nature Archives - Lake Minnetonka Magazine

“The Gift of Green Time” Reconnects Families With Nature

Guide highlights ways to help families discover the magic of the Lake Minnetonka area. Looking for a way to become closer with your family and the...

EcoElsa Blog Inspires Natural Connections

Education, Outdoors

Elsa Litecky inspires the next generation of naturalists. Elsa Litecky has enjoyed the beauty of the natural world since she could start climbing...

Minnehaha Creek Warbler

Photo Contest

Romance in the wild sings its own sweet song. Whenever we’re given the chance to observe the natural goings on of wildlife in our midst, it’s an...

Find Your Path in Nature

Noteworthy, Outdoors, Wellness

Winter activities at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum has a lot to offer, even in winter. The area’s 1,200 acres...

The Arboretum Sparkles And Shines This Season

Noteworthy, Outdoors

Rather than going dark and dormant for the season, the gardens at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum come alive every year with thousands of lights...

Forest Bathing

Education, Outdoors

"Our affinity naturally leans toward green." No, you’re not submerged in water, and yes, you keep your clothes on. Forest bathing or shinrin-yoku...

This Home is a Lucky Place to Be

Noteworthy, Outdoors

March often finds Minnesotans fleeing their homes to somewhere warmer. But this is precisely the time when many non-human Minnesotans are making the...

How Do Animals Stay Warm in Winter?

Noteworthy, Outdoors

The few animals that stay in Minnesota and above ground in the winter all utilize tried-and-true elements to stay warm. As the season of cold starts...

Witness One of Nature’s Most Astonishing Transformations

Noteworthy, Outdoors

Splendor awaits when we bear witness to nature. In July, milkweed plants, with their rubbery leaves and unassuming sprays of flowers, offer a...

The Astonishing Beauty of Puddles in Spring

Arts, Noteworthy, Outdoors

As winter gives way to spring, the season of physics begins. I call this the season of physics. Most living residents of the woods have retreated to...

Photographer Weaves Together Art and Environmentalism at Cedar Creek

Arts, Outdoors

At Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, Frank Meuschke combines science with art. Artist Frank Meuschke has lived all over the country—from New...

The Life of the Lichen

Noteworthy, Outdoors

In February, precious little seems to be growing in the woods. Except lichen. In February, precious little seems to be growing in the woods. Except...

Want Fresh Fruit in Winter? Try Crab Apple Trees

Ingredients, Noteworthy, Outdoors

Eating winter’s underappreciated abundance. In January, winter sets in, typically with the coldest days of the year. Local fresh fruit seems a...

Meet the Mysterious Cousin of the Minnesota State Flower

Noteworthy, Outdoors

Columnist Anne Marie Ruff Grewal ruminates on another woodland orchid. The Minnesota state flower, the lady’s slipper, is an orchid. But woodland...

Summer is the Season for Mushroom Foraging in Minnesota

Ingredients, Noteworthy, Outdoors

Summer mushrooms are a delicious delight. August is a month of mushroom magic in Minnesota. Mushroom “roots,” known as mycelium, do their work...

This Summer on Lake Minnetonka, Watch the Dramatic Flight of the Dragonfly

Education, Noteworthy, Outdoors

Nature’s beauty is rich and intense this month. The drama of Lake Minnetonka in July is hard to resist: the boats, the teenagers, the sparkle of the...