As I write this on Thursday morning December 30, 2010 it is raining, in Minnesota, with 3 to 4 feet of snow on the ground and a temperature of 36° F! This comes after 6 to 8 inches of snow that helped to set a new record for December snow in the metro area, making for great outdoor winter activities such as X-country skiing. The snow came with single digit temps and wind chills below zero! We Minnesotans live with amazing weather patterns and changes that come and go quickly.

Seasons seem to change quickly for us at the Ney Nature Center also. We are well into doing fall-type events and before we know it winter is here. As we enjoy winter, we need to begin to plan for spring, and even, summer. Sometimes, it seems, days and months and seasons just go too fast. The Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers strive to keep ahead of things in order to offer members and friends the best of what the nature center has to offer through programs and events. Of course, Mother Nature shows her finest on our trails and vistas without much of our help throughout the whole year.

The NNC Board changes some each year as does those who have a membership with the Center. We are always interested in folks who might wish to serve on the Board and committees. We welcome new memberships and new volunteers. We hope to be able to offer programs and events that retain present memberships and volunteers. Let us know what we can do to make your experience at the NNC a better one.

Finally, I would like to thank all who have made 2010, for me as President of the Board, a rewarding experience. Hopefully, I have thanked or will personally thank each of you who have made this last year a very good year.

May we all find a rewarding experience with Nature in 2011.

The Ney Nature Center exists to preserve, manage, and protect the Ney Wildlife Preserve and to inspire generations to learn and experience nature through observation and education.

The preceding sentence is the Mission Statement of the Ney Nature Center. The mission statement is a broad challenge to the members and friends of the Ney Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) and Le Sueur County, to care for and use wisely, a generous gift of 446 acres abutting our wonderful Minnesota River Valley.

Exists…to inspire generations. How does one best do that—inspire? The NNC is a relatively young entity, with 20 years since the original gift from the Ney family, and 12 years or so as the NEEF. The board of directors, members, friends, and Le Sueur County have all contributed dollars, time, and thought to bring the Center to where it is today. It has been an exciting and challenging experience to watch the growth and change over my years as part of the NNC.

How does the NNC best inspire the continued growth, change, and challenges that lie ahead? Does it best come from leadership vision? Does it best come from programming? Does it best come from the general membership? Does it best come from those who experience, in some way, the Center? My guess is that inspiration for change and growth must come from all, young and old alike, who visit the NNC and share their visit experiences with those who are willing and able to influence that change.
Inspire generations. What a challenge for all of us who love the nature experience! The Ney Nature Center, and I, invite each of you to join in this journey of generations.

Humans, it seems, have always been in conflict with one another, among groups and societies, or among countries over the uses of land and its resources. Many times these usage disagreements have become harsh and violent. Or, nothing changes because of apathy by the people and the unwillingness to raise the needed funds to make changes. Often, the land and resource wants and needs of one group are directly in opposition to those of another and it takes still another group to mediate and resolve the conflict.

As our population grows and as the wants and needs of people change through time it becomes more important to find ways to preserve and protect our land and its resources. The Ney Nature Center is a “youngster” in this land use question.  The Center is trying to find its spot, or niche, as it continues to offer programs and events to folks of all ages and desires.

To really do a good job as the NNC “ages” into its place in all of this, we need the time, talents, and dollars of people, groups, and the whole community to find a course that is makes the best usage of its land and resources.

So, if you are a regular visitor and friend of the NNC, or a relative newcomer to the Center, think about becoming more involved with the growth and progress of this wonderful resource.  Each of you becomes an important part of the land use and resources conflict. Each of you can make a difference. Become a part of the Ney Nature Center community.  Thank you.

We, at the NNC, are optimistic about the New Year — 2010. The Board is excited about the programs we have run at the NNC and are looking forward to improving the old and expanding into some new areas. We are excited about the involvement of NNC new members and the expansion of our volunteer base. Memberships and volunteers are two key elements that enable the Ney Nature Center to move forward.

However, the best excitement comes from just being at the NNC and experiencing Minnesota’s great outdoors whether through staff and volunteer “expert” programming, or on your own as you wander parts of the 450 acres that make up this Le Sueur County Park.

I wandered part of the Center this winter day on snowshoes. There are many designs for snowshoes today and they are made with a wide variety of materials. The ones I used were of a traditional Native American (Ojibwa) design, long and narrow, made with ash pieces laced together with nylon stripping, then covered with a marine varnish. The bindings were a leather material which is made to fit various boot sizes.

The snow wasn’t deep, the temp was about 10 above, the sun was shining, and no wind. It made for a perfect winter day to be out and about. The pond is lightly snow covered so that made for good snowshoeing as I checked some of the wood duck boxes. Animal tracks and signs abound and the deer trails are already well worn.

Come and visit us at the NNC sometime this winter and enjoy Minnesota’s Wonderful Winter Season. We have indoor programs, hiking, sledding, X-country skiing, possible skating on the pond, bird watching and other events. Visit our website calendar or call the Center to check on programs, weather and snow conditions.

Winter sunsets from the NNC looking across the MN River Valley are often spectacular. Come and see for yourself.

It was an inspirational ski today. A light snow was falling about noon with no wind. Everything was white, to tans, to browns, to grays, to black. Tracks were drifted over in spots but you could ski on top of the drifts. In other areas the tracks from the last groom (and Martha W’s tracks from today) were visible and easy to ski.

The late Monday ski was completely different. The sun was setting to the West, across the river valley and the almost full moon was rising in the East, across the Pond. What a serene feeling also. Both times you felt alone with nature and you only heard the swish of the skies and the “tick-tock” sound of the poles on the snow. What a GREAT PLACE this NNC is!

If you are outside on New Year’s Eve, you will experience a “Blue Moon”. The next full moon, or “Blue Moon” on a New Year’s Eve will happen in 2029. I hope to be night skiing on that one too.

Have a Happy and Wonderful 2010.
Dick

Native grasses, plants and trees didn’t seem to mind the heat and dry spell as most are well adapted to the changing seasons and weather patterns of our state. One of the common native late summer–fall flowers is in the Aster family (New England, Sky Blue, and others) which are blooming in the prairie. Big Bluestem in our prairie is in its finest and the “showiest” of the several native grasses.

Native Americans had many names for the full moons. September’s full moon, which we just had, was the Harvest Moon. October will give us the Hunter’s Moon. The names of moons followed the seasons by the flowering and ripening of the plants and the hunting of animals that Native Americans used for food, medicines and daily living materials.

Our fiscal year at the NNC came to an end on June 30th and the next began on July 1st. So began another year at the Center. Just as the seasons change, so do programming needs change at the NNC to fit the seasons and, hopefully, the needs of our membership. friends and visitors. The Ney Board plans and works hard to improve opportunities for those of all ages who come to use and enjoy the park and center.

We do our planning and programming through, and with the support of, Le Sueur County resources, Ney memberships, gifts, fundraisers, and with countless volunteer hours, along with Board of Director and Staff time. We would hope that many who visit the Center in the coming months and seasons would consider sharing their time, talents and gifts that would aid the Board of Directors to continue improving what the NNC can offer everyone who loves the out-of-doors and vistas of the Minnesota River Valley.

We hope that those who visit us during the coming fall and winter seasons will enjoy what the Ney Nature Center has to offer. We hope that some of you might share with us ideas on how we can better serve each of you that comes to hike, ski, enjoy a program, or have planned an event such as a wedding or family reunion.

Maybe you would consider volunteering, sharing knowledge on a topic, or conducting a class as a local “expert.” Consider becoming a member and maybe serve on a committee or the Board of Directors.

A pleasant and enjoyable experience is what the Board of Directors hopes for all that visit, or become a part of the Ney Nature Center family.