Leaf: 7-11 lobes with pointed tips.
Bark: Young trees are smooth but as it ages, become rough with thin cracks.
Fruit: Acorns that feed wildlife.

photos: S. Seiberling / UNC Herbarium; MnDNR

Leaves: Same shape as all maples (think Canada flag) but very jagged with deep notches.
Bark: Smooth when young, becomes shaggy with age.
Found: In floodplains and can withstand seasonal floods.

photo: MnDNR

Leaf: 5-9 finger-like lobes that can be notched deeply or shallow.
Bark: Pale gray with scaly ridges and shallow fissures.
Acorn: light brown and enclosed in a bowl-shaped cap.

photo: MnDNR

Blooms: May - August
Found: In part shade to sun in wet meadows.
Petals: Typical iris shape, 3 to 4 inches across, blue to blue-violet, sometimes red-purple and rarely pale blue.

photo: Jennifer Quam / P&TC photo contest

Blooms: June - October
Found: In sun or part shade along rocky slopes or open woods.
Petals: Pale blue to bright purple, bell shaped.

photo: Chilepine / Wikimedia CC

Blooms: June - September
Found: Floating in slow-moving water where it forms dense colonies.
Petals: White petals swirls around yellow stamens.

photo: Jacek Halicki / Wikimedia

Appearance: 140 species in MN come in a rainbow of colors.
Dragonfly: Bigger and keep wings spread out when resting.
Damselfly: Smaller and close their wings when resting.
Fun Fact: They can fly upside down, backward, and turn 360° on a dime.

photos: John Wright / Flickr CC; Jim Johnson / iNaturalist CC; Wayne Fidler / iNaturalist CC

Bzzzzz...thwap! Lucky you--you found a mosquito. At least you can check it off the list, even if, like most people, you weren't happy to find it.

photo: James Gathany / Flickr CC

Found: Near tall grasses in late summer and fall.
Fun Fact: They are jumping phenoms, leaping 20 times their body length, which equates to a human jumping 120 feet.

photo: Will Brown / WikiMedia CC

Appearance: Back cap and chin.
Found: Year-round residents of MN forests and common visitor to bird-feeders.
Fun Fact: A friendly bird that has been known to eat seeds from human hands.

photo: Minette Layne / Wikimedia Commons

Tiny bird that holds it tail up straight. Found bouncing around marshes filled with cattails and rushes, occasionally atop a cattail singing.

photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Appearance: Large bird with long legs, neck, and bill.
Found: Wading along shorelines or flying low over water.

photo: Alpinekid / Wikimedia CC

Blooms: June - September
Found: In shady forests under pine needles.
Petals: Ghostly white.
Fun Fact: Technically, this is a flower, but it doesn't need the sun to grow and relies on underground fungi.

photo: Checkermallow / FlickrCC

Appearance:  Looks like a leaf of lettuce glued to a tree. It's pale yellow-green with wrinkly, wavy lobes.
Found: On the trunk of broad leafed trees such as maples, oaks, etc. and shrubs.
Fun Fact: Some people use it to dye wool.

photo: Björn S.../WikimediaCC

Many animals, such as squirrels, raccoons, owls, bats, weasels, porcupines, songbirds, and others, make their homes inside tree holes. The holes can occur from tree decay or broken branches, or else with the help of woodpeckers. While it's rare to see the occupant, let's assume it's a home for someone.

photo: Lorianne DiSabato / Flickr CC

Deer hooves (photo) are commonly seen on or near trails. Their hooves make two side-by-side teardrop tracks. Other common prints are from raccoons, rabbits, opossums, and coyotes.

photo: QS Wiki Account, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

There are two tree frog species in MN, which look similar. Both are about 1 inch. They change colors in seconds to match their surroundings, varying from greens to grays.

photo: Richard Crook / Flickr cc & Fredlyfish4, CC 4.0 via Wikimedia

photo: Courtesy of Friends of Lake Maria State Park

photo: Courtesy of Friends of Lake Maria State Park

photo: Courtesy of Friends of Lake Maria State Park