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Phenology Talkbacks: Of bogs, berries and tiny toadlets

Mushrooms grow on a moss-covered log at Warren Nelson Memorial Bog on July 17, 2022.
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Mushrooms grow on a moss-covered log at Warren Nelson Memorial Bog on July 17, 2022.

Students and listeners from across the state send in their nature reports. Depending on the season, reports may cover wildflowers, animal behaviors, weather patterns and other wonders.

This week, we heard from two new summer camps, as well as our good friends at Long Lake Conservation Center. Enjoy!

NCROC summer camp near Grand Rapids

Bell Museum summer camp phenology report: July 16, 2024

“Hello, my name is Jennifer and we are calling in from the NCROC, the North Central Research and Outreach Center, located on the east side of Grand Rapids. I am an educator for the Bell Museum, and each week of summer camps, we are visiting the bog located here at NCROC.

“The bog is really wet this year, and each week there is something new for us to see. We even got to see blooming lady slippers 2 weeks ago and the carnivorous plants are always a highlight for the campers. Here are some of the campers’ observations from the bog trip on July 9, 2024.”

“Hello, my name is Alex and what I saw in the bog was: Lots of big lumps of moss and a polka dotted spider. When I looked down, I saw water shimmering.”

“Hello, my name is Mackenzie. We went to the bog on July 9. It was so exciting! I saw a mushroom too. The mushroom was orange and had polka dots on it. The dots were brown. I saw a lot of moss, spiders and a moth. The moth was light blue with dark polka dots. I saw a lot of daisies and mold.”

“Hello, my name is Scarlett and I love the bog. We rode on a tractor to the bog, and we got to walk on boardwalks, and we saw big tall trees and orange glowy mushrooms.”

Forkhorn One camp at the Long Lake Conservation Center

Long Lake Conservation Center phenology report: July 16, 2024

“Hi, I am Hattie and Lila reporting summer camp phenology from Long Lake Conservation Center.

“First, the loon report: We haven't checked to see if they are back on the nest, but we are only seeing one loon at a time. If they are back on, it will be a very late hatch.

“Other animal sightings included; Sandhill Crane chicks, turkey poults, two spotted fawns following one doe, and a large black bear by the side of the road that completely disappeared by slowly moving its head back into the brushline.

“Now for the plant report; we noticed yellow hop clover lining the paths; also, showy tick trefoil, creeping thistle, daisy fleabane, self-heal, black-eyed Susan, blue bellflower, common milkweed and leadplant. The mountain mint is not flowering yet but will be very soon. The first of the raspberries were found, picked and eaten. They are small but very tasty.

“It was a great week in nature. Remember to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”

Westwood Hills Nature Center near St. Louis Park

Westwood Hills Nature Center phenology report: July 16, 2024

“This is the summer camp kids from Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. In the week of July 8, we noticed the weather was hot and humid. There was a high of 84 degrees. The prairie was the hottest place, and the woods were the coolest.

“Plants were tall, very green, and beautiful because of all the rain. We noticed butterfly weed, yarrow, black-eyed Susans and goldenrod. We also found raspberries and wild strawberries. We found puffballs, dead man’s fingers, coral fungus, and jelly fungus.

“We heard Indigo Buntings and many other songbirds. The rain kept the wasps away. We found about a hundred baby toads and spotted twin fawns with their mom. We also spotted a large snapping turtle in the lake. We found a monarch butterfly, an orb weaver and a common pondhawk dragonfly too. The extra rainy summer gave us more to observe than last year.

“This has been the summer camp kids at Westwood Hills Nature Center. Never stop exploring!”

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).

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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.)