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Widow skimmers feast on flying insects

A large brown dragonfly with prominent black and white wing markings perches on a blade of grass.
Contributed
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Courtney Celley/USFWS via Flickr
A male widow skimmer dragonfly perches in St. Louis County on June 15, 2021.

During the week of July 14, 2026, we enjoy reports of dragonflies, red-bellied snakes, and daddy longlegs. Staff phenologist John Latimer responds.

Long Lake Conservation Center near Palisade

This report is brought to you by Izzy, Lakota, Henry and the students from Migizi in Minneapolis.

Long Lake Conservation Center phenology talkbacks: July 14, 2026

Hi, this is Izzy, Lakota and Henry from Migizi Communication in Minneapolis reporting on our trip to Long Lake Conservation Center, July 6th through the 8th. The temps for our were a high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit, jumping in the lake felt so good! The low was 55 degrees. We spent as much time as possible in and on the water. During our canoe adventures we saw two loons, two muskrats, and two beavers. A couple of people from our group went fishing and caught a few small sunfish. The Long Lake staff said this was a big deal because it shows that the DNR’s restocking efforts are paying off. The DNR restocked Long Lake with adult sunfish and crappies a couple of years ago after two bad winter kills. They appear to have survived and are reproducing. There’s good eating in the woods right now. There is Chicken of the Woods popping up in various places, including a few clumps that looked about ready to harvest. The first wild raspberries are ripe and it looks like the blueberries aren’t far behind. Despite all the natural foods available, a black bear got into the garbage on campus. I guess they were hungry for fast food. We had a great trip and we want to remind everyone to go jump in a lake, head to the woods for a snack, AND, as always, unplug, get outside and LIVE CONNECTED!

Roots and Wings Forest School in New York Mills

Roots and Wings Forest School phenology talkbacks: July 14, 2026

River Bend Nature Center in Fairbault

River Bend Nature Center phenology talkbacks: July 14, 2026

Chad Kaddatz in Little Falls

Chad Kaddatz phenology talkbacks: July 14, 2026

Pierkku in Hinterlands

Pierkku from Hinterlands phenology talkback: July 14, 2026

What have you seen out there? Let us know: email us at comments@kaxe.org or text us at 218-326-1234.

For more phenology, subscribe to our Season Watch Newsletter and podcast or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.

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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.)
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