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Out and About

Spring Is Blooming at the Arb

With sunny skies and a high of 73 degrees Fahrenheit, my mom and I made our way to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota, this morning. I took these 13 photos from 10:47 to 11:43 a.m.

Ginkgo biloba, ‘Autumn Gold,’ maidenhair tree
Pseudotsuga menziesii, Douglas fir
In loving memory of Dan Ohland
Pinus resinosa, red pine (both trees)
Populus tremuloides, labeled trembling aspen (right) and quaking aspen (left), though both trees are the same species
Placard on the quaking aspen in the previous photo reading, “In Memory of our Beloved Friend Gerry Marshall 2006”
Austrian pine planting
Malus sargentii, ‘Select A,’ Firebird™, Sargent crabapple
Forsythia, ‘Northern Sun’
Magnolia x loebneri, ‘Leonard Messel,’ Loebner magnolia
The Peony Pavilion (Chinese: 牡丹亭)
Tops of various trees, including hickory
Mom with a pair of Nikon 8×42 binoculars, a Christmas gift from me last year
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Out and About

Winter Lights at the Arboretum

Tonight, I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota, to see their Winter Lights walking tour that goes through the end of the month. I’ve never been to the Arboretum in the winter, much less seen their Winter Lights display (though I’m not sure if they’ve had it in previous years).

I took a bus in Chaska to get there, because the Arboretum was sold out of tickets for parking on-site. A SouthWest Transit employee at the park-and-ride facility in Chaska told me there would be 4,000 attendees tonight—with 3,000 people parking at the Arboretum and 1,000 people taking the bus.

As these photos illustrate, there is no snow on the ground. Furthermore, I recall only two days this fall and winter season when there was any measurable snow on the ground, and they were on October 30 and 31. Needless to say, there won’t be a white Christmas this year. In fact, the two main reasons I went to this event tonight was that it was warm (the high temperature in Chanhassen today was 47 degrees Fahrenheit) and that I wanted to document the brown Christmas, which happens much less frequently than a white Christmas in the Twin Cities. The high temperature for tomorrow (Christmas Eve) is 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

I took these 19 photos from 4:49 to 5:37 p.m.

Arb logo at the Oswald Visitor Center
A reindeer guiding a snowman on a sleigh
Apple
Frosted Romance
Steps leading to the carousel
The carousel
House with a star
Pollinator Path
Miscellaneous lights
Miscellaneous lights II
Winter Village
Winter Village II
Multicolored building (probably the Oswald Visitor Center)
Arb logo at the Oswald Visitor Center II
Apple II (not the computer)
Water Lily Way
Apple tree
SouthWest Transit bus
SouthWest Transit bus II
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Out and About

Correction: The Last Nice Autumn Day at the Arb Is Yet to Come

I regret the premise of my last article from October 11 titled, “The Last Nice Autumn Day at the Arb?” Minnesota’s leaves are keeping their color longer this year, so I now say the best day for fall colors is yet to come. In the picture to the right, one can see that much of the Twin Cities—including where I live in Chanhassen—is still at near-peak.

I encourage everyone to utilize the Fall Color Finder from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In years past, I’ve visited some of the state parks, which are denoted by circles on the map. I’m not sure if I will visit any state parks this year, but I certainly would be up to it if my mom is interested in another excursion in the woods with frequent stops.

I took these six photos today from 10:33 to 11:22 a.m. at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota.

Grace B. Dayton Wildflower Garden sign at the beginning of the Three-Mile Walk
Colorful trees near the beginning of the Three-Mile Walk
Ginkgo biloba leaves
Acer rubrum, ‘Autumn Spire,’ Red Maple
Maze Garden
Tilia cordata, ‘Glenleven,’ Littleleaf Linden
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Out and About

The Last Nice Autumn Day at the Arb?

It’s possible today is the last nice autumn day of the year at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota. I say this because, (1) according to the Fall Color Finder by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, my area is at near-peak (orange):

Minnesota D.N.R.’s Fall Color Finder map for 2023-10-11

and (2) the next three days will be rainy and breezy, which will likely cause many of the leaves to fall.

Here are seven photos I took today between 10:19 and 11:03 a.m.

Sunstar in the forest
Fish sculpture in a pond
Crane sculpture and its reflection in the same pond
Lake with fall colors
Ginkgo biloba, ‘Autumn Gold,’ Maidenhair Tree
Malus, ‘Indian Magic,’ Crabapple
Acer saccharum, Sugar Maple
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Out and About

The Arb in Early October

I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota, this morning. I took these photos from 9:00 to 10:10 a.m.

Koi in the Japanese Garden
Waterfall in the Japanese Garden
Gazebo in the Japanese Garden
Monarch butterfly in one of the gardens
Impatiens, ‘SunPatiens Compact Electric Orange,’ Hybrid Impatiens
Salvia, ‘Mystic Spires,’ Hybrid Sage
Betula papyrifera, Paper Birch
White Ash, Fraxinus americana
Green maple leaves
Various pine trees
Sunstar in a bronze sculpture titled “Sud II” by Mimmo Paladino (b. 1948, Italian)
Unidentified shrub rose
Sculpture titled “Family” by Douglas Olmsted Freeman
Three-Mile Walk sign
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Out and About

Another Evening at the Arb

Less than a week ago, I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota. Unlike this prior visit, it was overcast today, which is actually a good time to photograph anything with vibrant colors.

I took these photos from 5:59 to 6:20 p.m.

Campanula glomerata, ‘Allgentibl’ Genti Blue, Clustered Bellflower
Rabbit statue with: Geranium, ‘Jolly Bee,’ Cranesbill
Street light
Allium, ‘Globemaster,’ Onion
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Out and About

An Evening at the Arb

My mom and I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota, this evening. I took these photos from 6:24 to 6:39 p.m.

Acer palmatum, ‘Bloodgood,’ Japanese Maple
Fountain, Donated by Dr. Virgil T. Fallon, 2001
Philadelphus lewisii, ‘Blizzard,’ Mockorange
Bumblebee
Placard that reads “Plants Used for Making Dyes”
Placard that reads “Plants Used for Making Tools”
Unknown red flower
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Out and About

Leaf Peeping 2022: Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

For the second installment of “Leaf Peeping 2022,” I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum today in Chaska, Minnesota. I took these photos from 8:19 to 9:35 a.m.

Main road
Rose Walk sign
Main road (again)
Red flowers
House with picnic tables
The beginning of the Three-Mile Walk
Pond with green algae
Brick path
Signpost
Purple flowers
Crabapple tree
The Canada goose on the right is eating a crabapple
Paul Granlund; American, 1925-2003; Swimmers, 1990; Bronze
Acer saccharum, the sugar maple
Acer platanoides, the Norway maple
Acer saccharum nigrum, the black maple
Rosa ‘BUCbi’ (Carefree Beauty)
Pine Tree Exhibit land art
Pinus nigra, the Austrian pine
Maze Garden
Douglas Freeman; American, born 1952; Family, 1989; Bronze
Sunlight on an oak tree
Vista over Green Heron Pond
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Out and About

A Mid-September Afternoon at the Arb

Today, I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (the Arb) in Chaska, Minnesota. I hope to visit the Arb many times this autumn (I’m an inveterate leaf peeper!).

These are my first professional-camera photos taken this September.

Gate where the Three-Mile Walk and Three-Mile Drive meet
White and yellow wildflowers
Diseased tree
Pinus strobus, eastern white pine
Malus, ‘Jubilee,’ Crabapple
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Out and About

The Arboretum’s Three-Mile Walk in Late Summer

This evening, my mom and I walked the Three-Mile Walk at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, Minnesota.

Birch trees
Black-eyed Susans
Malus, ‘Sundog,’ Crabapple
Malus pumila, Crabapple
Sundial
Pad-mounted transformer and conifers
Douglas Freeman; American, born 1952; Family, 1989; Bronze
Unidentified red flowers