sap immediately started flowing! Yesterday alone (Feb. 24) he boiled sap down to seventy gallons of maple syrup, which you can see listed in the 2023-2024 Sap Collection Log posted outside the Maple Sugar House. This year breaks the record for the earliest sap collection in 24 years.
In the wetland, cattail flower spikes are bursting. Tiny white hairs carry off a seed in the wind. Despite the sun and warm temperatures, Green Heron Pond and Wood Duck Pond are still frozen, but very little snow remains on the grounds.
The tree house in the Shade Tree Exhibit makes a perfect spot to rest and phone my mom. We live in different states, and she loves a “visit” at the Arb with me on a live video session. With each call, I find another delightful spot to show Mom.
And delightful it is! Chickadees call furtively from the treetops and squirrels crash through dried leaves. The deck around the tree house is littered with mast — acorns, seeds and pods, a fallen twig with buds and more. These forest fragments feed wildlife. They help maintain biodiversity in the woods and return nutrients to the soil. They are also studied and sometimes even counted by researchers to deepen our understanding of climate change, ecological succession, phenology and more.
A wild turkey pecks casually at the ground and a woodpecker drums nearby. Arboretum staff prepare portable fire pits for tonight’s full moon hike. The sky is clearing, the wind has died down, and it is still above 40 degrees. Another record — and it should be a great hike!
Mary Beth Pottratz is a Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer. More information about the program is at www.minnesotamasternaturalist.org.
Cover photo by Sara Pace