Phenology is the study of when natural events occur in relation to climate. Through his journal entries from the mid 1970's naturalist Jim Gilberts presents the timing of many natural events primarily in Carver County in southern Minnesota. For many notable occurrences (such as the first red-winged blackbird) he presents the dates when he first saw the phenomena for 10-15 years or may compare the timing in northern and southern Minnesota (for example he lists the ice out dates in 20 Minnesota lakes). The entries work best when he is talking about what he has seen directly, and perhaps are a little dryly encyclopedic when he is giving some background information. In January is the excitement of seeing snow fleas and white frost covering every twig. March may be his favorite month and his interest turns to the first ants on the sidewalks and first red-winged blackbirds. He talks both about wild and agricultural occurrences such as the first garden strawberries or alfalfa hay cutting in June. Fall offers colors and hawk migration in Duluth, but frost is nearby. This book is generously illustrated with over a dozen color photographs for each month! This book would be useful for someone starting their own nature journal or wanting to learn more about Minnesota natural occurrences
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