Categories
Out and About

Me, a Lake, a Sunset, and My Camera

I visited Lake Ann in Chanhassen, Minnesota, this evening. Chanhassen is now at peak fall colors according to the Fall Color Finder webpage by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:

It will be rainy and snowy for the rest of the week (today is Monday), so it’s likely I won’t photograph fall colors again until next year.

I took these photos from 5:58 to 6:16 p.m.; the sunset was at 6:18 p.m.

Dock at Lake Ann (where I took the next four photos)
Lake Ann fishing pier
Sky reflection on Lake Ann
Sky reflection on Lake Ann II
Moon reflection on Lake Ann
Categories
Out and About

Panoramic Views at Sibley State Park

My mom and I ventured out with our puggle, Missy, again today to see Sibley State Park two hours away in New London, Minnesota. As the map to the right shows, the state park is at the peak time for fall colors. (Be sure to utilize the Fall Color Finder webpage with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.)

We spent most of our time driving, but it at least didn’t take long to get some spectacular scenic photos.

I took these seven photos from 3:54 to 4:23 p.m.

View from Mount Tom
View from Mount Tom II
Mount Tom observation tower (where I took the previous two photos)
Silhouette of family at Mount Tom
Mount Tom observation tower II
Andrew Lake
Andrew Lake II
Categories
Out and About

Visiting Fort Snelling State Park

Today, my mom, my puggle (Missy), and I visited Fort Snelling State Park for the first time (though my mom says she did once visit the cemetery for a funeral). Because Fort Snelling is spread out over such a wide area and is so integral to Minnesota’s history, the photos below actually comprise three cities and three counties. The first location, Big Rivers Regional Trail, isn’t even part of Fort Snelling, though the trails do connect to it.

I decided we should visit this state park because it was recommended today by the Fall Color Finder from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, who, in the photo to the right, also show that this area is at the peak time for fall colors.

I took these six photos from 4:13 to 5:21 p.m.

Delta hangar across the Minnesota River, as seen from Big Rivers Regional Trail in Mendota Heights, Minnesota
Delta airplane preparing to land at the runway near the hangar in the previous photo
Down by the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling State Park in St. Paul
Fallen tree near where I took the previous photo at Fort Snelling State Park, with my mom acting as the director of photography
Commemorative marker and/or gravestone for Elizabeth R. Snelling, the daughter of Colonel Josiah Snelling and first white child born in Minnesota. It is located approximately 10 feet behind where I was standing in the next photo at Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel in Minneapolis.
Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel, with my mom acting as the director of photography again
Categories
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
Categories
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
Categories
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 Pug Life

Leaf Peeping 2022: Excelsior, Minnesota

For my third outing leaf peeping this year, I visited Excelsior, Minnesota, with my mom and our two puggles. I took these photos today from 11:42 a.m. to 12:11 p.m.

Small plane that started flying over the Excelsior Commons as soon we got there
Scarecrow in someone’s yard
Licks Unlimited
Port of Excelsior
Tommy’s Tonka Trolley
Staircase to a pier
Pier Four
Missy, Pugsley, and my mom
Categories
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
Categories
Out and About

Leaf Peeping 2022: Lake Ann Park

I am starting a series this autumn titled “Leaf Peeping 2022.” I plan to document various stages of fall colors and the eventual falling of leaves (phenology). For this inaugural post, I went to Lake Ann Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota, from about 11:20 a.m. to noon today.

Trees by a fence for a tennis court
Trees behind a fence, which is the bokeh
The same fence in the above photo, but this time the trees are the bokeh
Ambulance bay
Mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees by a parking lot
Tall conifer growing by a parking lot
Metal halide lights (or are they LEDs?) above trees by a baseball field
Yellow tree growing by a baseball field
Birch trees (left) growing on a hill
Conifer that somehow has red leaves inside
Conifer with cones
Lodge overlooking Lake Ann
Watercraft Rental next to Lake Ann
Dock for Watercraft Rental on Lake Ann
Fall colors are well underway on Lake Ann