muehl springs is largely a sedge meadow formed by springs, with some woods nearby. the whole is situated on rolling ground moraine and very near the more dramatic interlobate moraine that features so dominantly in the area.

it was a nice, quiet visit with mushrooms, mayapple, and lots of sedge.

a.

birch and oak share

a sloping glacier’s gift

of gravel and ten-thousand years

b.

the sedge-maze and cattail alleys

we defer to crane and goose—

redwing flashing trill

positioned on a broad beach of glacial lake algonquin, cedar grove hawk research station is an active area for raptor migrations and has served as a banding and recording site for research for over 60 years. i learned that it has the longest running activity of banding and recording in north america, which is something.

there were a great many birds singing the day i visited, and while i’ll admit i couldn’t identify a number of them by their songs, i’ll also submit i simply didn’t care as i sat on the hillside in the morning air.

as this is a more sensitive site, i’m very grateful to the wisconsin dnr for permitting me to visit!

(note again: photo quality won’t be as high as normal here and in the next few posts, as i used the old flip-phone for this excursion. though in ways i like the lower res for this project sometimes; it seems to fit the immediacy and spontaneity i’m aiming for here. and i like to use old technology anyway—i still listen to audio cassettes and things like that…)

a.

past sand pipers

over graves to this place

where the downed trees lie

b.

i keep to the ridgeline

shore of a now-gone sea

grown thick and hoary with birdsong

c.

thorns pierce on hillside

gathering damp toward the pines

warbling on above