Our young student phenologists are enjoying this last bit of summer, and we eagerly await reports from a new school year. In the meantime, we heard from a few of our listeners about what they've been seeing in nature this week.
John Latimer received this email from Kathleen:
"I thought you might enjoy last week's foraging fun. We were having steaks and corn on the cob for dinner. My cabin yard is filled with small and tiny puff ball mushrooms. I did a bit of harvesting and cleaning. We fried them up with some onions and garlic. What a great meal accompaniment. Earlier this summer, we sauteed them up in scrambled eggs for breakfast. Alas...this may be my last harvest as I can see the maple leaves are starting to turn red."
John explained that the turning of the maples is like a bell curve. Some start turning red in late August and some wait until October, with the average dates in mid to late September.
John also got a note from Phil in Hill City:
"Thanks for your years of dedication to phenology and all of the students and people's lives you have touched with your stories and educational approach. We have always had pileated woodpeckers near our house this summer. The parents and the youngsters are regular visitors to our feeders and suet."
We also heard from Dave, who remarked that he may have seen his last Baltimore Oriole of the season. John agreed that we are probably past peak oriole migration.
While we were talking, we heard from Bill in Wabana Township, north of Grand Rapids. He texted, "I have two maple trees here, one by the lake and one on high ground that both have leaves that have turned quite red. Also, a pair of fawns who have almost lost their spots, just barely discernible. In addition, one of the fawns is roughly 25% bigger than the other fawn, suggesting a buck and a doe fawn."
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).
