Colin and Nora at Sugar Lake Lodge
“Hello, my name is Colin and I'm from Eagan. We're at Sugar Lake Lodge and we went on a nature hike and this is some stuff we saw. We saw leopard frogs, we saw pine trees, we saw dragonflies and lots of other cool stuff.
“Hello, my name is Nora and I'm from Eagan. Here's some stuff that we have been seeing. There's different kinds of nature. And also there's different kind of <unsure.> And I caught a white-faced dragonfly.”
Outdoor Explorers at Long Lake Conservation Center
This report is brought to you by Hunter, Nora, Rainn, Eva and the campers from Outdoor Explorers who visited Long Lake July 21-25.
“The high temperature was 81 degrees and the low was 47. It’s officially mid-summer and life is in full bloom.
“One of the highlights was finding lots of baby frogs hopping about. We found a number of wood frogs that were about the size of a dime. Very cute. We also saw a baby painted turtle that was freshly hatched.
“While canoeing, we had very close encounters with the loons. Both swam near and popped out of the water. We named them Alfred and John Cena.
“Also on the lake, we saw the otters, Trumpeter Swans, big fat leeches that were about four inches long, and tadpoles. Someone accidentally stepped on a baby spotted salamander. “Other observations included a nest of baby bunnies near the archery range, a spotted fawn and a doe, a lone monarch butterfly, a few bumble bees, two squirrels fighting, a chipmunk, big and small spiders, and a bunch of colorful mushrooms.
“A Barred Owl was heard calling and coyotes howling at night.
“We learned that horseflies cut open our skin - OUCH - and drink our blood. It felt like sweet revenge to watch a dragonfly eat one.
“The bog is still very boggy. Hunter enjoyed a bog ‘mud’ bath and Brayley did a swan dive into the ‘muddy bog.’
“It was a great week at camp and in nature and we want everyone to remember to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
Brad Jones and Laurie Benge east of Grand Rapids
“Hi John, just a note about the lack of fruit on the chokecherrys. Despite an abundant flower crop this spring, the berry crop is poor at this point around our place too.
“From the plants I observed, there was good pollination, but much of the developing fruit contained a small white worm (1mm? Barely visible with the naked eye) encased within a 'fruit pod'. I assume the larvae was deposited in the late flower stage. These 'fruit pods' protected the worm, and fell off the plant in June.
“This same critter was observed on other single stoned fruits, including the Viburnums and plums. I have no idea what it is, but likely the build up is a result of several good flower years in a row.
“I collected a 10 quart pail of these pods and the worms emerged. At least the chickens had a good meal.”
Little Falls Middle School
Our next report comes from Chad Kaddatz’ science class at Little Falls Middle School. His students have been sending in photos and observations from their outdoor adventures this summer.
Some of the insects they’ve noticed included a Carolina grasshopper nymph, a long-jawed orbweaver, and an adult monarch butterfly. They also saw the wispy white net of a grass spider.
Zoe captured a great image of a flowering white campion, and Chase photographed the ripening green seeds on a Jack-in-the-pulpit plant.
To see the photos, check out little_falls_phenology on Instagram.
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).
