sna poems #103: abraham’s woods

October 12, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

abraham’s woods is a remnant old growth southern mesic forest dominated by maple, linden, and red oak. the understory is fairly sparse due to the peak canopy, which allows for some spectacular attention to the sandstone outcroppings, moss, and fungi of this wood at this time of year. the sandstone is actually a slanting ridge that creates an eastward-facing amphitheater, with heavy fern growth down in the hollow. a great blue heron rookery inhabits the site, but they’ve gone for the year.

it was tremendously foggy the day we visited in the early morning, and the trees dripped rain in the quiet. this was a spectacular visit and i hope to get back next year.

thanks to the uw arboretum for maintaining the site and for permitting me to visit.

in from the fogscape,

staggered pulse

pelts the leaf litter

bark in the hollow,

early sun:

the mist making haze

loose slabs of sandstone

supporting

the guttating frill

stone

into sand

moss-work

if you made it this far, here are some miscellaneous things: a photo of one of the tree tags i’m very fond of, some serious fuzzy mold on scat, and the largest snag i’ve ever stood under:

sna poems #102: mayville ledge beech-maple woods

October 4, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

mayville ledge beech-maple woods is very much what it sounds like, tho’ “ledge” in this case refers very specifically to the exposed niagra escarpment present on the site. the niagra escarpment is the exposed dolostone ridge at the edge of the niagra cuesta that stretches from new york state up thru canada and down into dodge county (and a smaller exposure in waukesha county) here in wisconsin via door county. in some places, it’s dramatic seaside cliffs, in others, it looks more or less like a pile of rocks.

no trail to speak of here, we followed deer paths up the glacial drift-laden section up to the top of the ridge and walked thru the ungrazed woods atop the ledge. with a steady wind blowing up onto the plain, we were able to enjoy a late-summer hike thru beech, maple, and ironwoods, with lots of mushrooms and moss growing all around the glades of tumbled dolostone. american beech grows here in its westernmost limit.

dolostone drifting,

acorns fall

in quiet rock glades

the gentlest arc

sits atop

magnesium bulk

american beech

on the ledge

of rolling green waves

sna poems, series supplementum #26: flax pond

August 23, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

took in an invigorating walk on a hot day with my wife and mom, while my brother hung out on the pond-shore.

flax pond is a kettlehole pond formed by a formerly submerged glacial chunk that melted, the ground above collapsing into the depression and water filling in. another pitch pine-oak wood by the looks of it, with lots of sand and, surprisingly to my midwestern eyes, lots of moss and fungus too. a beaut.

and my fond adieu to these fabulous lichen forests on so many tree limbs out there. couldn’t get enough.

first id of a new, yellow species of hawkweed, but not sure if it was new england or meadow…

humid oak leaves fan

on moss mass

and soft pitch pine cone

white winged

bars

on black

sand and moss

along the still

kettle shore

sna poems #97: browntown oak forest

July 24, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

browntown oak forest is a southern dry and dry-mesic forest situated on a st. peter sandstone ridge in the driftless area. the variable topography and soil types nurture a diversity of plant communities. one part of the slope has sandstone outcrops.

the trails (such as we could find) were going feral, which restricted our movement into the forest somewhat, but a jaunt down the ridge to the sandstone was freeing.

first id’s of tall bellflower, st. john’s wort, and knapweed; also first coral fungus spotted since i started these.

me and this hickory

outcropping here

on sandstone slabs