A Northwoods Almanac for March 29 - April 11, 2024

 A Northwoods Almanac for March 29 - April 11, 2024  by John Bates 

 

Solar Eclipse on April 8

            The big news this month is the total solar eclipse which will sweep across the U.S. from Texas through southern Illinois to Maine. Totality will last nearly four-and-a-half minutes.

            For viewing, however, totality will only be visible in a narrow band 115 miles wide. People in three Mexican states, four Canadian provinces, and 13 U.S. states will get the whole enchilada, while Wisconsinites will only be able to view a partial eclipse. In our general area, we will see 81% of the sun covered by the moon, but that will still be quite spectacular.

            Partial eclipse for us begins on 4/8 at 12:55 p.m., maximum occurs at 2:08, and ends at 3:20 p.m.

            If you make the effort to go south to view the total eclipse, you will be able to observe 360° of sunset colors, and see the planets and stars in the middle of the afternoon.

            Please note that protective eyewear must be worn even during the partial eclipse. The rules are simple; use only ISO-certified-safe solar eclipse glasses and viewers, and keep them on anytime you’re looking at the sun. If you are in an area outside of Wisconsin to view the total eclipse, only during total eclipse can you take off your eclipse glasses or viewers to look at the Sun’s amazing corona.

            Also note that the next total solar eclipse won’t occur until March 30, 2033, and in the U.S., will only be seen in northern Alaska. 

            Next one after that? August 23, 2044, and only viewable in Montana and North Dakota.

            So, if you don’t want to wait at least two decades for an eclipse to be in the continental U.S. again, this is the one to see.

 

Sightings (FOY – First of Year)

            3/8: FOY red-winged blackbirds appeared in Manitowish. A small number of both common redpolls and pine siskins appeared as well, but were gone the next day.

            3/8: A large flock of bohemian waxwings briefly landed on one of our crabapple trees, but then moved on. Bohemian waxwings nest in the far northern boreal forests of Canada, so these were likely heading further north.

            3/12: Nancy Burns reported FOY hooded mergansers on the channel between Spider and Rest Lakes on the Manitowish Chain.

            3/12: FOY robin in Manitowish.

            3/12: The ice went off Frog Lake just south of us in Manitowish. Frog Lake is 42 acres and 45 feet deep. Average date for ice-off on Frog Lake is around 4/20, so this was 40 days early.

            3/13: FOY dark-eyed junco in Manitowish.

            3/16: The ice went completely off 1,166-acre Flambeau Lake. Many other area lakes either were now clear of all ice, or partially clear.

            

Ice-Off

            Woody Hagge began keeping records of ice-up and ice-out on 38-acre Foster Lake in Hazelhurst in 1973. His earliest date of ice-out in those 51 years was March 20, 2012. Ice-out this year was on March 14. 

            Remarkably, the ice went off nearby Lake Katherine in Hazelhurst on March 12. Lake Katherine is a far larger lake at 524 acres and 30 feet deep. This has never happened before in Woody’s records, and neither Woody nor I can come up with a good explanation of why it happened this year. Wind can make a big difference on when ice goes off a lake, but we didn’t have any remarkably windy days prior to that, so I’m stumped. 

 

The Winter of 2023-24

            This past winter has been Wisconsin’s warmest since record-keeping began in 1895. The 3-month (December, January, February) statewide average temperature was 28.3°F, which is 9.8°F above normal (the 1991-2020 normal is 18.5°F).

            Furthermore, the contiguous United States experienced its warmest-ever winter. The country recorded a three-month average temp of 37.6 degrees, more than five degrees above average.

            Meteorologists say Wisconsin will likely continue to see the El Niño effect into April and May, creating a higher potential for above-normal temperatures throughout the state. However, there's not a strong correlation between El Niño and what happens in the summertime, so come June, perhaps we’ll return to whatever one wants to call “normal” these days.

 

Annual Crane Count Takes Place on 4/13

            Each year in mid-April, over 2,000 volunteers travel to their local wetlands and favorite birding locations to participate in the Midwest crane count. This annual survey of Sandhill and Whooping Cranes spans over 150 counties in seven states of the upper Midwest, including Wisconsin and portions of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota.

            The date for the 2024 count is Saturday, April 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. To participate in the crane count, you first need to contact your County Coordinator to be assigned a site and to get more instructions – for Vilas and Iron County, call Hannah Gargrave at the North Lakeland Discovery Center (hannah@discoverycenter.net). 

            The 2023 count in Wisconsin took place in 60 counties on 1,003 sites. Even with a very snowy day, 1,181 participants counted 13,019 sandhill cranes, along with 59 whooping cranes.

 

Decaying Leaves on Your Garden and Lawn

            Besides the fact that cleaning up and planting your garden this early in the spring is usually an invitation for emotional pain, financial loss, and a trip to a therapist to do some tests on your memory of springs past, it’s also bad for butterflies, bees, moths, and other insects currently overwintering in said dead leaves and hollow plant stems. If you can hogtie yourself a little longer, consider waiting until temperatures are consistently above 50°F before raking out your garden and yard.

 

Decaying Leaves on Hiking Trails

            Late March and early April is usually slip and slide time with trails cycling between icing up and thawing out. On those trails and throughout the woods are millions of leaves and needles still working their way through the slow motion of decomposition. However, not all leaves are created equal in the decomposing world. Some are sprinters and some long-distance runners. 

            Leaves and needles decompose at a rate generally determined by their carbon to nitrogen ratio. The lower the C:N ratio, the more carbon in the leaves, and the harder it is for bacteria, fungi, and the soil animals to do their work. 

            Sugar maple leaves have a low 20:1 C/N ratio, so they decompose rather quickly – in a year or so. Alder leaves are even better at 15:1. 

            Basswoods have a much higher carbon content at 37:1, a mid-range ratio, and thus basswood leaves take about 2 years to decompose. A few hardwoods are much higher yet, like oaks.  

            Tamarac needles have a ratio of 113:1, requiring at least 3 years to break down. As for pine needles, it takes more than a year for 10% of the pine needles to decay. As a result, pine needles continue to build up year after year unless they are consumed by fire, which most pines are well-adapted for.

            I always thought conifer needles contributed to acidifying soil, and thus were “bad,” but I was wrong. While pine needles themselves are acidic – they have a pH of 3.2 to 3.8 (neutral is 7.0) –  they do not have the capacity to appreciably lower soil pH. As the needles break down and are incorporated into the soil, decomposing organisms gradually neutralize them. 

            Thus, there is no harm in using pine needles to mulch shrub borders, flower beds and vegetable gardens. Even a 2 to 3 inch layer of pine mulch will not measurably change the soil pH. So, instead of causing problems, they can be helpful. The mat of needles holds moisture, helps insulate the soil from temperature extremes, and prevents erosion of topsoil. 

 

Wake Boat Legislation

            Last week, Michigan became the next state to introduce legislation that would protect the state’s lakes from the threats of wake sports. The bill – HB5532 – requires boats using ballast and wake enhancing equipment to be at least 500 feet from shore and operate in at least 20 feet or more of water. 

            This action comes on the heels of the State of Vermont approving their new 500 foot/20 foot depth rules for wake sports, which will now be in place for the 2024 boating season.  

 

Celestial Events

            On April 6, look before dawn for Mars a few degrees above the waning crescent moon. On the 7^th, look before dawn this time for Saturn just above the moon.

            The new moon occurs on 4/8, coinciding with the solar eclipse.

            On 4/10, look after dusk for Jupiter about 4 degrees below the waxing sliver moon.

Much later that evening and toward dawn, look for Mars to be just above Saturn in the east-southeast.

            For planet watching in April, look after dusk for Jupiter very low in the west. Before dawn, look for Mars and Saturn both rising in the south-southeast. 

            Venus is not observable in April.

            

Thought for the Week

            “I hoped to see things I would not ordinarily come across. I decided to treat everything as interesting.” – Alastair Humphries, The Joys of Misadventures

 

Please share your outdoor sightings and thoughts: e-mail me at manitowish@centurytel.net, call 715-476-2828, snail-mail at 4245N State Highway 47, Mercer, WI, or see my blog at www.manitowishriver.blogspot.com