sna poems, series supplementum #46: whitnall park + a special look at some plants at newark road prairie sna

July 20, 2024 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

as a follow-up to our independence day hike, we stopped at two spots for some walks on our way to pick up the kids in the rock river valley. first up was the sprawling (in a good way) whitnall park in mke cty—prairie, woods, pond, so many plants—then newark road prairie sna as we got to the rock. good day.

first id’s of american germander, tall hairy agrimony, black cohosh, leafcup, broadleaf enchanter’s nightshade, queen of the prairie. (!)

at newark road prairie sna (entry a while back) saw some other first id’s: prairie woundwort, spotted joe-pye weed, virginia mountain mint, michigan lily, and eastern prairie fringed orchid(! again). aside from disturbing a redwing blackbird family, a brilliant short stop.

from a sun-soaked snag

a clear call

indigo bunting

forming culver’s root

pentangles

walking with my wife

in late morning sun

the year’s first

goldenrod blooming

goldfinches calling

by swaying

queen of the prairie

sna poems #150: black earth rettenmund prairie

June 4, 2024July 3, 2024 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

been a while. but after a visit with family, me and the kids headed west to this dry mesic prairie remnant just past the terminal moraine in the driftless area (where the last glaciation didn’t touch). mostly situated on a dramatic hill, this prairie was grazed but not plowed, according to the wdnr’s website. lots of native species still inhabiting, a small oak proudly taking up the hill’s crest as its home.

many first time id’s and a few old friends hanging out. first id’s of wood lily, seneca snakeroot, blue-eyed grass, flowering spurge, prairie phlox.

first day that a walk in the sun got uncomfortably hot this year. could have sat on the hilltop all day long.

bright lamp of the hill

bolt upright

in dane cty breeze

above the valley

delicate

puccoon blossom stands

sna poems #147: badfish creek wet prairie and spring seeps

December 29, 2023July 3, 2024 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

it’s been months since our last sna’s. so i took a christmas-octave interurban drop-off/pick-up to spend some hours walking in dane cty. first up was badfish creek wet prairie, a wet prairie that, while bordered by ditches running to badfish creek, has an intact interior hydrological system. since there’re precious few intact prairies in general in wisconsin, it’s important for understanding such habitats.

saw a couple pheasant on my way in, gatekeepers. they let me pass and i had about a mile walk to the actual site, and couldn’t stay real long as i had to meet my brother at the next site. but an enjoyable jaunt around in the dry grasses in the unseasonable warmth.

the ditched wet prairie

and weak sun

kiss because they must

among the grasses

a red bell—

winter without cold

shocking red and green

in the ditch

stooped for midday meal

saw this on the way out:

closer:

sna poems #122: oakfield railroad prairie

August 24, 2022August 24, 2022 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

first intimate stop of the day. a former railroad, this sna is 10 acres in a straight line. lined with shrubs and trees, but still a surprisingly diverse prairie flora all along the way.

i’m grateful folks have activated these old rail lines so we can get to meet plants we might not elsewhere in human-shaped habitats. beautiful start to the day.

first id’s of four o’clock, meadowsweet, giant ragweed, wild cucumber, and tick-trefoil.

straight-line habitat

all decked out:

white, purple, yellow

where boxcars once hauled,

st. john’s wort

nestles in the grass

little downy one,

now it’s just

you and four o’clocks

if you made it this far… caterpillars on toadflax! (plus a couple more plants)

sna poems, #110: audubon goose pond

January 6, 2022 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

audubon goose pond is a turbid pond with surrounding prairie in a marshy basin of ground moraine. we hiked the prairie in the year’s first good snow—a little dodgy at points, but piloted with grace and confidence by my brother.

the pond itself is not accessible due to the protections in place for the many bird species who make the area their home, but the prairie was lovely as the snow fell and wind blew. something about prairies in winter; i just love it.

two further notes: this plot and some surrounding parcels are further remnants of the formerly huge empire prairie that spanned swaths of these parts north of madison.

back to the flip phone for this venture.

winds away southward

new snowfall

on russet and black

this rolling swelling

ground was once

the empire prairie

a single oak leaf

rattling

in the grassy wind

sna poems #99: albany sand prairie and oak savanna

July 31, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

the albany sand prairie and oak savanna has an unplowed sand prairie, accompanying oak barrens and oak opening, a dry-mesic prairie, and an oak wood along the sugar river.

a very pleasant walk. first id’s of grass pink, hedge parsley, and american germander. also a species of primrose i haven’t seen before.

a monarch’s proboscis

curls into bergamot:

blossom and insect

life finite

and inexhaustible

in the oak savanna

the air is heavy with water

flowers and frogs thick

on the sand prairie ground

sna poems #98: muralt bluff prairie

July 26, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

i’m digging these prairies set on hills out west of me in wisconsin.

muralt bluff prairie lies along a curving ridge in the contact area between wisconsin’s glaciated and drifltess areas. there are fantastic displays of wildflowers from spring till fall, with several rare species represented.

it was a slick climb up (courtesy of the rain earlier in the morning), but the dense stands of wild bergamot and tall bell flower along the muddy wooded trail made up for the effort. the prairie itself and the view of woods and rolling farmland from the ridgetop were fabulous.

first id’s of grey-headed cone flower and prairie rosinweed!

coneflower and thimbleweed,

crane rattle—

bergamot kingdom

this rounded crown

between two lands

bees on the wing

if you made it this far: you are here.

sna poems #96: york prairie

July 21, 2021July 21, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

on to green county! my dad and brother were along for the trip this time, and we did a day-long tour of the county with five sna’s.

green county is in the driftless area, the part of wisconsin (and neighboring minnesota and iowa) that was not smoothed and altered by the wisconsin glaciation, as the rest of the state was. different terrain but still southern wisconsin.

our first stop was york prairie, which contains remnant tallgrass prairie, a multitude of native plants, and rare and threatened plants. the sandy soil and rocky terrain were a new experience in prairie for me, and a light shower gave the walk a different energy part-way thru. first id of hoary vervain and golden alexanders!

mullein blooming

rough and heavy

to the touch

prairie valley sings

with yellow throat song—

shocks of stalk and sepal

below leaf and stem

under rain and sky

bedrock glimpses prairie

sna poems #84: faville prairie

June 4, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

one of the largest low prairie remnants in wisconsin, faville prairie was once a part of the 2,500-acre crawfish prairie. shifted hydrology in the area has led to drier conditions in part with more woody species, and a wetter sedge area.

this was one of the sites whose preservation aldo leopold fought for, and it became a sna in 1952. it was a terrific stop, with several first-time id’s of forbs for me. thanks to the uw-madison arboretum for allowing me to walk this land, as visits are restricted.

deer break/

wing blur/

there: spiderwort

a southwind trembles the prairie

swirls of whorled lousewort

and clutches of hoary puccoon

cranes and spotted frogs

phlox and shooting star,

all give a nod to aldo

sna poems #83: waterloo prairie

June 2, 2021 / jriyeff / Leave a comment

waterloo prairie is a couple parcels of land along stony brook, one with a fen and many seepages, the other with a larger wet prairie meadow. i visited the latter, moving thru a small wood with wet, boggy patches thru-out to get out into the open.

as was the theme of the day, sandhill crane calls rattled back and forth over the meadow’s expanse.

ruddy partners

calling out

in the wet meadow