Notes from Ney: The Ney Nature Center Blog

You may have seen mysterious vein-like tendrils in the snow before, do you know what they are? Roots covered by snow? Perhaps a symbol left by aliens? 

While some lumps are just snow-covered objects on the ground, these pathways are left by small mammals like mice and voles as they hunt for food in the winter! When conditions allow, they will move throughout the subnivean zone, the space between the ground and the snowpack above. As the snow must be thicker to allow for a roomy subnivean zone to form, we usually don’t see the world they create under the snow until it melts. As the ground holds heat, when it gets covered by a layer of snow, the snow closest to the earth begins to melt, evaporating and condensing to create a space with an icy ceiling and bare ground.

So how are these tiny mammals surviving in the Subnivean zone through very chilly winters? Let’s begin with the conditions they are living in. If you have ever been inside a snow fort or quinzee, you may have noticed that snow can serve as insulation from the cold and wind. The Subnivean zone is very similar, insulated by the layer of snow above it, and the ground below. So while it may be -30 degrees Fahrenheit above the snow, below the snow (once it reaches about 6″) it sits very near 32 degrees consistently. Don’t get me wrong… this is still chilly, but wouldn’t we all choose 32 degrees over anything negative?

How all living things survive the winter can generally be sorted into two categories of adaptation, behavioral and physical. Migration is a behavioral adaptation that allows those animals to avoid the cold altogether, and hibernation is a blend of physical and behavioral. The behavioral adaptations are preparations like eating more and finding a safe space to hibernate, and the physical adaptation is their body’s ability to slow down their heartbeat and metabolism to a rate that allows them to exist in that state for months. So, again, we ask “How do these tiny mammals do it?”

Behavioral AND physical adaptations! There is plenty of food still available beneath the snow in the winter for mice and voles, like seeds, leaves, roots, and bark. Behavioral adaptations include using the subnivean layer to search for food and being, in general, much less active than in warmer months. Physical adaptations allow mice and voles to slow their metabolism and heart rate for shorter periods than hibernation in the case of extreme cold or lack of food. This adaptation is called torpor, and many animals use it as a way to survive adverse conditions, including hummingbirds, skunks, and squirrels. If you’ve ever heard of non-native green iguanas falling from trees when it gets cold in Florida, torpor is why! It is just too chilly for them and their bodies are trying to cope.

With all of that cover, they must be safer too! Right? Well just as they have adapted, their predators have too. Red and grey foxes, as well as coyotes, are excellent predators in the snow with their skilled hearing and smell. In addition, Minnesota has seen an irruption of owls in 2025 and these predators have keen hearing that allows them to hear under thick snow! Their ears are asymmetrical, allowing them to pinpoint the direction sound is coming from with incredible accuracy. 

Now when you see the evidence of life in the subnivean zone, share with a friend what you know! And if you want to learn more, there is a great article by Ellen Horowitz for Montana Outdoors that has some fabulous photos and in-depth information. For kids, we recommend the Wild Kratts episode called “Journey to the Subnivean Zone” (26th episode of season 2).

This Valentine’s Day, our staff has been reflecting on everything we love about working at Ney. From sauna sessions, to crafting with young learners, and even the little bit of snow we’ve gotten, there are plenty of things that fill our hearts with joy. Over the past couple of months, my personal favorite heartwarming moment was seeing donor support make a tangible impact during our volunteer workdays. 

Between our 2023 and 2024 Fall Flings, eight different donors contributed monetary gifts to fund the purchase of a brand new chainsaw. After listening to descriptions provided by our volunteers, these donors were able to understand exactly how a new chainsaw would benefit our park stewardship projects. I am thankful that the Fall Fling always provides the opportunity for our community to work together on supporting the park they all love. Although the Fall Fling is only one evening, the positive impacts of it last much longer.  

More specifically, a couple months after the 2024 Fall Fling, across multiple workdays, our skillful volunteers put the donor funded chainsaw to the test during an exciting new project. 

Just off the gravel road, at the start of the pond trail, you might have noticed several dead trees separating the Ney land and farm land. This past summer, one of the smaller trees fell across the trail, causing a nuisance and potential danger to park visitors. To avoid this safety issue in the upcoming summer, our volunteers decided to take a proactive approach by removing the remaining dead trees. 

I am very grateful for our incredible group of volunteers who collectively dedicated more than 30 hours of their time to this project. We had the vision to remove these trees and they took that in stride to successfully accomplish the task. The new chainsaw allowed an additional volunteer to participate in all of the sawing needs throughout this project. Together the group felled several large trees, removed countless branches, and cut every trunk into firewood sized pieces. It was inspiring to watch them work together, keep each other safe, and be proud of all they accomplished. 

Thank you to our supportive volunteers and donors for allowing us to achieve our goals of caring for our park and keeping visitors safe. You all are the heart of our mission. We hope you feel the love as you continue to inspire appreciation and respect for nature in our community. Happy Valentine’s Day! 

P.S. Stay tuned for an announcement on how you can help regrow this area of the park! 

Right off the bat, you may be thinking, why would I ever put on a bathing suit when it’s below 30°F outside? To be fair, you’re right! It sounds a little chilly… 

However, Minnesota’s sauna culture is rooted deeply in Finnish heritage, with sauna enthusiasts seeking warmth and community during colder and darker winter months. This tradition has evolved into a cherished practice that offers both relaxation and social connection for everyone. In recent years, the popularity of saunas in Minnesota has increased, with new opportunities to experience a sauna session emerging across the state. People leave these experiences often feeling refreshed and energized! Especially with the dry and cold winter air, it is great to enjoy some humidity and heat. Think of it like a 75-minute tropical vacation with some cooldowns sprinkled in the mix!

The state, usually known for its winter snowfalls, has been experiencing an unusual lack of snow in recent years, raising concerns among winter enthusiasts and environmental experts alike. After our Programs Coordinator, Eva, explored outdoor saunaing recently in her pursuit of new ways to enjoy winter without the snow. She came back with the idea to embrace that same experience at Ney with wood-fired sauna sessions.

First time learning about the hobby? It’s pretty straightforward! Every sauna is different, but ours is wood-burning, meaning there is a fire in the stove that is in the room with you. On top of the stove there is a collection of rocks that you can pour water on for more steam, however, please note that if you sauna with anyone else, it is a courtesy to ask if they are okay with more steam, as sometimes it can be too much! The sauna inside is covered in wood and has benches to sit on. There is a small room between the sauna room and the door to the outside, in which you can leave things if you would like!

Each 75-minute session allows participants to cycle between the intense heat of the sauna and a cool-down method of their choice, such as stepping into the brisk winter air, rolling in the snow (when available), or dousing themselves with ice-cold water. This contrast between hot and cold is central to the sauna tradition, promoting relaxation and well-being. However, if you don’t want to endure the traditional cooldown you are welcome to relax in the sauna’s warmth. The average temperature of the Sauna will be between 180-200 degrees.

To ensure a comfortable experience, we are recommending that you wear your swimsuit or athletic clothing that can get wet to the event, making it easy to start your session when you arrive! However, we do have bathrooms you can change in if you prefer a dry drive home. Essential items to bring include a water bottle, a full-size towel to sit on inside the sauna, sandals for outdoor use to prevent tracking dirt into the sauna, and an additional towel, robe, or sweatshirt to wear between sauna rounds if you prefer. Some things to consider leaving at home or in your car include valuables and metal jewelry/water bottles, which can get very hot to the touch if you bring them in with you. 

The Ney Nature Center staff will be on-site to maintain the wood-fired stove and assist with any questions. Children aged 12 and up are welcome when accompanied by a guardian. Each session accommodates up to six individuals, and private sessions can be arranged by booking all available spots. Pre-registration is required, and you can learn more and register on our Upcoming Programs Page.

These sessions are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 7th through Sunday the 9th, providing a unique opportunity to celebrate the season in a natural setting. This may become a more frequent activity for us next year if we have the community’s interest in it, so register if you are available or promote it to your friends and family if you want to see more Sauna time at Ney!

I want to talk about zoos today.  They were a standard of my childhood, and I continued this tradition with my children.  Zoos come in a variety of different kinds, and span a surprising amount of our history.  Let’s go ahead and dive right into it.

Zoos started out as private menageries of the wealthy and elite.  These days they are maintained in order to help educate the public.  In addition to helping people learn about different ecosystems and habitats, zoos also help further research, as well as assisting in captive breeding programs and habitat restoration.

The earliest accounts of menageries date back more than 4,000 years.  We have accounts of them in Ancient Egypt, the Aztec Empire, Ancient Rome, Mesopotamia, Ancient China, and other locations.  While menageries were made to accommodate curiosity, and nature preserves were established to create hunting grounds, we also have evidence of animals kept for research dating back to 500 BCE in Greece.  Ecosystem exhibits with native plants to match the animals on display are documented dating back to 704-681 BCE in Mesopotamia.  We have always found animals beautiful and fascinating.  Over time, we have learned better ways of taking care of captive animals, allowing us to help increase animal populations instead of constantly decreasing populations by removing animals from the wild.

Our interest has not been limited to land animals.  We have evidence of aquariums dating back to the Roman Empire.  While we had the technology to use glass to make aquariums that one could see through as early as 50 AD, most aquariums were of the top-down variety until the mid-19th century.

It was around this time that plants started being included in aquariums.  In 1850, chemist Robert Warrington published a paper stating that keeping live plants in the aquarium would provide enough water to sustain live fish, provided that the tank was not overpopulated.  Between this new knowledge and the consistent availability of affordable glass, aquariums became increasingly popular.  There are now a great variety of amazing aquariums in the world, both fresh and saltwater.  Some aquariums are so complex that they mimic entire ecosystems.

Birds have been kept since ancient times as well, in structures called aviaries.  From beautiful birds kept for decorations, to farm birds, to birds for carrying messages or hunting, humans have kept birds close.  Aviaries can come in many shapes and sizes, depending on the birds that are being kept there.  While they focus on specific ecosystems, it is common to keep multiple species together in the same enclosure.  Aviaries are very large these days, able to accommodate free flight.

While research has revealed that birds are related to reptiles, they are usually housed in different structures.  By the time we realized this, the separation of enclosures into aviaries and herpetariums was already standardized.  Herpetariums are houses for keeping reptiles and amphibians, though they may also include arthropods such as spiders and insects.  Reptile houses have traditionally been the heart of herpetariums.  Reworking zoos to merge aviaries and herpetariums is a costly endeavor, so they will likely continue to be separate at existing zoos.

Modern zoos are centers of education, research, and conservation efforts.  People are motivated to help preserve things that they have a personal connection to.  Education in general, and zoos in particular, are great ways to make those connections.  Once you have had a chance to see, hear, or touch something in person, you become much more invested in it than when you see it only in pictures or videos.

Zoos support research aimed at preserving habitat for endangered species.  By providing a refuge free for predators that also has veterinary care, zoos are able to help stabilize endangered populations.  Research can look like tracking the source of pollution in an area to mapping the genetic diversity of a species to help maintain genetic diversity.

By sharing this information with other institutions, zoos are able to advance conservation efforts around the world.  Through careful management of genetic diversity for animals in captive breeding efforts, zoos are able to help endangered species recover.  Isolation due to habitat fragmentation can make it difficult to functionally impossible for animals to find mates.  By setting up captive breeding programs, researchers are able to preserve biodiversity in the population to help avoid genetic bottlenecks.

The Minnesota Zoo participated in the captive breeding of Trumpeter Swans, as well as their introduction into the wild.  In 1980, the Minnesota Zoo acquired its first set of Trumpeter Swans to establish a captive breeding program.  After the pairs laid their first clutch, zoo staff would remove the eggs and raise them in incubators.  The swans would then lay a second clutch of eggs, which were left in the nest for the swans to raise.  These captive-raised swans were released in 1986.  They were 22 months old and had their wings clipped in the hopes that they would nest in the area.  This also allowed researchers to monitor the nests.  The goal was to have 10 established wild breeding pairs in the state by 1996.  Between the MN Zoo, the MN DNR, and the Three Rivers Park District, over 350 birds were released into MN.  As of 2011, there were roughly 6,000 wild-breeding Trumpeter Swans in MN.

I hope that this post has helped you to understand a bit more about zoos.  My family and I continue to visit zoos both locally and when we travel.  Each zoo has its own research focus, and I love having a chance to learn what each institution is supporting.  Stay warm, and consider visiting a zoo sometime this year!

None of the photos used were altered from their original format.

Throughout the first couple weeks of 2025, like many people, I have found myself recalling some of my favorite memories from 2024 and wondering what the new year has in store. In my personal life, 2024 was full of incredible travel experiences from visiting Glacier National Park to driving to Saint Louis, Missouri to watch Minnesota United defeat the home team in a late MLS season game. I am grateful for all the long-lasting memories I was able to make last year.

At the same time, life at Ney offered its fair share of memorable moments. We planted 500 fruiting tree seedlings with the help of our community, bonded with kids during action-packed summer camps, welcomed over 400 people to our Fall Festival, and successfully hosted an online silent auction to raise funds for the Fall Fling. While each of these experiences is undoubtedly positive, there is one particular memory that blends happiness and fear, I suppose, in its own unique way. 

I was declared the 2024 Staff Tick Count winner with a total of 12 ticks picked up while working at Ney. 

Between cutting down invasive Amur Maples, walking through grasses to plant trees, or simply enjoying program time outside, it is pretty clear to see that I had many opportunities to come into contact with ticks. Although I certainly don’t miss the feeling of ticks crawling through my hair, finalizing the results of our 2024 tick count did lead me to wonder what my eight-legged companions are up to now that it’s winter.

After feeding on and then being frantically flicked away by a human during the summer and fall seasons, fully fed ticks find ground cover, like the forest floor, to live in during their dormant winter stage. However, not all ticks are fully fed come winter, and not all winters provide adequate cover for ticks, so the life of a tick can be complicated during this time. 

There are a couple scenarios that can play out for an underfed tick in the wintertime. First, if they do not eat at all during the summer or fall, they’ll die in the winter. Many people may cheer at that fact, but remember that ticks are an incredible food source for many of our beloved birds, frogs, and small mammals. A second possible scenario for ticks in the wintertime is a bit more frightening for us. If a tick was able to feed, but not feed enough, they do stand a chance to survive the winter. In order to make it to spring, an underfed tick waits for days when the temperature rises above freezing. During those days, a tick can crawl out of its winter cover and finally feed. Luckily for us, our layers of winter gear likely protect us from a winter tick feeding, but on those warmer days, it might be a good idea to do a tick check at the end of your time outside, just in case. 

Weather, more specifically, snow accumulation can also impact a tick’s chances at surviving a Minnesota winter. An abundance of snow can serve as additional layers for the ticks to take cover in. Like this year and last year, if we are lacking snow, the ticks do not have the cover they need to stay dormant. As a result, they could either die off or be more active and in need of food. 

Now that I have learned a little bit about ticks’ winter living patterns, I’m surprised to know that any member of our staff could potentially add a tick to our count earlier in 2025 than I previously thought possible. With this in mind, it is important to always remember the value of a good tick check. Although I did not enjoy having 12 total ticks crawling around on me, I am very glad that I found and removed each of them. Let’s hope that like 2024, 2025 has memorable personal and work moments to balance out the finding of future ticks!