State Natural Area Poems

state natural area poems #39: peat lake a & b

/ jriyeff / Leave a comment

brilliant ochre plumes

ride beneath oak, walnut

peat deepens under sun

b.

small flowage

over peat and stone—

starlings, no cranes

peat lake is a very shallow lake with a mucky bottom, with sedge meadow and cattail marsh stretches. lots of birds, not many fish. a delightful walk all around. and the lichen growing on the iron bar of the gate near the wildlife refuge area was stunning.

this site and the chiwaukee prairie were our first s.n.a.’s in kenosha county—two more to go! thanks to the wisconsin dnr for preserving this site.

state natural area poems: #38: chiwaukee prairie a & b

/ jriyeff / Leave a comment

a.

east wind blowing

speaks in dried grass

straw and tan tones

b.

blade and stem

anchor earth

bluestem charm

chiwaukee prairie is one of the largest prairie complexes in wisconsin and one of the state’s most intact coastal wetlands. it spans thru-out a series of streets and houses, but has large segments of unbroken land too. it sits on swale and and ridge topography where lake michigan’s shoreline has receded in stages since the last ice age. over 400 species of plants find a home here.

tho’ mainly dormant now in late novemeber, the plant cover is still lovely in its dryness, especially in the winds off the lake. thanks to the wdnr for caring for this land, and to uw-parkside and the nature conservancy with helping acquire the land from developers.

state natural area poems, supplementum #13: indian mound park, sheboygan a, b, & c

/ jriyeff / Leave a comment

a.

piercers of sky,

hoary beeches

leaves on the mounds

b.

ten-thousand years

of peat and water building

purple cress is sleeping

c.

ostrich fern

and skunk cabbage

ahead of snow

Indian Mound Park in Sheboygan is a great sign of Wisconsin’s conflicted history. It is a treasure for how in 1966 the Sheboygan Garden Clubs saved the large group of effigy, conical, and linear mounds built here by Middle and Late Woodland indigenous inhabitants of Wisconsin (ca. 200 BCE-1000 CE). However, of course, the mounds would not have needed saving if the land hadn’t been ceded by local tribes thru dubious treaties long before. Nonetheless, I am supremely glad they remain here, along with the wetland downslope from the mounds (thru which runs Hartman Creek) and the very old beech trees thru-out the park. It is a tremendous place. Deer and water panther mounds—a real grace to visit on Thanksgiving. (If you’d like more on my perspective on the mounds, you can read that here.)

state natural area poems #37: kohler park dunes a, b, & c

/ jriyeff / Leave a comment

a.

juniper creeping arms

cloud low over lake-wave

white pines offer shelter

b.

moss and marram thrive

in graded duney pockets

breeze cooling the curves

c.

dune thistle taps the winded

sand, clutches these lake-sides

keeps a home for now

kohler park dunes is just a tremendous dune ecosystem along the shore of lake michigan. a home for several endangered plants, creeping juniper, white pines, broomrape and wormwood, et al. can’t wait to get back in the summer to see it at peak growth. our first state natural area in sheboygan county!

state natural area poems #36: ottawa lake fen a, b, & c

/ jriyeff / Leave a comment

a.

one step and in the seep

adrift in mud and water

inlets feeding the wet maw

b.

hooves down the mudbank

lone cardinal off and away

fittingly, we finish in a fen

c.

open autumn sky

over lakefen calm

waters running on

ottawa lake fen has two lakes joined by marsh and marl flats. the lakes are remnants of a glacial lake at the edge of end moraine deposits. a wide variety of wildlife—pitcher plants, gentians, snails, clams, shrub-carr, spike rushes, et al.—mostly quiet now though. there are green herons here, though unfortunately they’ve already departed for the year. maybe in the spring. tall and lanky thornbushes spilled down the path out to the lake, which made for exciting and delicate walking.

state natural area poems #34: clifford messinger dry prairie and savanna preserve (waukesha cty)

/ jriyeff / Leave a comment

ridging delicate till

distant rifles echo

root-wad drops new life

check out that bedewed spiderweb across the moss-branches!

clifford messinger dry prairie and savanna preserve is actually thirteen various sites that include prairie and oak opening thru-out the kettle-moraine area. a delightful walk, though a bit of trepidation as deer-hunting season has opened and we hiked to the near-constant sound of gunfire. but i am glad for the support hunters give our wild and natural spaces, don’t get me wrong! gorgeous pines leading into the prairie under autumn skies.

state natural area poems #33: cedarburg beech woods

/ jriyeff / Leave a comment

a.

a dawning sun

over ash and maple

leaf mosaic

root-wad, tree-throw

b.

rock peppers the whelm

of soils’ graceful tumult

wind in the naked boughs

c.

a triumph of woven glacier sculpting

undulation of stone, stock, and stipe—

the ridge and ravine don’t care that I’m here

d.

the tongue stumbles on strange grasses

and brain falters with dumb bark

first glimpse of beech makes me known

e.

birch stand

over water

lean into silence

cedarburg beech woods is a mesic forest of predominantly sugar maple, beech, and white ash. the southern section has glacial rolling topography and the northern lowlands are flatter with some boggy or marshy (i couldn’t tell which) areas. tremendous dawn hike.

thanks to the uw-field station staff for maintaining this site and for granting me permission to walk the lands!

state natural area poems #32: mukwonago river

/ jriyeff / Leave a comment

highway sounds about boulders

as we trek thru brush without trail

the mukwonago meanders on

like a dream after waking

the mukwonago river (actually a stream) is a surprisingly clean body of water that supports a surprisingly diverse set of wildlife. maybe the two have something to do with one another… along the shores of the mukwonago in the city of mukwonago, this sna has a variety of habitats and the sounds of highway all around.

(these are supposed to be three-liners i know, but that last line came when i woke up about 2.00 am last night and i couldn’t resist adding it…)

state natural area poems #31: eagle oak opening

/ jriyeff / Leave a comment

the wind scours treetops

and dances the kettle-lid

year’s first snow in the soul

eagle oak opening has kettle hole (the ponds) moraine (the hills) topography, along with open grown oaks that now mostly reside in mesic forest. though there are still a few open prairie sites. we had forgotten how pleasant and homey the kettle moraine state forest area is.