As one era ends, another begins!
The school year is wrapping up for our friends at Prairie Creek Community School and North Shore Community School. Luckily, our friends, the Newstok family, are back in town for the summer! They (and our reliable friends at Long Lake Conservation Center) fortify us with our much-needed phenology fix through the summer. But if you have an inkling, we sure would love if you joined the phenology crew!
Please note as schools let out for the summer, we become more and more hungry for reports for our Phenology Talkbacks segment. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with your observations, nature tales and insights! Get in touch with me (smitchell@kaxe.org), John Latimer (jlatimer@kaxe.org), or text "phenology" to 218-326-1234.
Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield
Michelle Martin's entire class sent in their final report for the year from Prairie Creek Community School in Northfield:
“Hi, this is the Prairie Creek Herons. We are here to tell you about what you want to look out for.”
“Hi, I’m Aspyn. Watch out for those butterflies.”
“Hi, I’m Ruby. Watch out for turtles laying their eggs.”
“Hi, I’m Sophia. Watch out for those birds.”
“Hi, I’m Ravi. Watch out for hummingbirds.”
“Hi, I’m Emmett, and make sure to look out for the screaming geese.”
“Hi, I’m Elliot. Make sure to look out for those herons!”
“Hi, I’m Arlo. Make sure to look out for those gophers.”
“Hi, I’m Eric. Look out for the frogs and the toads.”
“Hi, I’m Viggo. Make sure to look out for caterpillars.”
“Hi, I’m Blake. Make sure to look out for squirrels.”
“Hi, I’m Malcolm. Make sure to look out for the woodpeckers.”
“Hi, I’m Amelia. Make sure to look out for turtles.”
“Hi, I’m Sorchia. Make sure to look out for the yellow swallowtails.”
“Hi, I’m Anita. Make sure to look out for flowers.”
“Hi, I’m Kaia. Make sure to look out for monarchs.”
“Hi, I’m Betty. Make sure to look out for monarchs as well.”
“Hi, I’m Jimmy. Make sure to look out for dragonflies.”
“Hi, I’m Isaiah. Make sure to look out for eagles.”
“Hi, I’m Ben. Make sure to look out for worms.”
“Hi, I’m Molly. Make sure to look out for tree phenology.”
“This has been Prairie Creek Community School. One last step on the phenology journey!”
“What a nice way to end the season,” John remarks. “That was just amazing. Thanks so much for your participation. We look forward to a new group next year from Michelle and her class down at Prairie Creek.”
I’ll echo John — it was a fantastic finale to a sensational season with a grand group of students!
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
Daphne and Adam reported from Hamilton Elementary's trip to Long Lake Conservation Center:
“During our trip to Long Lake Conservation Center May 31 through June 1, the bog was in bloom! We saw pink lady slippers and blooming Labrador tea, bog rosemary and leatherleaf.
“Several bees were noticed buzzing around the raspberry patches but there are not any blooms for them yet. The wild roses are also not in bloom, but we did notice some galls on them. Some of the galls were brown, dried up and had little holes in them where the insect came out, and some of them looked new with no holes.
“We saw dragonflies emerging from the lake onto the cattails for their final molt before becoming the mosquito hawks that we really appreciate, both for their beauty and for the mosquito eating.
“There is a mama phoebe nesting in the eave of one of the buildings and one group saw it catch a moth. No babies were seen or heard. We also noted one bluebird, one turkey, one Sandhill Crane, a few monarch butterflies, garter snakes and frogs and way too many mosquitos, tent caterpillars and wood ticks.
“We had some great adventures in nature and we want to remind you to ... Unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
John encourages everyone to get into a bog! There, you’ll find pink lady slippers, Labrador tea flowers, bog rosemary, bog laurel and three-leaved Solomon’s seal. In Grand Rapids, John’s seen raspberries and wild roses blooming. To top it off, the white fluffy heads of cotton grass dotting the swamps and bogs — truly a glorious sight.
North Shore Community School near Duluth
Laura gives us the final report for the year from Darcie Rolfe and Leigh Jackson's class at North Shore Community School:
“Hello from North Shore Community School on the North Shore of Lake Superior. This is the phenology report for the week of May 27, 2023. My name is Laura, and I am your phenologist for this week!
“Due to the lack of rain for the last week, the water in Liam’s pond has been receding, which is not very good for the tadpoles who like to stay in more shallow waters. Also on Wednesday, May 31, Evan observed that it hit 90 degrees for the first time in Hermantown. Meteorological summer began on Thursday, June 1.
"Mrs. Rolfe’s apple trees started blooming on Sunday, May 28. Lilacs are also starting to bloom. Wild strawberries are flowering, creating a blanket of flowers on the ground alongside the road! On June 1, Mrs. Rolfe’s class was out on the school nature trail and Laura saw that the early dog violets were blooming, Dominik and Emmett saw a cluster of Omphalotus olearius mushrooms and Oliisa saw that the star flowers were blooming.
“Micah spotted a robin’s nest in the eaves of Shelter One on the school nature trail. The nest had several hatchlings in it! Micah also spotted some mallard ducks in his neighbor’s yard on May 31.
“Ms. Jackson had a brown black bear hanging around her house on Wednesday evening, May 24. It was eating fallen bird seed on the ground. It would run away when it heard loud noises but would come back looking for more seed. Remember to take your bird feeders in at night! Another black bear keeps tipping over the garbage at Ken's house. If you can, bring your garbage to a sheltered area, too!
“Emmett saw six monarch butterflies for the first time on May 29th! Britta has spotted numerous monarch butterflies over the last week. Mrs. Rolfe noticed that her milkweed is about 6-8 inches tall.
“Did you know that adult monarchs feed on the nectar from flowers, which contain sugars and other nutrients? Unlike the larvae that only eat milkweeds, adult monarchs feed on a wide variety of nectar-bearing flowers.
“Laura visited Island Lake and found that the water was warm enough to swim over Memorial weekend!
“This concludes our last phenology report for the 2022-2023 school year. Have a great summer and be observant!”
A great report to end the year!
“Lots of good reports, lots of great news from that area, and it’s always fun to see what they’re seeing, hear what they’re hearing, and enjoy their reports each week. We thank them for that contribution," John says.
Newstok family near Grand Rapids
Axel, Pearl and Ruth Newstok are back and report from their cabin near Grand Rapids.
“Hi, John Latimer, this is Ruth...”
“...Axel...”
“...and Pearl Newstok.”
“We arrived to our cabin on Saturday.”
“So far we have seen:
- One huge porcupine lumbering up a hill. Then it climbed a tree.
- Five swans gathering on the other side of the lake.
- A northern pike chasing a fish on my line.
- Dozens of monarch caterpillars on our milkweed.
“I have started some research in my journal about dragonflies.
“We have seen several kinds: some meadowhawks, many chalk-fronted corporals and some types of spike-tails.”
“We hope to see you and Heidi Holtan soon!”
Heidi exclaims, “I was hoping they would mention me! I can’t wait to see you guys!”
John replies, “Oh, I can’t wait to see them either. What a thrill. Those are some really amazing children who get out and watch nature very closely when they’re up here, and we are thrilled for that.”
Sarah Mitchell (me) from the Twin Cities area
“A few notes from your devoted fan in the Twin Cities area — the invasive birdsfoot trefoil are blooming profusely, and the white pine trees are releasing heaps of pollen.
“I've spotted Barn Swallows and Chipping Sparrows with active nests — the babies were large enough to make the nest look crowded!
“I found some gems for the Season Watch Newsletter this week: readers can look forward to some really cool videography of American water shrews hunting underwater.”
John notes the white pines are releasing pollen in Grand Rapids as well. He agrees the water shrew is a pretty amazing critter: it can smell underwater! As John points out, they can smell underwater by exhaling a bubble against a surface and re-inhaling it.
Bill from Big Lake
Bill from Big Lake sent the hosts this text this morning:
“I observed this flock on what I'll call White Bird Wednesday at the Pelican Lake Wildlife Management and Waterfowl Restoration Area just south of Monticello. Just after seeing these, I saw at least 30 pelicans and a half-dozen trumpeter swans. This is an excellent area for observing wildlife and especially migrating waterfowl. I'm lucky that I get to drive through this area on my way to work.”
John admires the lovely photo and says, “When you’re on your way to work this morning, keep an eye out. There are plenty of things out there that you might want to check out.”
As always, we hope to hear from you, dear reader. Let us know what you find out there.
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).
