Natural Connections

Many native bees build their nests in long cavities. They look for hollow plant stems, beetle holes in trees, and woody twigs they can excavate. Gardeners can help the bees out by leaving flower seed heads standing in the garden all winter long. Then in spring, it’s time to cut them off. After that, the bees move in and you can let nature take her course. Learn more about how to garden for the bees in this week’s podcast with Naturalist Emily Stone.

The few beautiful wildflowers that survive into fall attract a huge number of bumble bees who are completing their annual cycle. New queen bumble bees and drone bees begin to emerge mate with bees from other colonies, and prepare for the winter. For drones and workers, this means death at the first frost. For new queens, this means gorging on nectar and pollen to put on fat layers just like a bear preparing for hibernation. Learn about Naturalist Emily Stone’s observations of these fuzzy fall bees in this episode.

Here in the Northwoods, we’re lucky to witness a kaleidoscope of colors as trees transition from summer into fall and winter. Autumn is a beautiful time of year, but a sad one, too, as the colorful leaves are dying. The lives and deaths of leaves are fascinating, though, and this week Naturalist Emily Stone elucidates the science behind how leaves grow and then how trees recycle nutrients and store them away for next spring. Red, orange, yellow, purple, and brown compose the resulting rainbow.

Photographing baby animals takes luck, skill, and perseverance. This week, Naturalist Emily Stone gathered the “stories behind the photos” that were entered in the Museum’s Northwoods Animal Babies Photo Contest. Stories include sneaking up on cute fawns, observing owl babies in the backyard, and going out every day to observe nature. Once you hear the stories, you can visit the Cable Natural History Museum Facebook page to vote on your favorite photos!

Naturalist Emily Stone talks about her canoe trip down the Namekagon River, which is protected by the National Park Service. A tiny mussel shell inspires her to be grateful that the river is protected, and to compare the birds and wildlife she sees along the stream to a string of pearls. At the end, she contemplates a quote from poet Mary Oliver from the poem "The Kingfisher," about how the world contains death every day, and every day we must work to find our own splash of happiness and gratitude in order to survive.