sna poems, supplementum anthropocenum # 6: lapham peak

February 21, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

lapham peak is the highest point in waukesha county and is part of the kettle moraine state forest. it’s named after wisconsin’s first serious naturalist and scientist, increase a. lapham. as the sign pictured below notes, lapham made the first national weather service forecast from here in 1870. not bad.

a nice spot, even if the observation tower usually accessible here was closed for the winter.

the land was good to increase

as he ranged from its heights right here

to its rivers’ mounded mouths

the tower’s stout wood

bears the trace of frost

a spiral to the winter sky

sna poems, supplementum #16: kettle moraine state forest, lapham peak unit

February 20, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

lapham peak is a unit of the kettle moraine state forest in south eastern wisconsin. this unit of the heavily glaciated forest is named after wisconsin’s first serious naturalist and scientist, increase a. lapham, and contains the highest point in waukesha county.

anyway, it was about -4 F when i arrived for a ski this morning, with the usual blessings of early-morning skiing in sub-zero temperatures: eyelids freezing to one another, toes that go numb if you stop for more than a minute or two, biting cold on the skin during downhill runs. the kind of stuff that a certain kind of cross-country skier actually thinks is kind of fun. my only regret is that i had trimmed back my full beard a week ago; i would have had an amazing ice-beard by the end had i kept it until today. oh well.

the poles’ tuck into snow

sounds like sandhill cranes

calling aloft for their mates

so cold the pen’s ink rebels

as deer make hungry way by windfall

we’re all here, breathing at dawn

these hills like waves

in a choppy sea

frozen in time

s.n.a. poems #62: waterloo prairie

February 5, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

waterloo prairie is a set of two lowland, wetter grasslands along stony brook in jefferson county, wisconsin. a fen with springs and seepages is also present. blue-joint grass and tussocky sedge are common. we found a stand of snags that were unsettling and were girdled at some point. it was strange. the habitats’ integrity is maintained with prescribed burns.

thanks to the dnr for tending this land.

snags line the ditch

and questions for bark:

what was the girdling for?

quiet and soft on the prairie

but mammals press their business

grass clatters at the knee

s.n.a. poems #61: bean lake

February 3, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

bean lake is a seepage lake with a peat bottom. it’s surrounded by tamarack and shrub swamp. the lake usually supports yellow pond-lilies with bulrushes, cattails, and sedges on the edges, none of which were lively at this time of year. the wind, however, was lively, blowing thru the oak and hickory uplands (it was encouraging to see this native complex in the wooded area even if the trees were thicker on the ground than i assume was original), and down thru the tamaracks by the shore. i tried to get a good shot of a tamarack cone, but it just wouldn’t focus close up; oh well.

thanks to the wisconsin dnr for maintaining this patch of earth.

down mud lake road

past the carrion birds

seeking peace

oaks rattle on the knob

and the wind bites bare flesh

winter morning in the swamp

we stand on upland crest

among thorn and hickory

tamaracks sport below

s.n.a. poems #60: mud lake fen and wet prairie

February 1, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

mud lake fen and wet prairie is on mud lake’s southern shore. the calcareous fen surrounds and feeds an inlet to the drainage lake. sedges were thick on the ground, and the peaty soil is—get this—quaking, which means that the peat has built up to the point that the sedge mat is actually floating. it’s a quaking fen! my brother, who was walking with me, put his foot right in it thru the ice. a little scary, but mostly just really cool to see down into the peat, since he was fine. the smell wasn’t “gross” but certainly unique and earthy.

the snow drifts blowing into the sedge and cattails at the edge of the lake were the visual highlight.

thanks to the dnr for tending this land.

we’ve pushed our way thru sedge

to tread on the solid lake

fen-hoppers, grateful for water

hallowed curvature

of the fen drift

a miracle to the eye

cardinals call to one another

in the treetops. lichen and moss

continue growing. there’s life in the snow

s.n.a. poems #59: ancient aztalan village

January 31, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

aztalan (totally a modern euro-american name—longer story than i want to go into) is a tremendous archaeological site in wisconsin. it is an outpost of the mississippian civilization more prominently known for their city called cahokia in illinois. it appears that folks from cahokia took boats up the mississippi, rock, and then the crawfish rivers to the present site. the village flourished between about 1,000-1,200 ce/ad. the village had large platform mounds, houses, a stockade, and a fish weir. why the settlers abandoned the village is unsure.

thanks to the wisconsin dnr for keeping up the site.

when i left this morning

stoplights were flashing

with the urban dawn chorus

rapid thud from the bank,

sun diffused thru altostratus:

dawn on the crawfish river

you were once here,

and now you’re gone

and this remains

crows cut over the platform mound

as silos loom over empty fields

a new niece has arrived in the world

state natural area poems, supplementum #15: havenwoods

January 25, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

havenwoods is wisconsin’s only urban state forest, here in the city of milwaukee. it was developed for about a hundred years, but has been reclaimed now and features grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands. this was my first time visiting in the winter, and skiing was a treat.

i used my old flipphone for this outing, so pictures aren’t what they could be. but, hey, we work with the tools at hand, yes?

three white tails

below the bank

in silence they are gone

this forest lives in the city

deer and thistle don’t mind—

divided only in mind

tannins brown the streamwater

and small feet trouble the mudbank

finch just wants a winter-drink

my favorite winter vehicle.

state natural area poems #58: johnson hill kame

January 24, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

kames!

johnson hill is a “moulin” (French for “mill”) kame, a conical hill formed from the action of melt-water pouring into cylindrical holes inside a glacier. the swirling action of the water deposits the sediment in a stark cone on the surrounding lowlands. it’s really a strange thing. but we hiked across the field and braved the bit of forest that stretched between us and the kame (the shrub layer thinned out after a bit), and enjoyed an afternoon playing and climbing and sliding over this bizarre hill. northern and southern mesic forest set the scene. the loose rock at the foot of every tree made clear the glacial nature of the hill.

thanks to the wisconsin dnr for tending this plot.

ah, the moulin kame!

we circumambulate

the ancient whirlpool

further in the shrubs thin

and the stout hill looms above

here we find some respite

the cradling arms of sediment

welcome children’s play

goldenrod on top of the world

here at the forest’s

edge, the snow

and eagle under moon

state natural area poems, supplementum #14: pheasant branch conservancy

January 20, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

pheasant branch conservancy comprises a series of habitats surrounding pheasant branch creek. the creek finds one of its headwaters in bubbling springs at the base of frederick’s hill. the wooded and prairie uplands give way to pheasant branch marsh before the creek empties into lake mendota, one of the four lakes in the area around madison, known to the ho-chunk as ‘dejope’ (‘four lakes’). atop frederick hill is a group of middle woodland conical and linear mounds.

oaks praise the sky

on the sun’s day

scuffle beneath the snow

up from the surging springs

pasque flower is hiding

vascular refugees

state natural area poems #57: sugar river wetlands

January 19, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

sugar river wetlands is a large wetland complex within the sugar river watershed. surrounded by highways, it’s a site of restoration for wildlife and several rare plants. the site includes sedge meadow, calcareous fen, shub-carr, wet-mesic prairie, and emerging aquatic wetlands. the springs and fen area we explored were brimming with quiet activity as the water flowed into the sugar river.