Megan's Nature Nook
Nature Notes, Phenology, Photography, Fun Facts, Trips, Maybe Even a Bad Joke or Two... and More!
November is said to be the cloudiest month of the year in the Upper Midwest. Sometimes it seems to get a little dreary because of all the clouds, short days, brown grass, and fallen leaves. Because of this, November often gets a bad wrap as being a depressing month. December is also a contender for "Cloudiest Month" but maybe we overlook that fact because all the Christmas lights brighten things up? Why is November so cloudy? As we get closer to winter, main jet stream winds are heading Southward out of Canada increasing the amount of stormy weather across the northern states, thus bringing cloud cover with it. Also, the low angle of the sun this time of year makes it hard for low-level clouds and fog to evaporate or “burn off” as the day goes on. This map by Dr. Brian Brettschneider shows the cloudiest month of the year all over the U.S. Since November is supposed to be the cloudiest month in Minnesota, I wanted to keep track and see how many cloudy days Minnesota actually has in November, so I created a calendar in my Nature Journal. I wasn’t too scientific about my recordings and just mentally took note throughout the day of what the sky was looking like. I also didn’t really pay much attention to cloud cover during the night, just daylight hours when I could observe the sky. Then at the end of the day, I filled out the square for that date. It was pretty easy. I do have to admit though, I wasn’t always on top of it, and would sometimes be sitting there trying to fill out two or three days worth going, “was it sunny on my drive into work on Wednesday?” Or asking others, “was it cloudy yesterday? All day?” Some days were easy to record if they were sunny or cloudy all day, others were a little more complicated with the ever-changing weather Minnesota has to offer. It could go from sunny to snowing in a matter of minutes. Here are some closeups of a few days: Each day I recorded 4 things: 1. Date – Already marked on my calendar 2. City – Since I wasn’t always in the same city each day, (but was still in MN), I wrote the name of the city going up the right side of the box. 3. Drawing of the sky – I drew the sky in the top half of the box, sometimes with a separating line if it was different in the AM vs. PM. 4. Word Description of the sky – The bottom of the box was used to write descriptions about the drawing, slightly more detailed. At the end of the month I had my completed calendar! Here are my results: Days with Clouds: 22 Days with No Clouds: 8 (or very few passing clouds) Since December is a contender for “Cloudiest Month,” I'm going to continue my nature journaling calendar so I can compare November and December. It would also be interesting to compare the month of November year after year to see how things vary. Dr. Brian Brettschneider also has some other interesting maps comparing November and December Cloudiness. Arizona looks like the place to be in November and December if you don't like cloudy weather! Hawaii and Minnesota are surprisingly quite similar in cloudiness this time of year, so you better wait to book those plane tickets. I found it pretty interesting to keep track of what the sky was doing each day, and it was quite easy to record. Try starting a nature journaling calendar of your own by either making one, or recording your findings on a calendar you already have. You can try keeping track of the high and low temps, wind speeds, precipitation, sky cover, or anything else you find of interest! A great thing about Nature Journaling is you can do whatever you want, however you want – make it your own!
P.S. I tried to catch some fog earlier. I mist.
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lI recently, (like 3 days ago) decided I wanted to try something new: Blogging. Being a Naturalist/Environmental Educator/Zookeeper/Intern-of-many-places/General Outdoors Enthusiast I have had the opportunity to learn about, see, and do some pretty cool things! And I love whenever I get the chance to share those things with others. I hope my passion for the natural world will have the ripple effect and get others interested in and out exploring nature, too. Maybe even loving it as much as I do!
Stay tuned for more posts, and we’ll see where this new adventure leads me! I should note that I am the kind of person that doesn't like others reading what I write, so this will be a change for me! Something else I have recently decided to try (I must be on a roll or something) is starting a Nature Journal. I had thought about doing it before, but was always waiting for that perfect, opportune time – like the first of the year, or the first day of Spring. At work during our training in September, we talked about nature journaling and the different ways you can do it. We were also gifted some small, spiral bound, blank page journals to start with. Since I hadn’t yet taken advantage of the “first days” that had already passed, I figured I should just start and go from there. I’d consider myself as a casual journal keeper since I don’t do it every day, but when I see something interesting, notice a phenology event, or learn a new fun fact I add it to my journal. Slowly but surely the pages are filling up. Here is an excerpt from a journal entry on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 about the changing of seasons: November 7, 2017 – Tuesday 35* Sunny, 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge – Rapids Lake Unit, Carver, MN This time of year can often be thought of as depressing, sad, and gloomy because of the cooler temps, many cloudy days, and shorter amount of daylight. We also see the leaves fall from the trees and other plants withering away or turning brown. Although it all may seem sad to see our pretty, brightly colored flowers and cheery green plants disappearing, they are making way for a new season! The transition to winter is among us! Think of the big, fluffy snowflakes gently falling to the ground, or sticky snow coating every branch and surface it can cling to, creating a winter wonder land! These cooler days are also cooling the waters, and even forming ice on some bodies of water. We have said good bye to our familiar warm season chatty birds, but now we welcome our winter friends to our feeders. So although some days may leave us feeling a bit glum, we know that something beautiful, new, and exciting is on the horizon! If there has been something you’ve been wanting to try, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet or maybe you aren’t sure how to start, just try it! What’s the harm in trying? At least then you’ll know the end result and won’t be left wondering “what if?” |
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