North Star Elementary School in Virginia
Cherry School near Iron Junction
“Hi, this is Michael, Clara, Walker, and Natalie reporting from Cherry School in Cherry, Minnesota on September 15, 2025.
“In the past week, we have noticed signs of fall, including cooler temperatures. Some classmates have noticed frost in the morning. On September 9, Symphony saw mist or fog coming off the pond in Eveleth.
“On September 7, Ms. Cari saw geese flying in a V formation above Hibbing.
“On September 6, Henry saw a mama bear and a large cub. The cub ran up a tree.
“Many students have noticed leaves changing colors. On September 5, Lilly noticed trees changing colors. One maple tree near Zim was 100% red. On September 9, Kaden noticed a tree with about 5 branches that have turned orange near Cherry. On September 4, Sylas noticed crunchy leaves on the ground in Forbes.
“We are also seeing a lot of deer and are noticing changes in their appearances. On September 9, Anthony noticed a doe and a fawn near Cherry. The fawn had white spots. On September 7, Jed noticed a buck in his field near Cherry. On September 10, Natalie noticed 6 bucks together in a field near Cherry. On September 8, Kenzie noticed a baby deer separated from its mother in Hibbing. On September 7, Nova noticed 3 deer near Hibbing. One was smaller but did not have spots.
“On Monday, John Latimer joined our classes for a walk in the school forest. We found blue aster and flat-topped aster growing in the brush. We also found a lot of wood frogs. Most of them were small and probably born earlier this year. We also found a couple grey tree frogs in the speckled alder bush and we found one spring peeper in the grass near the football field.
“This concludes our phenology report. This has been Michael, Clara, Walker, and Natalie reporting from Cherry School. Nature Rules!”
East Rapids Elementary in Grand Rapids
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
This report is brought to you by Severin and the camps who attended (and survived) the Homeschool Fall Survival Camp at Long Lake Conservation Center from Sept. 8-10.
"Naturalist Julia’s report from the lake edge was that the bladderwort were blooming, there were many large not-quite-ripe cranberries and chokeberry fruits.
"Here are some things that we noticed: Maples and ferns changing color, loud Blue Jays, lots of wasps on the lilypads while we were canoeing, wooly bear caterpillars, a doe with twin fawns (the fawns still have spots), turkey families walking around campus, winterberries are fruiting, fireflies at night and evening primrose are in bloom.
"We had a great time in nature and want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and….LIVE CONNECTED!!"
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Aiden and Riley reporting from Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of September 14.
“We have started seeing large groups of Sandhill Cranes in fields, and the Great Blue Herons are still hanging around the shorelines of lakes and ponds.
“There are more and more wooly bear caterpillars being sighted, and this number should increase as their food starts to disappear and force them to travel a greater distance.
“There are also repeated sightings of tussock moth caterpillars.
“The maples are starting to change colors, and are probably around 35% changed right now.
“A classmate spotted a bottle gentian in bloom, which seems a little early, but we also saw some spotted jewelweed flowers, which seems a little late.
“There are noticeable holes left in our yards, likely made by skunks searching for grubs at night.
“The wasps and hornets have been feeding on apples that have fallen from trees.
“There was a large flock of White Pelicans circling around the river, which is typically a sight we have in the springtime.
“Two unique looking creatures we spotted this week were the pelicinid wasp, and the pigeon horntail woodwasp. Although they are both intimidating, both are fairly harmless.
“Someone found a firefly larvae, which is a strange looking armored insect, quite different from the lighting bugs we were seeing this summer.
“One student came across a large bull snake on a sunny afternoon last week.
“There are still several species of asters blooming, the easiest to identify is the large leaf aster, as it has two extremely large leaves near the ground.
“The craziest find this week was a group of raccoons crawling up and down the peak of a barn.
“Open fields and gravel roads are teaming with carolina grasshoppers this week.
“Red admiral butterflies and monarchs are still around, and preparing for their annual migration. We did notice that more than half of the monarch chrysalises that we were monitoring did not survive.
“That is our report for this week, until next week, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep connecting with the great outdoors.”
Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield
Ellen: “Hi, this is Ellen-”
Sahil: “And this is Sahill-”
Ellen: “And we’re BACK from Prairie Creek Community School, way down south in Northfield Minnesota.”
Sahil: “First things first, Ellen, it is HOT down here.”
Ellen: “That is true! We’re wondering how it will affect the season change.”
Sahil: “So far, it’s been a busy season for birds.”
Ellen: “We’re hearing a lot of Blue Jay calls – but not the ‘pump handle’.”
Sahil: “Several people have seen Sandhill Cranes. There are a ton of goldfinches on the cup flowers.”
Ellen: “There’s been a hummingbird sighting and we’re still seeing herons.”
Sahil: “There was also a large group of Wild Turkeys crossing the road-”
Ellen: “And Oscar reported a yellow cardinal – which is very rare!”
Sahil: “I know something that isn’t rare - MOSQUITOS!”
Ellen: “The diurnal mosquitos are out right now, too.”
Sahil: “Hopefully all of the green darner dragonflies we are seeing will eat them up.”
Ellen: “Last year we saw close to a hundred on our field but that hasn’t happened yet this year.”
Sahil: “In other animal news - we’re still seeing fireflies and still hearing frogs.”
Ellen: “The bucks are getting antlers and there was a skunk sighting.”
Sahil: “There is a lot of goldenrod, the sumac is turning red, and the wild cucumber is starting to turn yellow.”
Ellen: “Many of the maple trees are at full color - they’re bright red.”
Sahil: “A few branches of ash trees are also turning - they’re yellow.”
Ellen: “Sadly a lot of the ashes down here are dead or infested with emerald ash borer. Luckily, we’re treating the ashes on our playground to keep the bugs away.”
Ellen: “This has been Prairie Creek-”
Sahil: “One more step along the phenology journey.”
Listener questions and contributions
We received a question from a curious person in Ontario. They wondered if you can tell how old moose beard lichen is by the length of the strands.
We also got a note is from Don Leaon about leopard frogs. He said,
“Northern Leopard Frogs (Lithobates pipiens) are found in much of Canada and the United States. In recent decades, their populations have been declining, particularly in western regions.
“Female Northern Leopard Frogs lay their eggs in the spring, typically in shallow, relatively quiet waters, on vegetation near the water's surface. Tadpoles emerge from the eggs in a few weeks and begin feeding on algae, aquatic vegetation, and other organic matter.
“In a few months, tadpoles surviving the hazards of being a tadpole (predation, disease and other factors) will metamorphosize into juvenile frogs. It will take about 2 years for them to reach maturity.
“As juveniles, they will begin a new phase in their lives, spending time in both aquatic and terrestrial environments preying on invertebrates to include insects, spiders and worms.
“Northern Leopard Frogs, being typically green or brown in color and having an abundance of spots, are exceptionally well camouflaged. In addition, their excellent field of vision provides them an early warning of potential predators. These adaptations help them survive. They may live for five years, or longer, in the wild.
“They survive winters by hibernating in well oxygenated waters deep enough to prevent freezing. During hibernation they ‘breathe’ through their thin skin, taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. They will emerge from hibernation in the spring and adult males will soon begin their chorus.”
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).
