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.

a.

when i left this morning

stoplights were flashing

with the urban dawn chorus

b.

rapid thud from the bank,

sun diffused thru altostratus:

dawn on the crawfish river

c.

you were once here,

and now you’re gone

and this remains

d.

crows cut over the platform mound

as silos loom over empty fields

a new niece has arrived in the world

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?

a.

three white tails

below the bank

in silence they are gone

b.

this forest lives in the city

deer and thistle don’t mind—

divided only in mind

c.

tannins brown the streamwater

and small feet trouble the mudbank

finch just wants a winter-drink

my favorite winter vehicle.

nichols creek east cedars lies on a morainal slope and the adjacent lowlands. the north-facing slope has springs and seepages that feed nichols creek and many white cedars. such a distinctive wood for this part of wisconsin. we walked thru much of the rise to the south of the cedars.

a.

the smell of carrion in the air

as the temperature plummets down

the owl’s call on deep sustain

b.

the cedars

so still

on the seeps

kamrath creek forest and fen is a tremendously kinetic set of natural communities to visit in the winter. while most areas now are quiet and still, here water seeps from springs and down spring runs into kamrath creek from forested slope and thru sloped fen, sometimes meandering from several seepages at once and with arms of the creek creating near-islands as the water rushes to get down the incline. can’t wait to get back in the spring. oh—and the yellow birches, my goodness!

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

a.

ice globules adorn the seeps

along a well-worn trail, as water

bursts forth in winter’s deep

b.

upstream to headwaters,

the beeches begin

hello to old friends

c.

this is the place where waters flow

and reveal northern stone to the eye

where green endures thru the year

d.

a spray of beech leaves

above the snow:

freedom for the mind