We made a brief trip up north over the July 4 holiday to lovely Maplewood state park, about a 3-hour drive northwest of the Twin Cities. Lakes, trails, great campsites, rental canoes and kayaks available, swimming beach, wildlife, and more. What a beautiful place, and it must be even more so in the fall, when the maple-basswood forest has turned gold and red.
The view of upper and lower Lake Lida from Hallaway Hill must be spectacular in the fall. Driving the man-made causeway west takes you out of the park.
The sumac was in full bloom, and honeybees were busy pollinating. In the fall, red plumes of sumac seeds will light up this hillside.
At the top of Hallaway Hill, we happened to be standing at the intersection of the territories of three Yellow Warbler males. If one male got too close to another male’s boundary, a brief aerial scuffle between them ensued. One of the resident males checked us out.
A pair of Trumpeter Swans fed on submerged vegetation on one of the lakes in the park.
Back Yard Biology 