pandemic project

state natural area poems #32: mukwonago river

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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

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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.

state natural area poems #30: genessee oak opening and fen a, b, & c

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a.

steady whistle blast of train

over the fen, down the moraine

cold wind searches bone

b.

our oaks grow along branching lobes

november biting hands and face

genesee creek smiles under their arms

c.

my boys chirrup

over trail muck

fen-hoppers

genesee oak opening and fen is a fantastic plot of land with interlobate moraine topography and an oak savanna, woods, a fen and disturbed wetland in the eastern portion, and genesee creek lolling thru-out. a very brisk and windy day greeted us, but made the march and climb all the sweeter.

state natural area poems #29: renak-polak maple-beech woods

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leaves aromatic in the mouth

follow the deer-path where they spread

goldenrod seed afar

renak-polak maple-beech woods is a dry mesic forest with a smaller stand of wet mesic along an intermittent stream. parts have been used and exhibit different stages of re-growth, but much of it is old growth. we followed a maze of deer-paths thru the openings filling with shrubs. we’ll be returning in the spring to see the array of ephemerals that grow here.

thanks to university of wisconsin-parkside for maintaining this patch of woods.

state natural area poems #28: cherry lake sedge meadow

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we follow sodden grooves

thru till. and exult in the sedge-mat

treading the dew-crystalled mud

cherry lake sedge meadow is certainly more sedge meadow than lake. a delightful trek over glacial till, circumambulating the wetland—sedge meadow, yes, but also a calcareous fen and a bog to the northeast. so much moss, so much fungus. not many birds left—though a solitary chickadee and a crow could be heard at times. worth a trip back in the spring or summer.

thanks to the wisconsin dnr for keeping this land.

state natural area poems #27: huiras lake a, b, c, & d

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sun on swamp texture

grass curve, trunk strength

wet earth medicine

thank you

for all

the water

this is the people’s land

we also belong to it

though often blind our eyes

infection numbers rise

lake and swamp and woods

sculpting the heart’s till

huiras lake state natural area is a variety of habitats: dry mesic forest, relict kettle bog, conifer and hardwood swamp, hardwater seepage lake, shrub-carr, and tamarack-white cedar swamp, and a stretch of open grassland to boot. we found these burrows on the rise going back to the parking area. they were bigger than they look in the photo.

i keep finding that the kind of wetland i end up in has to be the best kind of wetland. when i was in bog country mid last week, bogs were where it was at. but then when i stumbled on a micro-marsh on saturday, it couldn’t get any better. and when we entered the tree cover of the huiras lake sna conifer-hard wood swamp, i knew swamps are the best. but now i remember how alive i felt at the fen we visited last month… i suppose they each have their particular charm!

thanks to the ozaukee cty land trust and wdnr for tending this land!

state natural area poems #26: franklin savanna a, b, c, d, & e

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a.

terror of bare limbs

against dark sky

half-moon alive, aloft

b.

follow deer trail

redwing, cattail

moss-log, marsh edge

c. this is marsh

circumambulation

rot and growth aligned

d.

to rule over your creatures?

do not drain these wetlands

let them flourish as they will

e.

here among the oak leaves

small scoop of skull-bone

stream bed dry for now

franklin savanna is the remains of the kind of oak savanna that used to cover much of southern wisconsin (including the area where i grew up). a diverse site with mesic forest, ryan creek, savanna remnant, forested and open wetlands, and agricultural fields, there’s lots to explore, lots of edges. a sunrise hike today was just the ticket.

thanks to mke county parks and the friends of franklin’s parks for preserving the site. also, it appears that plans to rehabilitate the site have stalled. i wonder if we can get them going again…

state natural area poems #25: sapa spruce bog a & b

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a.

downed logs saturated

cobbles for white-tail hooves

spring thru grass and water

b.

sumac flair

prevents entry—

bog country

sapa spruce bog is a black spruce-tamarack bog (southernmost instance in wi) located in a kettle hole left by the receding glacier at last ice age’s end. it’s very acidic and has what is called “houghton muck” for soil–wow. we stopped by the northern edge (access is restricted to research) to see and smell the hardwood swamp habitat and met a buck wandering along the road. he quickly disappeared into the bog with lots more knowledge of such things than us.

thanks to the university of wisconsin-milwaukee field station for tending this pristine bog.

state natural area poems #24: cedarburg bog a, b, & c

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a.

glacial lake

water dream

mud fossil

b.

tumbled rock above

glistening eyes below

twilit bog life

c.

geese call at sunset. white cedar,

tamarack—tall family. feathery

splays in moss, grass, sedge, peeping

over duckweed. basswood sleeps unstirring.

cedarburg bog was once a glacial lake. the bog contains six lakes, shrub-carr, and a string bog (typical of much farther north in n. america). birches and basswood live here, along with white cedar and tamarack swamp forest. on my way thru, i met a very talkative black-capped chickadee.

thanks to the university of wisconsin-milwaukee field station, wi dnr and friends of cedarburg bog for tending this land.

state natural area poems #23: cudahy woods in fall

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gill, spore, and stipe

they sound and found the forest

messengers of earth from below

puffball colony
dense polypores
gilled
canopy above

cudahy woods is where this whole “living found poem” project started back in march—a 40-acre plot of old-growth forest with an unnamed stream running thru. right next to mitchell airport. we’ve kept an eye on this forest periodically since march, and it’s been a gift to watch its communities shift, grow, and die back to make way for others.