I Spy on the Trails - August 1-15, 2026

Twin Springs Trail, Decorah IA

I spent a quieter two weeks waiting for a steroid shot to kick in on the bum foot. Shorter, slower and flatter hikes were my jam. While going slow didn't get me far, it gave me lots of time to linger and observe dragon- and damselflies, bumblebees, butterflies and oh so many flowers and fungi!

Our mornings are already starting to be dewy and foggy and we received a bit of rain throughout these two weeks. Temperatures were a seasonal high 70s and 80s. Humidity was variable. My goal was getting out early before the heat piled on, so mosquitoes and I made some acquaintance on the trails!

Pre-emergent dog-day cicada nymph
Note the split starting at the head 

The most fun day of hiking  brought a friend and me to three spots in Decorah IA: Butterfly Garden and Community Prairie; Twin Springs Park and Malanaphy Springs. We clocked in with 4 miles on flat and some rolling trails over the course of the morning and early afternoon. It was great to stretch out a bit more to test my foot and we saw amazing sights at each trail.  Seeing a pre-emergent dog-day cicada nymph casing (note the split in the back where the adult emerges) was the best!

On the learning front, I give a huge shout-out to the Friends of Houston (MN) Nature Center.  They sponsorsed an outstanding talk by Dan Jackson about the characteristics and life cycle of dragon- and damselflies. I learned a ton. They also developed a great informational display at the center on these fascinating members of the odonata order.

Hope you can take advantage of the many learning opportunities like this in the Driftless. They'll enrich your time on the trails!

Can you spot the common green darner dragonfly?

Plant Observations
Bloomed:

• alyssum, hoary

  

  Spotted bee balm with
   brown-belted bumblebee

  
  
• beebalm, spotted
• bellflower, American
• black-eyed Susan
• blazing star, dwarf (or cylindrical)
• blazing star, meadow
• blazing star, prairie
• Blazing star, rough
• boneset, false
• boneset, tall
• buttercup, water
• catnip
• cinquefoil, tall
• clover, purple prairie
• clover, silky prairie
• clover, white prairie
• compassplant
• coneflower, cutleaf
• coneflower, grey-headed 

  

  Compassplant

  
  
• coneflower, sweet
• coreopsis, prairie
• cupplant
• Culver’s root
• fern, bracken
• fern, bulblet bladderfern
• fern, interrupted 
• fern, lady
• fern, New York
• fern, northern maidenhair
• flax, grooved
• fleabane, prairie
• germander, American
• goldenrod, Canada
• goldenrod, early

  

  Joe-Pye weed

  
  
• goldenrog, giant
• goldenrod, gray
• goldenrod, Missouri
• goldenrod, tall
• goldenrod, white flat-topped
• harebell
• indigo, wild white
• ironweed, prairie
• jewelweed
• Joe-Pye weed, sweet
• leafcup, small-flowered
• milkweed, butterfly weed
• milkweed, common
• milkweed, whorled
  
• mint, slender mountain

  

  Plains snakecotton
  (a first for me!)

  
  
• mint, Virginia mountain 
• onion, nodding
• partridge pea
• poppy mallow, purple
• primrose, evening
• snakecotton, plains
• snakeroot, white
• spurge, flowering
• sunflower, false
• sunflower, few-leaf
• sunflower, stiff
• sunflower, western (few-leaf)
• primrose, evening
• rattlesnake master
• vervain, blue
• wild bergamot
• wild quinine

Grasses/sedges:

• grass, big and little bluestem

  

  Purple lovegrass and
  little blueste

• grass, bottlebrush
• grass, Canada wild rye
• grass, purple lovegrass
•  grass, side oats grama
• grass, switchgrass
• grass, Virginia wild rye
• grass, yellow indiangrass
• sedge, white bear

Greened/sprouted:

• artichoke, Jerusalem
• aster, white heath
  

  

  Field thistle, 
  a native forb

• bushclover, roundheaded
• blazing star, rough
• goldenrod, showy
• goldenrod, stiff
• sagebrush, white
• sunflower, stiff
• thistle, field

Fruited/Past bloom:

• coreopsis, prairie
• leadplant
• St. John’s wort

Moss/Lichen/Fungi

• fungi, crowded parchment

  

  Green cheese polypore mushroom

  
  
• fungi, white jelly
• fungi, wolf’s milk slime mold
• moss, woodsy thymemoss
• mushroom, artist’s conk 
• mushroom, fuzzy foot
• mushroom, golden oyster
• mushroom, green cheese polypore
• mushroom, hexagonal polypore
• mushroom, russula, blood red
• mushroom, russula, pocket-stalked 
• mushroom, scarlet elfin cup
• mushroom, slippery Jack
• mushroom, sweetbread

Wildlife (seen, heard, detected):
Birds

• blue jay
• bluebird, eastern
• cardinal
• catbird, grey
• cedar waxwing
• chickadee, black-capped
• dickcissel
• finch, house
• finch, purple 
• flycatcher, least
• gnatcatcher, bluegray

  

  Bell's vireo
  Image - Jonathan Irons
  Merlin Bird ID

  
  
• goldfinch, American
• goose, Canada
• hawk, red-tailed
• indigo bunting
• killdeer
• kingbird, eastern
• mourning dove
• sparrow, clay-colored
• sparrow, field
• sparrow, house
• sparrow, savannah
• sparrow, song
• sparrow, swamp
• vireo, Bell's
• vulture
• warbler, northern yellow
• wood-pewee, eastern
• woodpecker, downy
• woodpecker, hairy
• wren, northern house
• wren, sedge
• yellow throat, common

Insects:

• beetle, goldenrod soldier
• bumblebee, black-and-gold
  
• bumblebee, brown-belted
• bumblebee, common eastern
• bumblebee, lemon cuckoo
• butterfly, eastern tailed-blue

  

  Eastern tailed-blue butterfly 
  (another first for me!)

  
  
• butterfly, Monarch
• butterfly, northern crescent
• butterfly, painted lady
• butterfly, red admiral
• butterfly, silver-spotted skimmer
• butterfly, swallowtail, black
• butterfly, swallowtail, tiger
• cicada, dog-day nymph
• damselfly, tule bluet
• damselfly, white-legged
• dragonfly, autumn  meadowhawk
• dragonfly, eastern amberwing
• dragonfly, eastern pondhawk
• dragonfly, green darner
• dragonfly, twelve spotted skimmer
• dragonfly, widow skimmer 
• grasshopper, red-legged
• wasp, great black digger

What are YOU seeing on your hikes?

Two weeks of hikes
Hikes below in colored, bold type or underlined have links to previous posts OR descriptions and/or location of the trails found online.

Holland Sand Prairie, Holman WI (2); Twin Springs, Decorah IA; Butterfly Garden and Community Prairie, Decorah IA; Malanaphy Springs, Decorah IA;  Upper Mississippi National Wildlife & Fish Refuge Visitor's Center, Brice Prairie; Great River Bluffs State Park, Nodine MN

See you on the trails!

Rock formation
Malanaohy Springs trail, Decorah IA

The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Primo prairie time, mosquito-free!

You can read my quarterly column on seasonal hiking suggestions in Inspire(d) Driftless magazine available online or pick up a free copy at businesses and organizations around the Driftless areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Butterfly Garden & Community Prairie (IA) Hike

While scouting for amble-worthy sites to hike in the Decorah area, I was introduced to the Butterfly Garden and Community Prairie, a large, well maintained prairie area. It has over three miles of mown trails set across from towering limestone cliffs and next to the Upper Iowa River. Not only a beautiful prairie, it is a great destination hike for any age and ability.

Once a farm field that frequently flooded, 24 years ago the city bought the land and decided to create a prairie to hold the soil and improve the water quality of the river. Through city funding and generous donations, the 105 acre site now boasts a flourishing prairie and model butterfly garden. It is one of the largest examples of planted native prairie with multiple accessible trails that I have seen in the Driftless.

Signs inviting hikers
to observe closely

The garden and prairie are found at the end of Ohio Street. The trails begin at the butterfly garden where over 60 types of native flowers and grasses are labeled and tended to. The garden is busy with insect life and introduces you to forbs you will see throughout the trails. Currently, signs are sprinkled throughout suggesting ways you can use all your senses to discover more about individual plants.

From the garden, you can pick a number of routes through the 3 miles of interconnecting trails.  There are two stunning old burr oaks that stand out on the prairies as well as a recreation of a bird effigy mound created by a local and build up as an Eagle Scout project. 

Three miles of wide, mown trails

And, of course, there are a succession of blooming plants and maturing grasses throughout the growing season. The yellows of goldenrods, sunflowers and coneflowers are much in evidence now along with Joe-Pye weed, ironweed, compassplants and cup plants. The grasses are tall and waving in the wind. Come fall, the surrounding woods and overlooks will be bursting with color. In winter, you can cross-country sky on the trails.

An information kiosk shows maps, distances, history and information and there is a covered area you can rest or picnic in - before or after your hike. 

Forested limestone cliffs
as seen from the prairie

THE HIKE:
This 105-acre native prairie wildflower planting features three miles of well-maintained and mowed grass trails. Take some time in the butterfly garden at the trailhead to see labeled examples of the over 60 native forbs that have been planted and maintained over the past 20+ years. Then head out onto the trails that are set against the backdrop of the towering forested limestone cliffs and overlooks of Phelps Park and Pulpit Rock. The Upper Iowa River runs beside it. Additional features beyond the masses of native wildflowers include two large old burr oaks and a reproduction of a bird effigy mound.

The Location:
4 Ohio St, Decorah IA
At the end of the street, continue up a narrow, paved one-lane road up and over the dike. A parking lot appears below with a kiosk and shelter to the right. A portable toilet is available on site.

A view towards Pulpit Rock

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Nodding onion

Looking for more area hikes? Please stop by the web version of the blog and under the "Labels" tab on the right hand side of the blog, click on "find-a-hike". There are over 75 hike descriptions and lists of hikes to try!

Naturalist's Corner - Weed ... or Not?

I am happy to welcome back my Minnesota Master Naturalist colleague, Steve Dietz. Steve is an amazing bird watcher and a very active and enthusiastic member/leader of the Frontenac State Park Association. As an avid birder, when not enjoying the dawn chorus, he is working to enhance FSP's bird-friendly habitat and resources. I loved reading this thoughtful article on how we think about weeds and how, what at first seems to be an invasive, is actually a native species that plays an integral part in out natural ecosystems. You'll see the humble field thistle with different eyes after you read his piece.

Notes from the Field: A Weed is a Weed is a Weed?

by Steve Dietz     

Reprinted by permisssion from the Frontenac State Park Association newsletter, August 2026

Many of us feel that “weed” is an immutable category that must be extirpated at all costs, including killing off beneficial flora and fauna. But don’t worry, we are not diving into lawn wars this month. It’s useful, however, to understand weeds as a cultural construct. Most programs and experts, when pressed, define weeds along these lines: a wild plant growing where it is not wanted, especially among crops or garden plants. On a tour of He Mni Can, Nicky Buck, a member of the Prairie Island Indian Community, referred to so-called invasive species as “misplaced relatives.”

Don’t get me wrong. A weed can cause severe damage to agricultural output, hence the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s noxious weed list. And very few of us really love creeping charlie inundating our cultivated gardens. But in the wild environment of Frontenac State Park, what is a wild plant growing where it is not wanted — besides buckthorn and garlic mustard and wild parsnip? Of course, the argument that these should be at least controlled if not eradicated is based on the fact that they aggressively take territory and prevent the growth of native flora that have evolved over millennia to support a host of dependent native insects, birds and mammals.

Left: A monarch butterfly nectaring on a field thistle, Frontenac State Park, August 30, 2021.
Photo bysls42, iNaturalist.
Right: An American Goldfinch eating thistle seed. Photo by Steve Dietz

Often in the prairie, especially in August, I come across a butterfly feeding on a thistle in purple bloom. Beautiful! Somewhere inside me, however, is some unformed concern about a weed in the prairie. Did I not wipe my boots and accidentally bring it to the trail on a past walk? Perhaps. I do not know where this association of thistles with weeds first arose, but in this case the concern is specious. Or should that be species-ist?

The field or pasture thistle (Cirsium discolor) is a native plant that is a prodigious food source. The most important pollinators of the flowers are bumblebees, digger bees, leaf-cutting bees and butterflies. Among the butterflies are such floral visitors as Monarchs, Fritillaries, Painted Ladies, Swallowtails and Sulfurs. Sphinx moths and bee flies also visit the flowers for nectar. The caterpillars of the Painted Lady butterfly and several moths feed on the foliage., Other insect feeders include the Thistle Tortoise Beetle, the Bumble Flower Beetle, the Thistle and Artichoke aphids, the Northern Grasshopper and many others. The American Goldfinch eats the seeds and uses the tufts of hair as lining material in its nests, and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird has been known to visit thistle flowers for nectar.

The USDA also cites uses of the field thistle by Native Americans, who made a paste of the roots for treating wounds, boils and piles, and used an infusion of the root for treating stomachaches. Some also used the thistle down (or pappus) from the seeds to fletch the tail end of blow darts.

The field thistle can be confused with the bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare), an aggressive non-native species. The way to tell them apart visually is that bull thistle has leaves that are green on both sides. Field thistle leaves have white underneath and spineless stems. The former blooms in spring; the latter blooms summer into fall.

Interestingly, while both native and non-native thistles provide useful eco services, the aggressive territoriality of non-native species puts them in the “growing where not wanted” category, although probably not enough to need additional control measures at the park.

“Maintaining” a natural environment is a complex and sometimes contradictory endeavor, and the answers are not always obvious. Question assumptions. Become informed about the life cycle and eco and cultural services of a plant. Consider what is acceptable and practical in your unique circumstances. Be humble.

Reading and Writing Off the Trails

While I've been figuring out my bum foot, I've hiked less, more slowly and for shorter stints. That's ok though. It's given me lots more time to write, as you might have noticed with the firehose of posts I've published the past two months. 

I had time to do some other writing outside the blog too. I was thrilled to be published in the Mississippi Valley Conservancy newsletter in July. That article was recently reprinted in the online Root River Current, an online journal focusing on community building in Southeast Minnesota’s greater Root River Valley.

As an active blogger for over 25 years, I have written thousands of posts on youth librarianship, education, cooking and now the natural world. It's funny though, until I saw my writing in print in Driftless (Inspired) magazine this past year, I never thought to identify myself as a writer. Life has lots of interesting twists sometimes!

The other delightful pursuit, while my foot reined me in at home, was having the time to read. I wanted to share a couple of nonfiction nature books that fascinated me in the past few months and that I highly recommend.

Let's Botanize: 101 Ways to Connect with Plants

Ben Goulet-Scott and Jacob S. Suissa

2026

Two evolutionary biologists encourage close observation of plants with prompts that help us train our eyes, nose, ears and other senses and build our understanding of the natural world. Each short prompt opens up multiple possibilites and truly encourages a person to slow down and understand what we are seeing. Using this book has helped me slow down even more and really look and try to understand the complexities of plants. The authors also have a vibrant website and newsletter.

Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks

Bjornerud, Marcia

2024

It's easy to think of rocks as immovable, unchanging and literally "set in stone." In a personable style  - part informational and part memoir - Bjornerud, a professor of environmental studies and geosciences, reveals the eventful and ever changing life of rocks from earth's beginning over 4 billion years ago to the present. Each chapter focuses on the story of one type of rock, from sandstone, dolomite and quartizite to turbidite and granite. Woven into each story is the story of her work and life around that rock. This fascinating, beautifully written book is a page turner. Who knew rocks had this power?

On Trails: An Exploration
Robert Moor

2016

A friend mentioned this older title and I was intrigued. This fascinating, wide-ranging book explores how paths and trails began, where they lead and why. Like a wandering trail, Moor meanders through natural and cultural history, archaeology, biology, philosophy, personal experience and encounters as he traces path making, finding, and building throughout the millenia. A deft writer, this leisurely book takes it time as the author takes the reader on a global journey that can illuminate our understanding of the paths we make and what has come before. I now find myself meditating while hiking about those first far-in-our-planet's-past creatures that left trails and how we follow them in our own way, echoing through the ages.

Hope you all have time to pursue all your passions, whether on the trail or off!

Looking for Mosquito-free Hikes?

Because most of our state has been in drought and experienced some very high temperatures this summer, the woods and wetlands had fewer mosquitoes. I even found myself taking a few woods and wetlands walks...which is very unusual for me.

But recent torrential rains around the Driftless brought on a bumper crop of late season mosquitoes. I answered a recent post on our local community Facebook group asking for ideas for places to hike mosquito-free. 

While midday hiking can usually result in fewer mosquitoes, it does result in increased heat as the days warm up. Morning and evening hiking in most woods and wetlands can mean hordes of skeeters.

So here are a few suggestions to try to help us avoid the worst of mosquitoes for the next month until cold weather returns and slows them down. And if you do decide to go on favorite hikes in mosquito land, be sure to armor up. One can hike in a cloud of mosquitoes, bite-free - but it isn't always cool or fun!

Mosquito-less (mostly) Hikes in the Driftless

Holland Sand Prairie - W7781 County Road MH, Holmen WI

This wide open sand prairie has mowed trails around it's perimeter and gorgeous native flowers and grasses throughout the summer and fall. The butterflies, bumblebees and other insect life is teeming here as well.

Brice Prairie Visitor's Center, Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge - N5727 Cty Rd Z, Onalaska WI

Aspahlt and gravel trails wind around the perimeter and through amazing native prairie plants and grasses. Be sure to check out the Lake Onalaska lookout and the Visitor's Center. Restrooms available.

Beaver Creek Valley State Park - 15954 County Rd 1, Caledonia, MN

There are very few mosquitoes in this narrow wooded valley with the clear Beaver Creek rushing through it. The trails along the stream out to the prairie are flat and quiet hikers will often see deer.

Whitewater State Park - 19041 MN-74, Altura, MN

Another park with some high valley walls as well as running water in their streams keeps mosquitoes way down. The moving water makes a difference. Trails take you to fabulous lookouts and small wild remnant prairies.

Apple Blossom Overlook Park -  169 County Hwy 1, Dakota, MN

Stay up on the prairie trails for spectacular river views and awesome native prairie plants on display. If you dip down into the woods, you WILL be meeting mosquitoes, so stay high, my friends!

Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge - W28488 Refuge Rd, Trempealeau, WI

The Prairie's Edge Loop trail is a great spot to see dry sand prairie plants and avoid the mosquitoes that can hide on shadier trails. You can hike, bike or drive this loop.

Butterfly Garden and Community Prairie - 4 Ohio St, Decorah, IA

This well-maintained garden identifies plants and pollinators at the entrance. Then head out on multiple mown trail loops to enjoy the wider restored native prairie surrounded by the Upper Iowa River and nearby limestone cliffs.

Mathy Quarry - N3065 County Road FA, La Crosse, WI

Stay out of the woods and head up to the prairie and down to the quarry to enjoy prairie flowers and the quarry walls.

New Amsterdam Grasslands - W7900 Old NA, New Amsterdam, WI

The entire trail system of mowed grass trails is once again open on this 310 acre grassland prairie (most of the trails are closed May-July to support undisturbed nesting of grassland birds during their breeding season). 

In general, look for prairies or trails near running water to keep mosquito action down. There are plenty of places to enjoy bite-free! And our woods and wetlands will be great to get back to in fall!

Images - Marge Loch-Wouters

Nature Sneak Peek - August 2026

Tall grass prairie at Frontenac State Park
Image - Pamela Miller

The first weeks in August are always special. August 1 is the midpoint of summer, halfway between the solstice and the coming  autumn equinox. This day, Lammas or Lughnasadh, has long been celebrated as a harvest festival. Our gardens and farmer's market, lush with vegetables and fruits, are a continuing testament to this day.

Monarch on blazing star

Days are inexorably growing shorter. Already there are signs from birds and waterfowl that the busy season of mating and raising young is morphing into preparation for coming migration as daylight decreases. Plants and insects are responding as well to decreasing daylight  - we'll have lost over two hours of daylight since solstice by the end of August.

But there is plenty of activity during the dog days of August. Let's look at what you might you see on the trails this month.

Prairies

Big bluestem grass and
coneflowersgray-headed

Tall Grasses - bluestems, yellow indiangrass, Canada wild rye and eastern bottle brush are beginning to dominate in the prairies. Shorter grasses like prairie dropseed, purple lovegrass and side oats grama are also present.

Goldenrods - in the Driftless regions of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, there are between one and two dozen distinct species of this forb. While they are often tough to tell apart, their distinct butter yellow flowerheads lend their sunny color to August prairies.

Sunflowers - are clocking in for the month. They too have many varieties and can be found in sunny spots in the woods as well.

Blazing Stars - their pink-purple stalks are prominent in prairies this month. A favorite of butterflies, bumlebees and humans too!

Margined calligrapher hoverfly
on grooved flax

Insect Life - is positively bursting in August. Butterflies, flies, wasps, beetles, bumblebees and native bees are nectaring and gathering pollen at warp speed on all the yellow, white and purple blossoms. Their predators - damselflies, spiders and dragonflies are also busy! It's a perfect time to catch them on blooms as your hike. The sound of grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets are fast replacing the songs of nesting birds, many of whom are gathering  for the beginning of migration. 

Woodlands

Ghost pipes - not a fungus

Ghost pipe - this ghostly white plant is easily confused with a fungus. While they don't need sun, they also don't need chlorophyll. Instead, they tap into the mychorrizal network to get their food. Once established, they will reappear in the same spot each year.

Mushrooms and fungi - the damp, humid nights and heavily shaded forest floor of August are perfect to support the explosive growth of many types of mushrooms, fungi and molds. Chicken of the woods, russela, ink caps, coral fungi, slime molds, jelly fungi are all lurking, ready for you to find and identify. One of my favorites is lobster mushroom which is formed when a parasitic mold takes over a russela or inkcap mushroom changing not ony its appearence but also taking it from non-edible to edible. Ah, nature!

Trees - the changing light is also beginning to slow the chlorophyll production in deciduous leaves. You will start to note later in the month that the bold greens of the canopy becomes slightly less vibrant and often take on a hint of gray. While the leaves will remain on most trees throughout September, the road towards fall will begin as August comes to the end.

Wetlands

Jewelweed - have you been marking where patches of this flower are? Good. Because now it's playtime. The lovely orange and yellow trumpet-shaped flowers are now going to seed. And nothing is more fun for kids and grown-ups than popping their seed covers and watching the seeds spring out.

Frogs - spring peepers often still have something to say! While no longer mating calls, their call can be heard this month. Listen too for tree frogs in woods adjoining wetlands. You may also hear their call as well. And this is the month you may see some tree frogs on your doors or windows. Clever hunters that they are, they pursue the insects attracted to your lights at night to catch easy meals. 

Graphic courtesy earthsky.org

Finally be sure to look up! The Perseid Meteor showers which began in mid July will be peaking August 12-13. Fortunately, these dates coincide with a new moon so the sky will be marvelously dark. While the meteors originate in the constellation Perseus, thay can be spotted in any part of the night sky.

No matter where you go this month, be curious. Take some extra time to look and see what you can see along the trail. You’ll be delighted!

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Blazing stars on an August day - Holland Sand Prairie
Image - Kris Lawson

You can read my quarterly column on seasonal hiking suggestions in Inspire(d) Driftless Magazine available online or pick up a free copy at businesses and organizations around the Driftless areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

I Spy on the Trails -July 16-31, 2026

BWCAW fires as seen from a paddler's canoe
Image - Lyndon Tyler

As this dramatic photo from Lyndon Tyler shows, the second half of  of July started with a climate-change-fueled series of wildfires in Canada and around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. High winds, dry conditions, a heat dome and lightning strikes contributed to spreading the smoke and ash from massive crown fires throughout the region. The strong winds pushed the particulate-laden smoke through the Driftless region and far beyond into the upper midwest and northeast United States. 

While many of the fires still burn, the addition on more national firefighting teams, moderating temperatures and milder winds as well as the dissipation of the heat dome quickly returned air quality to pre-fire levels. Like many, I mostly stayed inside or masked on the bad air days. But when I look at the last two weeks, I had plenty of good weather to head out on the trails. The latest news indicates that rain and a swift response by firefighters have helped contain some of the fires and the BWCAW is partially open again.

Highlights of the the past two weeks included:
 - guiding a hike up Reno Quarry, a favoriite haunt

 - participating in a guided hike to find the elusive fameflower which only blooms 4 -7:00pm on sunny days - no really!

 - going on a hike led by Jim Rogala of The Prairie Enthusiast and learning to identify two new-to-me plants: silky prairie clover and hairy hawkweed

 - being introduced to the Twin Springs/Odin Loop in Decorah IA by a local naturalist-friend I recently met

- sharing with a friend the delight of the spectacular flowering prairies and newly opened vistas at Apple Blossom Overlook Park 

- stumbling upon a newly fruited chicken of the woods mushroom with my husband in a fine bluff rim walk

All of these adventures were on flat or slightly rolling trails. It did my heart good to know that I can still see incredible sights on the trails even if I can't do the bluff climbs I love at the moment (hope springs eternal there are better days for my bum foot).

My hope for YOU is that you get out early and enjoy the luscious flowers of the prairies and fruits of the mycelial network in the woods. In a few days, I'll be publishing a sneak peak at what delights to look for on August trails. Let's get out quick before fall creeps in on us!


Plant Observations
Bloomed

• agrimony, tall hairy

  

  Tall hairy agrimony

  
  
• alyssum, hoary 
• avens, white
• bee balm, spotted
• bellflower
• bergamot, wild
• black-eyed Susan
• blazing star, prairie 
• boneset, false
• boneset, tall
• brown-eyed Susan
• cinquefoil, tall
• coneflower, gray-headed

  

  Tiny fameflower at 5:27pm

• Culver’s root
• fameflower
• flax, grooved
• fern, bulblet bladderfern
• fern, interrupted
• fern, New York
• fern, ostrich
• fern, sensitive
• flax, grooved
• fleabane, prairie
• germander, American
• ghost pipe
• goldenrod, gray

  

  Hairy hawkweed leaves -
  note the long hairs that
  capture moisture

  
  
• goldenrod, Missouri
• hawksbeard, narrow
• hawkweed, hairy
• indigo, wild white
• ironweed, prairie 
• jewelweed
• Joe-pye weed
• leadplant
• leafcup, small-flowered
• loosestrife, yellow fringed
• milkweed, whorled
• onion, nodding
• partridge pea
• poppy mallow, purple

  

  Silky prairie clover
  often mistaken for leadplant

  
  
• prairie clover, purple
• prairie clover, silky
• prairie clover, white
• prairie rose
• primrose, evening
• quinine, wild
• rattlesnake master
• rockcress, lyreleaf 
• sagebrush, white
• self-heal
• spiderwort, Ohio
• spurge, flowering
• St. John’s wort
• verbena, hoary
• yarrow

Grasses/sedges

• bluestem, little and big 

  

  Tall flatsedge

  
  
• bottlebrush grass
• flatsedge, globe
• flatsedge, tall
• grama, blue
• grama, side oats
• indiangrass, yellow
• porcupine grass
• prairie dropseed
• prairie junegrass
• purple lovegrass
• sedge, eastern woodland
• sedge, white bear

Greened/sprouted:

• aster, western silver
• aster, white heath
• blazing star, rough
• bushclover, roundheaded
• everlasting, sweet
• goldenrods
• milkwort, racemed
• sunflowers
• thistle, field

Fruited/Past bloom:

• alumroot, Richardson's

  

  Jack-in-the-pulpit fruiting

  
  
• anemone, candle
• coreopsis, prairie
• ground cherry, Virginia
• mayapple
• milkweed, butterfly weed
• milkweed, clasping
• milkweed, common
• milkweed, green comet
• New Jersey tea, narrowleaf
• puccoon, Carolina
• sweet cecily
• snakecotton, plains

Moss/Lichen/Fungi

Chicken of the woods -num!

• mold, scrambled egg slime
• mushroom, chicken of the woods
• mushroom, eastern cauliflower 
• mushroom, lung oyster
• mushroom, pinewood gingertail
• mushroom, rufous candycap
• mushroom, rosy russula

Wildlife (seen, heard, detected):
Birds

• Baltimore oriole
• blue jay
• bluebird, eastern
• cardinal, northern
• catbird, gray
• cedar waxwing
• chickadee, black-capped
• chimney swift
• crow, American
• dickcissel
• finch, house
• goldfinch, American

  

  Sedge wren
  Image - Brad Imhoff, Merlin ID

  
  
• indigo bunting
• killdeer
• kingbird
• mourning dove
• northern flicker
• phoebe, eastern
• purple martin
• redstart, American
• robin, American
• sparrow, chipping
• sparrow, clay-colored
• sparrow, field 
• sparrow,  grasshopper 
• sparrow, house
• sparrow, song
• thrush, brown
• towhee, eastern
• vireo, red-eyed
• vireo, yellow-throated
• warbler, northern yellow
• wood-pewee, eastern
• woodpecker, downy
• wren, northern house
• wren, sedge
• yellowthroat

Insects:

• bumblebee, brown-belted

  

  Brown-belted bumblebee at wild bergamot

  
  
• bumblebee, common eastern
• bumblebee  two-spotted
• butterfly, Monarch
• butterfly,  regal fritillary
• damselfly, eastern forktail
• damselfly, tule bluet 
• dragonfly, eastern amberwing
• dragonfly, eastern pondhawk
• dragonfly, green darner 
• dragonfly, widow skimmer 
• dragonfly, Halloween pennant 
• grasshopper, Keelers spur-throat
• moth, sociable renia

False sunflower & bergamot
brighten prairie trails

What are YOU seeing on your hikes?

Two weeks of hikes
Hikes below in colored, bold type or underlined have links to previous posts OR descriptions and/or location of the trails found online.

Holland Sand Prairie, Holman WI (2); Kellogg Weaver Dunes SNA, Kellogg MN; Twin Springs, Decorah IA; Butterfly Garden and Community Prairie, Decorah IA; Apple Blossom Overlook Park, Winona County MN; Bluffside Park, Winona MN; Riverside Park and International Garden, La Crosse WI

Apple Blossom Overlook Park

The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Searching for the fameflower as the sun begins setting