Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
This report is brought to you by Owen, Estella and the young adventurers from Outdoor Explorers Camp.
“Hello this is Owen and Estella from Outdoor Explorers Summer Camp at Long Lake Conservation Center the week of July 27-31.
“The high temperature was 88 degrees, the low was 49. The surface temperature of Long Lake was 73 degrees, the plants in the shade were 76 and in the sun 81.
“We experienced peak summer and saw soooooo many things in nature. Some of the highlights were seeing two young raccoons, the season’s first baby snapping turtle and getting to eat lots and lots of ripe blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. Yum!
“Speaking of delicious, we ate honey straight from Long Lake’s beehives.
“In the lake, it was fun catching leeches and tiny bullheads. Beebalm, goldenrod and jewelweed are now blooming. Many bumble bees were observed on the flowers. We also saw a doe and a fawn, a young buck, a very small red-bellied snake, a beaver on the trail, frogs, and a toad we named Fred.
“In the bog, we found coyote scat, saw sundews and flowering pitcher plants. Ron and LeAnn Plinske helped us capture and identify a lot of different dragonflies and damselflies. We had a great week at summer camp and want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and… LIVE CONNECTED!!”
Charlie Mitchell
“Good morning John and Jennifer, this is Charlie Mitchell reporting from a family reunion near Ely.
“I had a great week last week near the Boundary Waters on the Kawishiwi River. I was with my family, including aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, nieces, nephews, and parents, enjoyed fresh raspberries, watched turtles bask on the logs, and went swimming every day.
“A particular favorite was a little passage we called ‘turtle valley,’ where steep rock walls enclosed a short stretch of river. Along the banks, painted turtles galore basked on every available log or rock. A few turtles even swam under our canoes.
“We had one or two days of good air before the wildfire smoke settled in. After that, we lost the chance to see the spectacular sunsets, and a few of us experienced irritated eyes and breathing problems.
“I enjoyed teaching my almost-two-year-old nephew how to pick his own raspberries. He was surprisingly resilient to the little raspberry bristles, and he was even willing to share a few with me.
“Another fun afternoon was spent scrambling around on some rocks in the middle of a stream. It was fun to watch one of my cousin’s kids grow confident jumping from rock to rock, using his hands to scramble and even daring a little swim!
“Since returning home, I’ve been out for one paddle on the St. Croix River, where I’ve found ironweed blooming in profusion, Joe Pye weed blooming in smaller bunches, and plenty of Great Blue Herons standing sentinel along the riversides. There are lots of asters and the Canada goldenrod is beginning to flower. I’m keeping a wary eye on the first of the yellow leaves of fall; I’m a summer-minded lad and would hold autumn off for another month or two if I could!
“I hope you guys are doing well. This has been Charlie Mitchell, going hither and thither on the Kiwishiwi River.”
Axel and Pearl Newstok
Little Falls Middle School
During the summer months, Chad Kaddatz’s class of middle school science students submit photos of their nature observations to the class Instagram page at little_falls_phenology. Here are some of their highlights from this week.
What have you seen out there? Let us know: email us at comments@kaxe.org or text us at 218-326-1234.
That does it for this week! For more phenology, subscribe to our Season Watch Newsletter or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
