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Cable Natural History Museum

Connecting People to Northwoods Nature

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5:57

361 – The Breeze of Balance

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2025/02/13

The wind can be a symbol of unity, freedom, eternity and balance. It is as true ecologically as it is metaphorically. As the winter winds swirl around you, take moment to appreciate the wind’s role in encouraging balance and unity in our sometimes stormy world.The post 361 – The Breeze of Balance first appeared on Cable Natural History Museum.

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6:53

360 – Frost Cracks

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2025/02/06

It wasn’t long before someone keyed in on an adorably squiqqly line snaking up the length of a tree. A frost crack! Long ago I learned that these cracks burst open with a noise like a rifle shot as a sunny day plunges into a frigid night. I couldn’t remember, though: was it the contraction of cooling wood, or the expansion of ice that caused the trunk to split? Both make sense. I pondered this as we hiked along, and also tried to spot more cracks throughout the forest.The post 360 – Frost Cracks

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6:12

359 – The Sweetness of Bitter Cold

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2025/01/30

You know it’s chilly when even Lake Superior can see their own breath. During a recent period of bitter cold, there was sea smoke drifting across the shining gray wavelets near Grand Marais, MN. Lake water had also formed ice on the rocks near shore, and we circumnavigated Artist’s Point to admire Nature’s sculptures. All the while, a small flock of mallard ducks bobbed on the waves in East Bay, behind the protective curve of Artist’s Point in Lake Superior. Then, driving home, something large

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6:15

358 – Second Grade Tracking Stories

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2025/01/23

Murmurs of interest rippled through the classroom as I spread a rectangle of green felt on the floor at the front of the room. The murmurs became questions as I placed two lines of life-sized animal tracks, printed and cut out of white paper, onto the felt. When I finally invited the second graders to come up and gather around the felt, I was amazed by the almost instantaneous formation of a perimeter of kneeling children, totally focused on the scene.The post 358 – Second Grade Tracking Stories

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6:30

357 – Operation Owl Rescue

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2025/01/16

On Christmas Day, I found myself driving from Lutsen, Minn., to Duluth with a very unusual package next to my skis and duffle bag.To reassure ourselves that the owl was still alive, Christine opened one of the flaps on the box. Staring up at us were two giant yellow eyes nestled into satellite dishes of gray-patterned feathers that funnel sound into the owl’s hidden ears. The post 357 – Operation Owl Rescue first appeared on Cable Natural History Museum.

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6:30

356 – Wilson’s Warbler WOW

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2025/01/09

Gathered around a bonfire on the Winter Solstice, the hostess asked us each to share one moment from the past year that made us go, “Wow!” Despite the fact that my year had included rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, my favorite “wow” moment happened on a river much closer to home. One lovely afternoon last May, I set out with a friend to paddle an upper section of the Namekagon River. Approaching a bridge, a burst of twittering, movement, and flashes of yellow in the alder shrubs

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6:07

355 – A Black-capped Brain

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2025/01/02

Chickadees cache as many as one hundred thousand food items per year. Not only do chickadees remember their seed cache sites, but they also remember details like which food items were the most favored and which seeds have already been eaten by them or by a thief. To support such an incredible memory, chickadees grow 30 percent more neurons in the fall when caching behavior peaks. Last April, researchers at Columbia University added to our understanding of chickadee memory. They discovered that

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6:06

354 – A Stomach for the Holidays

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/12/26

While digesting one of the many rounds of holiday feasts and leftovers, with plates of cookies in between, a headline caught my eye: “Big brains or big guts: Choose one.” As much as the post-holiday-dinner-brain-fog is real, I don’t love the implications of those options. Luckily, the article wasn’t about humans. It was examining birds in cold, highly variable habitats, and their struggle to survive. Essentially, birds have two options: spend energy maintaining a big brain that allows them to find

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6:03

353 – The Color Splash of Mountain-ash

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/12/19

In a landscape of winter white, bits of color really pop. Recently I was on the North Shore of Minnesota when they received several inches of fluffy, wonderful snow. The forest seemed decked out for Christmas with clusters of bright red mountain-ash berries adding color in the woods along the ski trails, around town, and on the rocky shore of Lake Superior. Ruffed grouse appreciate them even more, I’m sure, as they perch in the dark purple twigs and nibble both berries and buds. And now the trees

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5:59

352 – Red-eyed Vireo Nests

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/12/12

The lack of leaves in this “see-through season” reveals aspects of the landscape otherwise obscured. For example, “Check out that nest!” I exclaimed to my friend, and we admired the small cup suspended between a Y in the sugar maple twigs. The placement of the nest, plus the few pale strips of paper from a bald-faced hornet nest woven among grass, bark, and pine needles, told me that it was likely built by a red-eyed vireo.The post 352 – Red-eyed Vireo Nests first appeared on Cable Natural History

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6:08

351 – Winter Songs of White-Throated Sparrows

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/12/05

On a recent hike in Virginia, a song burst out of a bush beside us. The white-throated sparrow riffed on their usual song, experimenting with a gravely “sweet can-a-NA-da can-a!” “Jazzy!” We laughed to each other. I don’t usually expect birds to sing in their winter habitat. Birds’ songs are typically used to attract mates and defend territories, and therefore are most useful in spring and summer. So, we figured we were hearing a young male practicing for the coming year. That would also explain why

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6:33

350 – A Dandelion Smile

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/11/28

Head down, I hurried toward the post office. Then, a spot of color made me stop and smile. A single yellow dandelion and its star of vibrant, toothy leaves nestled into the grass. I’ve always loved dandelions. And, the dandelion may be more useful than I ever imagined! The Kazakh dandelion, a relative of the one in your yard, is an excellent source of natural rubber.The post 350 – A Dandelion Smile first appeared on Cable Natural History Museum.

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6:43

349 – Adventures with Bagworm Moths

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/11/21

Bagworms are the larvae of tiny moths. When they hatch, their first act is to spin a silken sleeping bag and then decorate it with bits of their surroundings. Grass bagworms use little straws of dry grass, which also creates excellent camouflage. But why do I find these cases stuck to my windows and walls instead of on plants? The post 349 – Adventures with Bagworm Moths first appeared on Cable Natural History Museum.

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6:25

348 – Cyanobacteria Then and Now

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/11/14

Once upon a time, and by that, I mean 1.9 billion years ago, the atmosphere was filled with carbon dioxide and methane, and the first inklings of life had only just begun. Volcanic activity in the early oceans, and erosion off the few continents, enriched the water with iron and silica. Cyanobacteria bloomed in those mineral-rich seas, and they also produced at least one type of toxin: oxygen.The post 348 – Cyanobacteria Then and Now first appeared on Cable Natural History Museum.

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6:10

347 – In the Dark

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/11/07

Light from the dining hall at Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center spilled out, down the hill, under the pines, and onto the bank of the Wisconsin River, where a handful of environmental educators were waiting for a night hike to begin. I almost hadn’t joined the group. This was the final night of the Wisconsin Association of Environmental Education annual conference, and I had a long drive home the next day. Being sleepy for that wouldn’t be ideal. But it had been years since I’d been on a night

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7:10

346 – Ptarmigans on Top of the World

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/10/31

An odd series of hollow little clucks and rattles emanated from a patch of lichen-crusted rocks. Was there a friendly alien hiding nearby? Or maybe a Star Wars character that only Han Solo can understand? With short, jerking movements, the camouflaged chatterboxes revealed their identity: ptarmigans.The post 346 – Ptarmigans on Top of the World first appeared on Cable Natural History Museum.

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6:21

345 – A Beautiful Orange Day

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/10/24

The wool of my favorite old rusty orange sweater felt warm and scratchy as I stuffed it into my backpack next to a jacket and camera. The low gray clouds hung onto their rain, but wind gusts flung water drops off the trees as I walked to my car. As soon as I turned onto the gravel road, though, I knew I’d made the right decision. The much-needed rain had washed dust off the autumn leaves and saturated their colors. This was a perfect day for a scenic drive through a rainbow forest. The post 345 – A

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7:40

344 – Paddling Among Icebergs

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/10/17

Ever since I discovered how to read the glaciated landscape of Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, I’ve been fascinated by these massive forces of nature. Admiring them from afar, seeing them up close, paddling among icebergs, touching their ice…glaciers are even more amazing than I’d expected. This week I’ve been busy leading field trips, but I’ve been dreaming of a time when I was a participant on two field trips that involved paddling near glaciers in Alaska.The post 344 – Paddling Among Icebergs

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5:31

343 – A Gift of Geology, Artesian Wells

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/10/10

A Gift of Geology: Artesian Wells By Elliot Witscher with Emily StoneIn the bright sunlight and heat of the afternoon, the cool, fresh, flowing water from a pipe in Prentice Park in Ashland, WI, was a welcome treat. I wasn’t expecting to find a unique geological feature in an unassuming city park. But walking down the hill from the parking lot, we found a plain metal pipe, surrounded by gravel, with water gushing from it. Standing in a circle with the 20 other people also taking the Wisconsin

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7:07

342 – Four Out of Five Loons Agree

Cable Natural History Museum ·

2024/10/03

As our water taxi motored into the harbor, a gray-headed water bird floated around the corner of a barnacle-crusted rock. A Pacific Loon!Having spotted one new species of loon, my interest in seeing the others grew. The afternoon that I arrived at the Toolik Field Station to prepare for doing caribou research, I took a short walk around the base to get a feel for the area. The tremolo of a loon flying overhead sent a thrill down my spine, and I watched the large bird land on the far side of Toolik

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