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Season Watch

Sneaky snakey: How a sleepy serpent warms up for his springtime ball

By Charlie Mitchell,
Heidi Holtan
Published April 2, 2026 at 3:06 PM CDT
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At least seven yellow-and-black striped garter snakes are intertwined together on the corner of a patch of asphalt. Their heads are facing in similar directions.
Contributed
/
iNaturalist user marykaylynch
Common garter snakes form a 'mating ball' in Inver Grove Heights on April 9, 2022.

Co-hosts Heidi Holtan and Charlie Mitchell wonder at the mating habits of garter snakes, discuss the overwintering habits of butterflies, and look forward to spring's advance.

Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe!

Ever wonder how a chilly snake convinces its neighbors to share their hard-won body heat?

It's time to find out!

Co-hosts Heidi Holtan (director of public affairs, cat wrangler) and Charlie Mitchell (phenology coordinator, David Attenborough acolyte) discover the hidden lives of garter snakes, learn about the Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow Network, and cause lepidopterists everywhere to break out in a rash by calling a chrysalis a cocoon.

In addition, we hear from Josh Leonard at Belwin Outdoor Science, Baxter Elementary School, and (as always), our phenology phrontiersman John Latimer.

Attributions

  1. Boreal chorus frog call by Jonathon Jongsma, XC138641. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/138641.
  2. Eastern Phoebe song by Jonathon Jongsma, XC132866. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/132866.
  3. Voice memo by Josh Leonard provided through SpeakPipe.
  4. John Latimer's phenology report, the Baxter Elementary School's phenology talkback, and Ketzel Levens' CoCoRAHS segment originally aired on KAXE.
  5. This episode was produced by Heidi Holtan.

Love the podcast? Want to learn more about animal genitalia? Let us know! Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe!

Email us at seasonwatch@kaxe.org.

Tags
Season Watch Season Watch PodcastKAXENorthern MinnesotaPhenologySpring Phenology
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Charlie Mitchell
Charlie Mitchell (she/they) joined KAXE in February of 2022. Charlie creates the Season Watch Newsletter, produces the Phenology Talkbacks show, coordinates the Phenology in the Classroom program, and writes nature-related stories for KAXE's website. Essentailly, Charlie is John Latimer's faithful sidekick and makes sure all of KAXE's nature/phenology programs find a second life online and in podcast form.<br/><br/><br/>With a background in ecology and evolutionary biology, Charlie enjoys learning a little bit about everything, whether it's plants, mushrooms, or the star-nosed mole. (Fun fact: Moles store fat in their tails, so they don't outgrow their tunnels every time conditions are good.)
See stories by Charlie Mitchell
Heidi Holtan
Heidi Holtan has been involved with KAXE since 2002. Now as Director of Content and Public Affairs she manages and is the host of the KAXE Morning Show, including a variety of local content like Phenology, What's for Breakfast, Area Voices, The Sports Page and much more, alongside Morning Edition from NPR. Her latest project is Ham Radio: Cooking with Amy Thielen.
See stories by Heidi Holtan
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