That Tree Is Freaking Out!

Today I went on a field trip, not as a chaperone but as a participant. We went to a field. Where else would a field trip go? We went to the Cedar Creek Natural Center which is in NE Anoka County and expands into southern Isanti County. I had never heard of this place but it actually emcompasses almost 6,000 acres. The nature center is owned by the U of M and is a significant center for environmental research. Telemetry was started here. They were the first to put electronic collars on animals and track their travels. Our first stop was a tamarack bog. I gotta say, I love being with people who are as curious as I am and who enjoy answering and asking questions. So after we toured the bog (a little difficult walking through the deep snow) and identified all the trees and many of the grasses and weeds and tracks, we were to summarize and talk about what we would present as a naturalist. My mind went blank beyond pointing and saying, "That is a cedar tree." One guy noticed that you could see the topography by looking at the trees on each hilly spot in the bog. Our instructor noticed what looked like pussy willows. I could have sworn it was a pussy willow tree. But it was an aspen tree. Aspen trees have little buds in the spring that look like pussy willows. Last week the power company went through the area and cut down trees under the power line. One small aspen, usually shaded by the trees around it, was given it's first bit of direct sunlight. Last week was warm. The unsuspecting tree put forth it's spring flowers thinking it was time. But today is only March 1. That is why he said, "That tree is freaking out!" We talk so scientifically in this group. We went back into the cars and traveled south to Fish Lake. Fish Lake usually has no fish in it because it's only 10 feet deep and some years it freezes to the bottom. We were hoping to find a red headed woodpecker. Red headed woodpeckers became rare after the energy crisis in the late 1970's. People started burning wood and removed the dead trees the woodpeckers need to survive. Dutch Elm disease made for more habitat for woodpeckers in the 1980's. The pileated woodpeckers are quite common but not the red headed woodpeckers. We didn't see one. But I did see an oriole nest. The U of M burns the area near Fish Lake and I saw an open pine cone on a jack pine. Jack pine cones only open with the heat of a fire so it is rare to see an open cone. Usually they're sealed up tight with resin. If I could plan an ideal day for myself, tromping through the woods with a naturalist would be part of the plan.