Backyard Almanac show

Backyard Almanac

Summary: Phenology with Northern Minnesota naturalist Larry Weber every Friday morning at 8:20 on Northland Morning on KUMD in Duluth, MN. Have a question for Larry Weber? Email us and you might hear his answer on the show!

Podcasts:

 Backyard Almanac: Hello, August, my old friend ... nothin' but crickets | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 976

Awesome August arrives to the sound of ... crickets. It's not that there's nothing going on, it's just the birdsong has stopped for the most part, leaving frogs, toads, and yes, crickets, to fill the silence. Plus how much rain we need over the weekend to get back to "normal," and a wildlife experience that is absolutely worth being on the road at 4:15am for.

 Backyard Almanac: "It ain't over 'til it's over" | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 743

July snatched defeat from the jaws of victory last week, getting some rain and thereby losing the chance to set a record as the dryest July ever. But with August on the horizon things in the natural world are picking up, from wildflowers to stirrings of migration to web-strewn walks.

 Backyard Almanac: Do we even have a national flower? If not, Larry nominated goldenrod | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 733

Will we break the record for the driest July ever? Between the heat and smoke from Canadian wildflowers, we haven't seen the sky in a while. What's the moon up to these days? Are wildflowers really changing again? And where do we sign to have the goldenrod named as the National Flower? Is that even a thing? Larry Weber has the answers this week on Backyard Almanac.

 Backyard Almanac: invasive plant used to combat anxiety and stress is CAUSING anxiety and stress | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1222

As we slip into those lazy, hazy, crazy days of mid-summer, there's plenty to see whether we take a sidewalk stroll or hike in a wilderness area. Watch for photographers: they've either got a bead on a beautiful plant, bird, animal or insect, or they're like naturalist (and our special guest host) Judy Gibbs and they're doing their part as citizen scientists and documenting the spread of invasive species in our area. And while we know Duluth is a great place to live, why does valerian think so,

 Backyard Almanac: moths - we'll leave a light on for you | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 880

This week, we had two days of temperatures above 90° -- and then Brimson almost broke the record with a low of 30°. But nothing tops the week of July 7-13 in 1936, when the entire country sweltered under a series of heat waves. 17 of the 48 contiguous states and two Canadian provinces tied or broke their all-time heat records and many of those records are still unbroken. In Duluth, six of those records still stand: doubly impressive when you learn temperatures were only recorded by the lake in

 Backyard Almanac: life is just a bolete of cherries - uh, dewberries | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 779

Last month blew through the previous record (set in 1910) for the hottest June on record - and that's 150 years of records. We got only 40% of the rain we get in an average June, too. But last year, July was our wettest month. And there are all kinds of things to see and enjoy (think wildflowers, berries and aphelion) in the great outdoors.

 Backyard Almanac: The June 2021 Report | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 585

Hotter than normal and drier than normal, but still not as bad as last June at this time. Halfway through 2021, that's the June wrap-up. Meanwhile, birds from fledgling hummingbirds (at about the weight of a penny) to young Great blue herons (who can weigh about as much as a big bottle of ketchup) are leaving their nests for the big wild world.

 Backyard Almanac: A lack of rain, but an abundance of activity | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 637

Summer solstice is two days away. Whereas nine years ago during the summer solstice the region was literally flooding with record rainfall, this June rainfall totals are at less than one-half inch so far -- two inches below normal. Many bird fledglings are emerging, and some lake frogs are calling and beginning to mate. Some butterfly species are making their first appearance for the year. Among other wildflowers that you can see, the Minnesota state flower, the pink lady's slipper, is in bloom.

 Backyard Almanac: the record Larry Weber hopes is unbreakable | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 965

Last week at this time, we had some record-breaking heat. The National Weather Service in Duluth recorded highs on Friday and Saturday of 94. But on June 7, the records remained standing, and only a true weather nerd would get why Larry was so excited about it. Also new butterflies. moths, dragonflies, turtle eggs, frogs calling, and wildflowers, this week on Backyard Almanac.

 Backyard Almanac: from the sublime to the ridiculous (or the vice versa) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 893

Was it really only a week ago we broke records with temps of 30º and 29º? And today we're challenging the record high temp of 95º?

 Backyard Almanac: Larry Weber is outstanding in his field - er, sitting in his garden | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 812

The wind has had everything to do with our weather this week; when the winds turn off the big lake, everybody notices. But at least it's not snowing like it did in 2019. Tent caterpillars are out - and before you reach for the chemicals, read or listen to today's episode of Laura Erickson's For the Birds - the season of toad romance has come and gone, but everything else from wildflowers to warblers is getting a move on. "May is greening," says Larry. "June is growing."

 Backyard Almanac: from blah to bursting in four days | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 553

Larry Weber says it's almost as though the plants were coiled and waiting for a little rain. And once they got it - they're busting out all over.

 Backyard Almanac: vernal ponds aren't out of the woods - metaphorically speaking | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 924

The first half of May (remember, lately the first and second halves of the month are dramatically different from one another) wraps up with cooler than normal temps and no rain. And while May continues with warblers and wildflowers, birds and blossoms, spiders and sparrows - the continuing lack of rain is bad news for the vernal pools and the plants, animals and insects that depend on them.

 Backyard Almanac: Forest Floor Wildflowers Getting It While They Can | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 761

Early spring leaves are beginning to emerge, but the forest floor wildflowers are soaking up as much sun as they can before being shaded by the leaf canopy. Warblers are beginning to return north in search of caterpillars, their spring food source, but the early leaf growth may cause caterpillars to cocoon before the warblers arrive. And a notable lack of rain yet in May has put the Northland back into a fire hazard condition.

 Backyard Almanac: wildflower, warblers, and a waning gibbous moon | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 687

If Larry has one piece of advice as April warms into May, it's: take a walk. Every. Single. Day.

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