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
from prairie to edge
wood to boggy patch
boggy patch detail
sugar river wetlands is a large wetland complex within the sugar river watershed. surrounded by highways, it’s a site of restoration for wildlife and several rare plants. the site includes sedge meadow, calcareous fen, shub-carr, wet-mesic prairie, and emerging aquatic wetlands. the springs and fen area we explored were brimming with quiet activity as the water flowed into the sugar river.
a.
the seeps work gently
thru matted grass, earth grooves,
alluvial moves under stars
b.
the snow piles verve,
somewhere a piping chirp erupts,
and this all flows to the sugar
c.
i exult in muck and duckweed,
frozen feet, the touch
of water straight from earth
Jacob Riyeff 