texas island woods is a mature hardwood forest inhabiting an “island” upland surrounded by marsh and shrub swamp in jefferson county, wisconsin. access is via a causeway path, which i assume is man-made. this was my last hike of the day, and it had gotten really hot for the first time this year.

that wasn’t so bad, but the fact that the woods is surrounded by wetlands meant there was also a serious number of mosquitoes—while this is wisconsin and i should be prepared for them, it was early enough in the year that this was the first time i’d been swarmed. trying to take pictures, my hands were covered by 8-10 mosquitoes by the time i was able to close the (digital) shutter…

but a delightful wood with what appears to be a healthy under story, with lots of large-flowered trillium and mayapple. the highlight of the trip was getting close enough to the wood’s edge to see that it was in fact an “island” by the break in trees and water/marsh plants beyond (as above). this was the last sna to visit in jefferson county!

a.

here is the misstep, the weak-knee

it’s late in the day

among the shagbark and trillium

b.

mosquitoes cloud

and thorns tear

in this island wood