Campers at Long Lake had an incredible week last week! It's impossible to sum up in a brief paragraph, but they had quality time with dragonflies, watched loons fight, saw wildlife babies, learned about bees, had a notable snake sighting, and saw a porcupine walking through campus. Does anyone else wish they could still go to summer camp, or is it just me?

Listen here!

This week, John continues his summary of the summer wildflowers! He covers three asters, three goldenrods, a host of other blooming flowers, and covers some of the berries and nuts available to forage right now (if you're willing to race the chipmunks and squirrels to the harvest). He ends with a quick note on crow flocking behavior- get ready to see some big flocks!

Listen to John's report!

One of the things I love most about the world- and the natural world in particular- is how much there is to learn! Despite my life-long interest, I still know nothing about so many different fields. This was brought home to me- again- this week at a native bee identification workshop! There, I learned about leaf-cutter bees that make little leaf sleeping bags for their larva (CUTE), that bumblebees comprise a tiny fraction of all of our native bees, and that my wife is WAY better than I am at bee identification. I had an absolute blast! I also learned that fall is the perfect time to help our native bees by preserving their nesting habitat- I'll be attending the Xerces Society's September 29th webinar to learn more. I hope to see you there!

Why do beestings hurt? Because the devil is in the beetails.

Flowerhead of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). Invasive.