A Little KP at The Springs

Posted on June 20, 2013 by paulmozina

The Springs are luxuriantly green in harmonious sympathy with the summer solstice.

I’m a little worse for wear — might be all the tick bites. Pati gave me this great site for info about lymes disease and we’re investigating and getting advice from people who have had it, like our good friend Karen Ande.

Yesterday it was absolutely gorgeous all day long at The Springs and I was eager to try out my new camera. The picture auto-focus and high definition video are great. Now, if I could just learn to hold the camera steady when taking videos, especially the first few seconds.

The view from the Scuppernong Spring, where I drew some water for the day.

I sprayed 8 gallons of very dilute (.2oz/gal) Milestone/aminopyralid on first year garlic mustard and huge patches of burdock on the south end of the trail and I must confess that I’m sorely conflicted about my continued use of herbicide on the land. Per this Mother Earth News story, there are issues with Milestone. The DNR reassured me that there is no problem given the low concentration they recommend, but I’m having doubts.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was not going to use Habitat/imazapyr anywhere in the river valley and I recently returned my supply to the DNR. This article in Natural News, persuaded me to return my Glyphosate as well. I’m still using Tahoe/triclopyr for buckthorn stumps, Transline/clopyralid for Black Locust and Milestone/aminopyralid for broad-leaf weeds.

In an ideal world, the DNR would have the resources to Burn The Scuppernong on a more regular basis; interspersing fall and spring fires per, the available fuel, and the status of the weeds. If that were the case, it would be conceivable to eliminate the use of all poisonous chemicals on the land. I feel a rant coming on… but, instead, I’ll do what I can to work toward that goal.

I brought my brush cutter out to tidy up the place. Here are before and after shots of the DNR 2-track we use to access a parking area at the south end of the loop trail.

Then I made my way to the hillside springs at the first embankment/bridge below the Scuppernong Spring.

The second bridge down, before and after.

Then, on to the boardwalk that leads to the Emerald Spring. I sprayed this area with Habitat a few weeks ago and there was no effect. I miss the wise console of my good friend Lindsay Knudsvig, who would have undoubtebly warned me that it was “too early dude!”

I’m a little concerned about the algae that is blooming in the river and speculating that it might be caused by the removal of the layer of water cress that covered the river last year, and the burn this spring, which, together, significantly increased the amount of sunlight hitting the river bed. Warm temperatures spawn algae growth and so does stirring up muck in old river beds, which we did a lot of last year. This year’s DNR fish count, coming in July, will be very interesting. In any case, my further interventions with the river going forward will be minimal.

I cut cattails and willow resprouts at the Hatching House Springs and reed canary grass and buckthorn resprouts by the old hotel and barn sites. Jon Bradley mentioned in the last post that his expedition did not venture onto the cut-off trail because he “couldn’t see a definitive trail”. Indeed, a lot of aspen, buckthorn, honeysuckle and prickly ash has quickly sprouted so I went through the entire trail with the brush cutter to make it more evident. You can pick up the cut-off trail (aka, The Lost Trail) on your left as you walk along the main trail just past the long, tall, marl pit factory wall, on your right. Look for 4 logs laying parallel crossing a little drainage ditch and take this trail!

Here is a view from the gaging station bridge…

and the barn site followed by a Smooth Solomon’s Seal.

I really enjoyed the near solstice sunset out on the marl pit.

See you at The Springs!

Scuppernong Safari

Posted on June 18, 2013 by paulmozina

Come along as Jon Bradley takes us on his recent amazing adventure at the Scuppernong Springs!

If you are receiving this post via email by subscribing to this site, you can click, or double click, the pictures to display them full screen; well worth it for Jon’s beautiful photographs. If you hover your mouse over a picture and a youtube link appears, follow it.

The last time out, I was taking sunset photos from the marl pit canal and noticed someone hanging out on the bridge; it was Jon…

I had a blast at The Springs this past Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday morning. I hit the trail 5 times but only went through the whole thing once, I mostly stuck around the Marl Pits. Admittedly, I wanted to check out the new cut-off trail but couldn’t see a definitive trail.

As you saw, I installed the Tree Swallow house on Thursday afternoon. I saw a ton of Tree Swallows around that area, so it was definitely a fantastic place to put it. (Just an FYI there is a loose nail on the left side of the front, which can be pulled out to swing open the front if it ever needs to be cleaned out. It’s something I never really knew about before but read it online and figured I’d install it on that one since it’ll be at the trail, hopefully for many years to come.)

During sunset I saw this Snapping Turtle and Blandings Turtle on each side of the Marl Pit Bridge.

These Spiderwort plants were everywhere. They sure do have a nice color to them, don’t they?

I’ve never actually been to The Springs during sunset before, it was definitely worth seeing, and thankfully the mosquitoes weren’t too bad around the Marl Pit area, compared to to the first stretch of trail where they were swarming.

Friday morning at the Springs was fantastic. I hit the whole trail and enjoyed watching the springs from quite a few locations along the trail. It was a quiet day with no one on the trail and not too much traffic going by so it was a pretty relaxing stroll.

This muskrat was working all day long on its den in the largest Marl Pit.

I always have a good time hanging around the main spring, though the mosquitoes were so thick around it, I chose to continue on after a minute or two.

A few other photos I took at the trail include Sandhill Cranes at the entrance, another large Snapping Turtle in a Marl Pit (it’s markings seem to match up with the one I saw on the previous day), and a tiny Painted Turtle in the large Marl Pit.

I also got a few interesting photos at Ottawa Lake. I just missed out on this Snapping Turtle laying her eggs by the pier.

During one last bike ride around the park, I found this small Snapper by the beach parking lot and saved it from getting run over. Hopefully it headed straight back to the lake.

I’m already looking forward to my next trip out there!

(ed. note,

Just in, here is a great video tour of The Springs that Jon put together.

See you at The Springs!)

Bald Bluff

Posted on June 16, 2013 by paulmozina

Thanks again for tuning into the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail blog! Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with Gary Klatt, Zach Kastern and Jared Urban girdling aspen on a hillside prairie on the southwestern slope of Bald Bluff. This area is part of the Kettle Moraine Oak Opening, one of the few remaining examples of what was the predominant plant community in pre-settlement days. The best part of the day was that they let me rant on and on, suffering my righteous indignation at the way the world is working, with patient, good humor, or, maybe they were just laughing at me.

Jared, Zach and Gary.

Zach has been doing a lot of volunteer work in this area in the past year, flowering into a bonafide naturalist. He has adopted the place as his own and gained intimate knowledge of the flora and fauna. We couldn’t hope for a better steward to step forward and take care of this land!

Gary Klatt is a retired Math Professor at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater. He is a former director of the Ice Age Trail Alliance, and his contributions have even been recognized by The President. Here is Gary working on one of the many bridges he has helped design and build along the IAT.

He was awarded the “Spirit Stick” in 2010.

Gary says, “I’ve come up with a philosophy: Be kind always, and be useful when you can,”. Check out this homage to Gary in the Winter 2010 issue of Mammoth Tales on page 5.

It was drizzling when we began working and the brush was very wet, but our cheery banter soon banished the clouds and we all began peeling off layers.

The top of Bald Bluff has grown over with oaks since the days that Black Hawk and the Sauk tribes made it their home.

Afterwards, Jared invited us to Paint Brush Prairie, a rare, first-rate, remnant prairie and it was amazing to listen to Zach and Jared calling out one plant after another. We parked along Lowland Drive and crossed a farmer’s field on a DNR easement to arrive at the prairie, which is just west of the Rushing Waters Trout Farm complex on the google map below.

Listen to Jared describe the prairie.

I remembered a few names of the many plants they identified, but not this one.

Flox.

Yellow Stargrass

Paint Brush

Death ‘something’?

I appreciated the opportunity to spend time and learn with Jared, Zach and Gary and look forward to the next Kettle Moraine Oak Opening workday.

See you at The Springs!

Spring Reflections

Posted on June 14, 2013 by paulmozina

You have to walk a ways down south along the marl pit canal to get a good angle on the sun as it sets farther and farther north on the horizon. The rate of change in the amount of daylight increases as we approach the summer solstice and it is dramatically evident in the big sky country at The Springs. The trees, grasses, flowers and weeds, have responded luxuriantly to the sun and rain and the land is vibrant with myriad shades of lush greens. The Burn back on May 6th was definitely the highlight; a dramatically pivotal punctuation to Spring, 2013.

The Scuppernong Springs are a “world class site”, per former DNR Naturalist Ron Kurowski, and getting more and more well deserved love and attention these days. Spring Lover, Jon Bradley recently erected this beautiful, custom built, tree swallow house near the marl pit bridge.

Thanks Jon! It should be occupied in no time.

Amanda, Melanie and their crew of volunteers continued to install the new interpretive signs that Don Dane made. They look pretty darn good!

I was out at The Springs yesterday and sprayed some spotted knapweed on the Sauk Campground and some garlic mustard, creeping charlie and burdock between the old hotel and barn sites. “What is a weed? A Plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (more good weed quotes here). Rich Csavoy taught me another weed, white cockle, which is in full bloom on the Sauk Campground. Reed Canarygrass is already going to seed amongst the many springs in the river valley. Isn’t it ironic that Cannabis Sativa, one of the most versatile plants on earth, goes by the nickname “weed”?

It was a beautiful afternoon with a refreshing north breeze, deep blue skies and cauliflower clouds sailing by. I cut a curtain of buckthorn and prickly ash between the cut-off trail and the river on a little peninsula where Carl Baumann took some serious cuts last winter. Here is how it looked when I got there.

Five hours later…

A view from the gaging station bridge.

I saved a couple of wild plum trees amongst the buckthorn and found a patch of blue flag irises.

I did some serious relaxing at the marl pit bridge in the evening and wandered down the canal a bit to get these shots of the sunset.

See you at The Springs!

Signs of Volunteers

Posted on June 9, 2013 by paulmozina

The Springs are buzzing with excitement and I’m not just referring to the voraciously hungry mosquitoes. Last week many groups of children visited and yesterday the first class of the Wisconsin Master Naturalist program, run by the Wehr Nature Center, was here. The Law of Attraction is definitely at work at The Springs. Amanda, Melanie and their crew of volunteers were vibrating with energy as they converted their thoughts and emotions into actions installing a new set of signposts (that Don Dane made) to accompany the interpretive brochure.

Melanie and Tara digging the hole for post #3 at the marl pit factory.

They had to painstakingly pull out brick after brick from hole #4 by the marl pit bridge.

Here is the rest of the crew: Kay, Barb, Berta and Rich. Together they worked on at least 9 different signposts. Nice!

When I first arrived, I sprayed Habitat on some areas in the river valley where the phragmites and cattails were the only plants growing. I’m not going to spray anymore, anything in the river valley. In most of the valley a wide diversity of plants have emerged interspersed with the invasive ones. It would take a huge quantity of Habitat to spray the entire area and many good plants would likely be killed, not to mention the residue from the poison that would infiltrate the river. As Dana Carvey impersonating George H.W. Bush would say, “Na, Ga, Da”.

I finished girdling a clonal colony of aspen, the last I plan to do at The Springs this season, located on the east end of the cut-off trail in an area that was once cleared for farming. The views from this section of trail south towards the river will be stunning once the aspen and buckthorn are removed. There is still some buckthorn between the trail and river in this area and I plan to get after it soon.

In the afternoon I resumed brush piling on the west end of the cut-off trail. We feverishly cut and cut between the trail and the river during the early spring to lay down as much buckthorn as possible before the burn and I’m almost completely caught up piling it now. Here is a view of the area I was working at from the gaging station bridge.

And from the cut-off trail.

Here are a few scenes from the marl pit bridge.

And the marl factory.

Jill Hagen Smith, who participated in the Wisconsin Master Naturalist class, and who leads children’s nature outings at the Wehr Nature Center, was soaking her feet in cool spring water.

I wish I had known they were going to be there, I would have loved to talk to the group about our restoration efforts.

I made an early exit for home.

See you at The Springs!

Phragmites Update

Posted on June 6, 2013 by paulmozina

Last year we began attacking the phragmites that was rapidly spreading in the Scuppernong River valley area around The Springs. It had grown thick and tall with year after year of accumulated stalks providing support for each new year’s growth. In one area we tried gathering handfuls, tying them, and clipping the bunches at around 24″ high and daubing the the cut ends with Habitat. This worked very well as you can see in the video below taken by the Hillside Springs. Unlike other areas of phragmites that were not treated, only cut and burned, we see very little regrowth here.

In this area by the Hidden Springs, we cut the phragmites in early summer and in mid-October Lindsay sprayed the fresh new growth with Habitat. Again, we see excellent results with little new growth after the fire.

The following videos show the area just to the west of the observation deck at the Emerald Springs and then the area adjacent to the deck on the south and east sides, where the phragmites was cut last summer and burned this spring, but not treated with Habitat. You can see it is coming back like gang-busters.

In the next month we will be spraying phragmites and cattails with Habitat, focusing on the areas where these two plants dominate. In areas with more plant species diversity, we will not spray and instead, we’ll use the bunching, clipping and daubing technique; or we may just cut it. The goal is to open a window of opportunity for native wetland plants to re-emerge.

I dared the threat of showers yesterday and got a full days work in at The Springs. I wonder what creature made these holes on the sand prairie.

I continued girdling aspen; this time on the north side of the scuppernong river just west of the old barn site. Per Robert Duerwachter’s excellent history, The Ponds of the Scuppernong, this area was cleared and planted in corn. The opportunistic aspen and buckthorn have since moved in and removing them will give room for oaks and hickory to return instead.

In the afternoon I continued piling brush finishing the area on the east end of the cut-off trail between the trail and the river. The forest floor here is lush with grasses, geraniums, columbine, may apple and other flowers.

The view from the hotel site.

Last spring I was scolded, for good reason, by a man who complained that I was cutting down all of the wild plum trees along with the buckthorn. I noticed the difference myself and have made a concerted effort to discriminate between the two. I’m hoping to enjoy some of these fruits by the gaging station bridge.

There are wild plum trees by the old barn site and along the loop trail heading north from there near the cranberry bogs.

See you at The Springs!

South Branch Scuppernong River

Posted on June 3, 2013 by paulmozina

“I’m more ‘here’ when I’m here, partly because I’ve learned more about the river.”, that is how Milton Bates described his deepening present moment awareness in his fantastic book, The Bark River Chronicles. We drew inspiration from Mr. Bates to embark on our own Journey Down The Scuppernong River, and it has been a wonderful, enriching and, unfortunately, a bit disturbing, learning experience. From the pristine headwaters at the Scuppernong River Nature Trail to the final, completely degraded, drainage ditch, that passes through the mud farms west of Hwy 106, the journey has taught us a lot about natural history and the impact of white settlers with their insatiable, often short-sighted, desire to convert natural resources into money — which continues to this day.

On our journey downstream we tried to document all of the tributaries and water sources that feed the Scuppernong River but we missed one of the most significant; the South Branch of the Scuppernong River. I remember now exactly when we encountered it on the second leg of your journey, as we approached an abandoned farm just east of Hwy Z, and I assumed at the time that it was just an irrigation canal.

(full image here)

I even mentioned in a previous post the brook trout that were released into the south branch, but it did not register:

Waukesha SOUTH BRANCH SCUPPERNONG RIVER BROOK TROUT 83

John and Sue Hrobar visit The Springs often, and we discuss, fish, flowers and the pros and cons of intervening to attempt to restore native habitats. Lately, our discussions have focused on what has happened to the brook trout in the stretch of river near the headwaters since we have begun clearing the springs and river. John concludes, because we don’t see trout in the river like we used to, that our efforts have disturbed a critical balance making the river unsuitable for trout. The major change being the removal of water cress, which was literally damming the river and causing it to overflow its banks, but which may have been providing the habitat for bugs and insects on which the trout depend. He suspects that our clearing of all the feeder springs has not increased the flow of water and has only released more mud and sediment into the river. I respect John’s ideas and I’m trying to understand what is going on with the fish. What is good trout habitat and what should a healthy, natural, spring-fed river look like? Here is what the WDNR considers suitable habitat for trout fishing on the Scuppernong River and its tributaries.

(full image here)

John and Sue enlightened me as to the existence of the South Branch of the Scuppernong River and I really appreciate that. The source is the Stute Springs, just south of forest headquarters. You can follow its course north and west by zooming into this map:

It was really peaceful yesterday morning when I arrived at The Springs and encountered this wind blown cherry tree blocking my access to the parking area at the terminus of a DNR, 2-track, access road at the south end of the trail.

Coincidentally, this happened to be an area where some black locust stumps where protruding in the road and I shaved these as well as removed the downed tree. I continued spraying first year garlic mustard seedlings on the south end of the loop trail using a 2.34% solution of glyphosate and then proceeded to the north side of the scuppernong river to girdle some aspen.

I spent the afternoon piling buckthorn between the north side of the river and the cut-off trail and made another dozen or so piles. John and Sue arrived to say hello and we had a great conversation regarding the restoration effort and then they lead me to this rare patch of kitten tails.

Golden Alexander is in full bloom.

Spider Wort is prolific on the sand prairie.

Our good friend, the north wind, blew into The Springs and it was cool and cloudy most of the day, but when the sunshine finally broke through, it was glorious.

Another spring may have started flowing, check this out:

Views of the Scuppernong Prairie from the Sauk Campground…

… and the marl pit bridge.

My sweetheart, Pati Holman, road her bike the 40 or so miles from Milwaukee to join me and we took a nice walk around the loop trail before heading for home.

See you at The Springs!

Ticks and Mosquitoes

Posted on May 31, 2013 by paulmozina

The sensation is like that of a feather vaguely wandering across the skin. Slowly, like ripples spreading in a pool of consciousness, the mind awakens to the touch; there is something crawling on me! Out at The Springs we are under attack from the ground and air by ticks and mosquitoes. Good Lord! The ticks are thick and “questing” and, along with their airborne allies, they share an affinity for the same flesh to satisfy their wanton blood lust. The ticks leave a memory upon the surface of the skin that comes to mind again and again; long after they have moved on. Every itch and tingle is a tick! They are in My Truck, waiting for me!

Despite the little things that try patience and distract from the pure joy of living, I spent two Happy Days at The Springs this past Wednesday and Thursday (May 29-30). Rich Csavoy joined me on Wednesday and we had a marvelous time girdling aspen, pulling garlic mustard, piling buckthorn and discussing the first principles of philosophy. Here is a video tour of the north side of the Scuppernong River, just west of the old barn site, where we made around 13 piles.

The view downstream from the work site.

Looking at the new brush piles from the hotel site.

We are seeing a green heron quite frequently at the marl pit bridge.

The Sauk Campground as seen from the marl pit.

The pit.

The valley.

Lindsay, and his mate, Connie, stopped over and shared a delicious bottle of Zinfandel from the Lewis Station Winery wine with me and we surveyed the prairie as evening descended.

I was back at it again on Thursday with a stop down at the Scuppernong Spring to get some drinking water.

Here is a walking tour of the Sauk Campground with the advantage of the morning sun behind me.

I took a chance that it would not rain and sprayed 8 gallons of glyphosate on first year garlic mustard seedlings, which literally carpet many newly cleared areas. Then I girdled a clonal colony of aspen on the west side of the river across from hotel site. The goal is to keep the boundary areas along the river valley free of aspen. And finally, I returned to the north side of the scuppernong river, west of the old barn site, between the river and cut-off trail, to pile buckthorn.

Check out this patch of geraniums!

The water level is up to around .4′ from the early spring levels around .34′ and it seems like the river channel is getting more narrowly defined, i.e. some of the marl and muck is getting washed downstream.

The Emerald Springs are constantly changing their configuration.

I recently discovered John Muir’s writings and just listened to The Story of My Boyhood and Youth. I don’t think anyone can describe clouds like John Muir. From The Mountains of California:

When the glorious pearl and alabaster clouds of these noonday storms are being built I never give attention to anything else. No mountain or mountain-range, however divinely clothed with light, has a more enduring charm than those fleeting mountains of the sky–floating fountains bearing water for every well, the angels of the streams and lakes; brooding in the deep azure, or sweeping softly along the ground over ridge and dome, over meadow, over forest, over garden and grove; lingering with cooling shadows, refreshing every flower, and soothing rugged rock-brows with a gentleness of touch and gesture wholly divine.

Scuppernong Storm Clouds.

See you at The Springs!

Spring Cleaning

Posted on May 26, 2013 by paulmozina

It was around this time last year that we met Don Dane and Tim Peters at The Springs and expanded the scope of our restoration effort to include opening up all of the springs that feed the Scuppernong River, and clearing the river itself. Like Neo in The Matrix, who followed the white rabbit to discover the truth, we are also on a journey of exploration and learning to discover “the truth” of what the Scuppernong Springs area was like before the invasion of the white settlers. Terence McKenna coined the term Archaic Revival and it strikes a chord with me.

I had the pleasure of spending Friday, May 24, at The Springs. The northeast winds that arrived the day before continued to blow and the sky was impeccably blue. DNR naturalist/guide Melanie Kapinos and long-time Ice Age Trail Alliance member Barbra Converse, who gives tour of The Springs, stopped out to chat.

Barb asked ‘why do you do it?’ and I really appreciated the opportunity to explain myself. It will take a long time to “revive” this area after many, many years of neglect. As I walk the land and observe the recovery from the burn, I see tons of weeds amongst the good native flowers and grasses. Much of the green you see in the post-burn pictures I have been posting is from buckthorn seedlings, thistle and burdock patches, phragmites, cattails, garlic mustard, spotted knapweed and other invasive plants. The journey back to health for the Scuppernong Springs Nature Preserve and the Scuppernong River Habitat Area will be long and I take every step with joyful anticipation.

Barb led us to these distinctive Oak Gall specimens on the Sauk Campground sand prairie.

As I was spraying spotted knapweed at the sand prarie, I noticed this attractive White Spotted Sable Moth.

And this vibrantly green Lady Fern.

I continued girdling Aspen on the slope behind the Hidden Spring. The fresh air made every breath a pleasure!

I spent the afternoon pulling watercress, phragmites and cattails from the Hatching House Springs and the Hillside Springs. These springs have nice, stony bottoms and look like great trout spawning habitats. I harvested a healthy dose of watercress at the Scuppernong Spring, which has the sweetest cress of them all.

Pati joined me for the rest of the day and we reveled in the beauty.

If you love clouds, check out this site! I tried to capture the wisps floating by.

Sunset at Ottawa Lake.

See you at The Springs!

The Sauk Spring

Posted on May 25, 2013 by paulmozina

After a couple days, I start to miss The Springs. They draw me away from the present moment into a dreamy future, which became reality for me last Thursday as I worked, wandered and wondered in a Garden of Eden. This place is flowing with living waters and I drew some for the day at the Scuppernong Spring.

I crossed the Indian Campground on my way to an area at the bottom of the slope to girdle some Aspen trees.

It wasn’t until I started working with real Indians, I mean people born in India, that I started to become frustrated with the common use of the term here; a case of mistaken identity. Language is so powerful! Who were the “First People”, the “Native Americans”? If only we could have learned from them how to live in harmony with the land and honored them with their own names.

Watercress and quack grass are two non-native plants that can really take over an area. Lindsay pulled a ton of these invaders from the Indian Spring, or maybe we should call it the Sauk Spring after the tribe, along with the Fox, that ceded over 50,000,000 acres of their tribal lands to the United States in the Treaty of St. Louis back in 1803. Cede — to surrender possession of. We didn’t expect these deeply rooted plants to disappear and I thought it would be a good time to clean the spring again.

After girdling aspen for a while, I donned some rubber knee boots and pulled the new batch of water cress and quack grass that were rapidly spreading. Here are a series of videos and photos taken later in the day that give a tour of the Sauk Spring.

I love the sound of the water.

This view is a bit downstream from the source where an earthen dam was blocking the channel.

There is a second spring source that merges with the main channel on its way to the Scuppernong River.

The Sauk Spring is a relatively quiet place to hang out with a great view of the prairie.

Next, I headed to the old barn site, which is quite a bit noisier, to pile some buckthorn. Garrett and Jenny, two new volunteers, joined me and we did some stacking. I’m hoping to work with them again soon!