Category Archives: Earth Science
Surveying the Creek Channel
Yesterday we got almost one and a quarter inches of rain. It won’t exactly break the drought, but it’ll really help the crops. The Creek has come up, but the dry pond and wetland in the oxbow will probably stay … Continue reading
Oxbow Evolution
We had a rain event last week that gave us about one and three quarter inches over three days and it brought up water levels in the Creek. Although the water in the channel was about a foot and a … Continue reading
Cold Snap
This past week has been a week of holidays: Chinese New Year, Lincoln’s Birthday, Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and Margaret’s Birthday! We’re about half way between the fist day of winter and the first day of … Continue reading
Watching the Wind
Last week we had another ground blizzard similar to the one that we had back in mid-December. Both of these storms had lots of wind. The “dust of winter” made it possible to “see” the wind. What little snow there … Continue reading
Frost Fall
The New Year started out with several days that were a monochromatic fantasy world of white. Mysterious white-gray fog encased every exposed surface with pure white frost crystals. When the frost fell, the dirty snow and the brown grass got … Continue reading
Double Eagle Days
Earlier this month we had a string of eight or nine days that were mostly clear, sunny, and warm. And, almost every day we saw a mature bald eagle “parked” in the big cottonwood that we can see from our … Continue reading
SEASONS CHANGE
Seasonal rounds are an intrinsic part of life on the prairie. They’re an experience shared by Ice Age animals and plants, by Native American hunters and farmers, and by homesteaders and people in agribusiness. But, 2020 has been different. COVID-19 … Continue reading
ENVIRONMNETAL CHANGES
This is the first in a series of four seasonal posts that speak to changes: environmental changes, cultural changes, generational changes, and seasonal changes. They’re all based on insights provided directly by life on the Farm and rooted in the … Continue reading
Buried Sand Aquifer
The last couple of posts have described fractured clay till and an overlying terrace gravel that store groundwater in the Creek pasture. Both aquifers “leak” out onto the ground surface to form springs. However, this post is about a layer … Continue reading
Fractured Clay as Aquifer
This post is a continuation of our “walk about” exploring underground water stored in glacial deposits. The layers of sediment deposited by glacial melt water (“outwash”) and directly by the ice itself (“till”) have been mapped regionally in southwestern Minnesota … Continue reading
