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By Griff Wigley, on April 12, 2012, 10:58 pm
 Back in 2008, I blogged about the demise of the spooky old tree in Carleton’s Lower Arb.
Last week, Robbie and I had breakfast with Northfield newcomers Rebecca Bliss and her husband Don Hasseltine (new VP of External Relations at Carleton).
When I told their young daughters about the spooky old tree in the Arb, they alerted me to a spooky tree they discovered in the Upper Arb that "only creaks when people walk by."
  
So with moms and dogs in tow, we paid the tree a visit on Tuesday and sure enough, it creaked just loud enough for a hearing impaired geezer to hear. Freaky.
By Griff Wigley, on January 8, 2012, 9:53 pm
  
As I walked in the Lower Arb this afternoon, it was hard to believe we’re heading into mid-January: runners in shorts; March-like mud; no snow anywhere. WTF. If it wasn’t for mountain biking, I would be really difficult to live with. I may have to start wintering in Valdez, Alaska, the snowiest city in the US, where they’ve gotten 270 inches thus far.
By Griff Wigley, on September 14, 2011, 7:40 am
By Griff Wigley, on June 20, 2011, 8:10 am
 While Northfield awaits the installation of poems by the 2011 Sidewalk Poetry Contest winners, inspiration can be found in the Upper Arb in the form of this tastefully constructed bit of cardboard strung between two trees with a John Cage quote.
By Griff Wigley, on April 25, 2011, 6:35 am
  
After getting several copies of this via email and tweets last week during our miserable wet cold spell, I went in search of spring in the Upper Arb Sunday morning, our first sunny day in a looooooooooooong time. I didn’t find much. Alas, the forecast calls for more cold rain and slushy snow mid-week. Sigh.
INSTALLING SPRING…?????????????????????? 76%. Installation delayed….please wait. Installation failed. Please try again. 404 error: Season not found. Season "Spring" cannot be located. The season you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please try again…..
By Griff Wigley, on April 12, 2011, 8:10 am
By Griff Wigley, on January 17, 2011, 7:13 am
Robbie and I strapped on our 40-year old Vermont Tubbs wooden snowshoes on Saturday afternoon and went for a short trek in lower Arb along Spring Creek.
   
We had to contend with hordes of pesky cross country skiers like the above hotshots, Amy Boxrud and her main squeeze, Doug Bratland. We ended with drinks in front of the fireplace at the Contented Cow.
See the album of 14 photos, the large slideshow (recommended), or this small slideshow:
By Griff Wigley, on December 20, 2010, 7:38 am
By Griff Wigley, on December 12, 2010, 9:18 am
Cross-country skiing on the Ann Sipfle Memorial Ski Trail in Carleton’s Lower Arb yesterday was memorable.
  
There were a few of us making the round trip from Lyman Lakes to Waterford Bridge and back, including Tim Vick and his daughter Laura.
See the album of 20 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow:
By Griff Wigley, on November 12, 2010, 11:08 pm
   
While walking in the Lower Arb on Wednesday (a balmy 68 degrees, so long ago), I noticed that the footbridge at the west end of the tennis courts that crosses over Spring Creek just before it empties into the Cannon River was washed out in the flood. If you’re up for a balance challenge, though, you can still get across on the wiggly wobbly (heh) iron bars.
There are other scars to view, too.
By Griff Wigley, on October 1, 2010, 11:45 pm
John Pauley from Prairie Restorations stopped by my office at GBM last week and told me about the pair of whooping cranes that he spotted in the Carleton Arb recently. There are only 400 of these birds in the wild.
   
He sent me photos taken by Arb Director Nancy Braker. I’ve taken the liberty to crop 4 of them. See the stories on the Carleton site:
Sept 15: Whooping Cranes Make Rare Visit to Northfield
Sept 22: Update on Northfield sighting of Whooping Cranes
By Griff Wigley, on June 14, 2010, 6:37 am
With all the rain we’ve had lately (2.69 inches so far this month according to the Carleton College Weather Database), it’s provided the opportunity for macro photos of wet stuff in the Carleton Arb.
See my album of 17 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow:
By Griff Wigley, on May 20, 2010, 7:33 am
By Tracy Davis, on April 27, 2010, 9:13 am
 Lance and I went for a hike in Big Woods State Park about a week ago, and the dwarf trout lilies were in bloom. After reading a bit about them (here’s the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service fact sheet) I wondered if there might be some in the Arb or down along the river.
Apparently the dwarf form of the trout lily is ONLY found in three counties in Minnesota, and nowhere else in the world. The foliage of the dwarf trout lilies and the regular trout lilies looks the same and they are found together in the same drifts, so you can’t tell them apart until they bloom. Trout lilies have six creamy-white tepals (that was a new one for me) and the flower is about the diameter of a nickel. Dwarf trout lilies have 4, 5, or 6 tepals and are about the size of a dime. They also have a slightly pinkish cast.
I went into the Arb and found some trout lilies, but only a few were blooming, and I didn’t see any recognizable dwarf trout lilies. Does anyone know if the dwarf version has been identified in or around Northfield and/or the Arb?
Here are some more details from the MinnesotaWildflowers blog/website.
By Griff Wigley, on March 30, 2010, 8:12 am
 
I was surprised to see wildflowers blooming in the lower Arb yesterday (no idea what these are. Anyone?)
But I was even more surprised to hear the frogs. It’s still March! I assume these were Western Chorus frogs, judging from the audio on this MPCA page on frogs for kids. Here’s a 14-second video clip with audio:
Continue reading The Arb is becoming colorful and noisy
By Griff Wigley, on March 29, 2010, 7:06 am
 
I noticed last week that seven large pines trees (all of them white pines, I think), have been cut down in Carleton’s lower Arb. Other pines, red and white, remain.
I didn’t see a sign explaining the reason and I don’t see anything on the Current Arb Happenings web pages.
Nancy, what’s the buzz tell me what’s a-happening!
By Griff Wigley, on February 13, 2010, 12:18 pm
I hauled out my old tripod and a new monopod this morning to try to do a better job at capturing yet another spectacular hoar frost. I got much better pre-dawn shots of downtown than last time. And I spent a couple hours in Carleton’s Lower Arb once it got light.
  
Here are three people shots. Photo albums are forthcoming but it may take me till mid-July to sort, crop and publish them.
By Griff Wigley, on February 12, 2010, 11:58 pm
  I’ve got nothing against drinking and smoking outdoors. But when those who do don’t properly dispose of the associated delivery systems, it pisses me off.
While taking photos in the Carleton Arb earlier this week, I couldn’t help but notice:
Continue reading Giving drug users a bad name
By Griff Wigley, on February 11, 2010, 8:22 am
 The 11 inches of snow we got earlier this week have made for a winter wonderland. The snowshoeing and cross country skiing are fantastic. And photo buffs like me are having a ball.
Erin Mayberry has a blog post on Northfield.org about Community Ed and Rec’s Snowshoeing 101 class on Saturday.
I took the photo above yesterday in Carleton’s Upper Arb. Here are 6 more, 3 of them macros:
Continue reading It’s a winter wonderland out there so let’s play hooky!
By Griff Wigley, on February 6, 2010, 11:54 pm
  
There’s an ice palace in the Carleton Arb, just off the start of the Ann Sipfle Memorial Ski Trail. Candles are stuck on the sides of the inside walls.
Looks like a great place for a romantic night under the stars. And with Valentine’s Day coming up… hmmm, this gives me a great idea. Cheap, too.
By Griff Wigley, on January 12, 2010, 6:16 am
 Sunday was a perfect day for cross country skiing in the Carleton Arb. Sunny, light wind, about 15 degrees F. It ended with a fabulous sunset.
See my album of 18 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow:
Continue reading Photo album: winter in the Arb
By Griff Wigley, on December 27, 2009, 6:21 am
By Griff Wigley, on December 21, 2009, 7:28 am
Yesterday morning’s Alberta clipper dusted us with an inch or two of snow, prompting me to try my hand at another round of macro photos (see the autumn album) in the Carleton Arb. I’ll probably add to this album over the next week as a parade of snow ‘event’s’ are predicted to march through southern Minnesota.
See the album of 16 photos, the large slideshow, or this small slideshow:
Continue reading Photo album: Arb in winter
By Griff Wigley, on December 1, 2009, 11:27 am
 Our radio show/podcast guest this week: Nancy Braker, Director of the Carleton Arb (AKA the Carleton College Cowling Arboretum), talking with us about the great things happening with the Arb and some of the challenges. (Guess which is the biggest problem currently: off-leash dogs, invasive species, or overabundance of deer?)
Continue reading Podcast: Guest Nancy Braker, Director of the Carleton Arb
By Griff Wigley, on November 30, 2009, 8:33 am
It’s the last day of a warm November and with the weather about to shift, here’s a look at some fall color photos of the Carleton Arb and of downtown Northfield via my camera’s macro lens. While the killer frosts in early October ruined much of the area’s usually spectacular fall color, it made for some interesting close-ups.
Continue reading Photo albums: fall colors in the Arb and downtown
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