Great Expectations School in Grand Marais
Cohasset Elementary School
East Rapids Elementary in Grand Rapids
Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade
This report is brought to you by Denise Carlson and the rest of the Two Harbors Quilters who visited Long Lake Sept. 12-14, 2024. They have decided that the collective noun for a group of quilters is "collage".
“This report is for the week of September 9-13. The high temperature was 85 degrees and the low was 50.
“Smooth aster is in full bloom and is very pretty. Trees are starting to turn colors, especially maples, aspens and birches. Trees that are stressed turn color sooner. We have seen a few leaves already on the ground.
“Winterberry bushes are now full of the berries that will last all winter - or until the birds have eaten them. We have seen flickers, kingfishers, lots of leopard frogs and three swans on the lake. Three otters were seen along the shore actively hunting.
“In a sure sign that autumn weather will soon be here, garter snakes are starting to relate to their hibernaculum. One was even seen entering. This seems a bit premature.
“It was a great week in nature, and we want to remind everyone to unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!”
Roots and Wings Forest School in New York Mills
Little Falls Middle School
“This is Paige and Delilah reporting from Mr. Kaddatz’s class in Little Falls Middle School. This is our phenology report for the week of Sept. 15.
“We have had reports of large groups of Sandhill Cranes gathering in fields as they prepare to migrate south, and robins are also appearing in smaller groups.
“A walk through sandy fields this time of year will result in lots of painful sand burrs on your shoes.
“We have started hearing crickets in the garage and outside the house in the mornings before school.
“Some students are still seeing hummingbirds at feeders.
“There are some Great Horned Owls hooting in the evening.
“It is very easy to spot Carolina grasshoppers this time of year, as they are the large flying grasshoppers with black and yellow wings.
“There are several species of asters blooming in the woods and open areas, and our maples are starting to show some orange and red colors.
“Chicken of the woods, a tasty orange mushroom, can be found on tree trunks and stumps.
“There are a lot of wasps around recycling and fallen apples, looking for some sweet food. Their nest building duties are done, so they have a lot of time on their hands now.
“We are seeing more monarchs now than we have at any time this summer. It is still not a lot, but noticeably more.
“Small holes are appearing in our yards each morning, probably made by skunks searching for grubs at night.
“We are also seeing the strange looking pelecinid wasp female, probably looking for those same grubs to lay her eggs on.
“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
Sebastian: “Hi, this is Sebastian...”
Andrew: “...and this is Andrew...”
Sebastian: “...and we’re from Prairie Creek Community School, way down south in Northfield, Minnesota.”
Andrew: “There’s a lot to report so we’re going to jump right in. Ruby and Henry saw foxes at dusk. We weren’t surprised because foxes are corpuscular.”
Sebastian: “Now that’s a good word! We also saw a lot of squirrels racing around - we don’t think there’s a science word for “racing around.’”
Andrew: “Lots of deer are around, including a fawn that Amelie saw.”
Sebastian: “We’re still seeing a lot of insects - wasps and bees are all over the asters and sedum.”
Andrew: “We’re still seeing big groups of dragonflies around our ponds and homes - but there aren’t nearly as many on our school field.”
Sebastian: “We’re hearing cicadas and crickets.”
Andrew: “We’re still seeing a lot of monarchs.”
Sebastian: “Ellen saw ringnecked pheasants - a male by itself and three females together.”
Andrew: “Big groups of turkeys are strutting around.”
Sebastian: “There was a bird on a nest that attacked Caroline.”
Andrew: “We’re still seeing a lot of hummingbirds. They’re zooming around so fast we can’t tell if they are male or female.”
Sebastian: “We’re seeing geese and the ones in Ellen’s yard were making a ruckus!”
Andrew: “The woodpeckers drumming were making a ruckus, too.”
Sebastian: “I saw a hawk but I couldn’t tell what kind.”
Andrew: “Finnly heard a mourning dove song...”
Sebastian: “...and we have reports of Sandhill Cranes, herons and egrets this week.”
Andrew: “On the plant front - the tree leaves are starting turn a little more, especially the maples. The maple in my yard is turing red.”
Sebastian: “The wildflowers in Ann’s yard are beautiful including asters, goldenrod and black-eyed Susans. The cone flowers are done, though.”
Andrew: “Michelle’s friend Trish reports that her LILACS ARE BLOOMING! We noticed a few blooms on our crabapple tree here at school, too. What’s up with that?”
Sebastian: “And finally, our magnolia is fruiting. We call them the ‘Bad Skittles’ because the seeds are bright orange and the size of skittles, but THEY ARE NOT Skittles.”
Andrew: “This has been Prairie Creek...”
Sebastian: “...one more step along the phenology journey.”
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).
