It’s officially fall now – we’ve had many below freezing nights, and we had our first dusting of snow.

Some friends from town came to visit this week.  Unfortunately it was a cold, windy day, but we took a tour in the truck, and did one short hike. Fred, Dottie, Dee and Jane at the Knife Edge bench.

Knife Edge view, and Fred, the explorer.

Dee, Jane, Dottie, Fred, and me at the Big View Prairie bench (in the sun and the cold wind!).

View from Big View Prairie

The maples are turning color now.  We have no Sugar Maples, and only a few Red Maples; I love finding their glowing orange leaves in the woods.

Mist in the valley

We’ve been guessing that the scat we’ve been finding is from Gray Fox – it’s full of apple skins and plum pits.  Today we saw a Gray Fox running along the trail in 3 Finger Valley in front of us.

I’m still seeing butterflies on the warmest days.

A Red Admiral – one of the few I’ve seen this year

And an Eastern Comma

My last Buckmoth pupa hatched, a female, and I released her in Harriet Alexander marsh in Roseville – just north of St. Paul.  I was hoping to see some other Buckmoths, but she didn’t attract any males while I was there.

I left her on one of the willows.

It’s a beautiful marsh with good habitat for Buckmoths – I hope she was able to find a mate.

Back at the farm, with a wintry storm coming in from the north.