Oakology

Posted on November 17, 2013 by paulmozina

Oak-o-logy

: area of knowledge : theory : science related to the genus Quercus.

Wisconsin DNR Conservation Biologist Jared Urban is one of the preeminent Oakologists in the state. Restoring and preserving oak savannahs and woodlands is an important goal of the DNR’s Endangered Resources Bureau, which has been newly christened as the Natural Heritage Conservation Bureau, and Jared has been focusing on this as he helps manage the State Natural Areas in Southeastern Wisconsin. Organizing volunteers is an important part of this effort and I had the pleasure of participating yesterday, along with the UW Whitewater Ecology Club, in a work day at the Oak Opening SNA in the southern unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest.

The skies were threatening rain as Jared, and fellow Oakologists Ginny Coburn, Zach Kastern and Diane filled ingeniously engineered stump poison delivery dauber devices. Note the use of a sawdust filled tray to catch any spills (thanks Zach!)

By the way, if you are receiving this post via email, you should be able to double click the video frame above to watch it on the internet. Much to my chagrin, being a 25 year I.T. veteran, none of the links to embedded Youtube videos delivered via email posts have worked since July 1 of this year. Oh well… if you want to see any of the cool videos I have linked to since then, you’ll have to visit this site. Hopefully the video links in the emails are working now.

Jared explains what we are trying to do and how we will do it.

The UW Whitewater Ecology club made an excellent contribution!

The rain arrived just after noon and I took shelter in Jared’s truck as we shared lunch and conversation. I wanted to finish cutting a swath of brush between two of the brush piles we started, and around 2:00pm the rain quit and I was able to get after it. Here is what it looked like at the end of the day.

The sun made a brief appearance and I saw blue skies behind the gray clouds that were rushing by so I headed over to Bald Bluff hoping to see a cool sunset.

Sundown at Bald Bluff.

Instead, the rain returned and chased me back to my truck. Nevertheless, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day.

See you at The Springs!

Geoengineering the Scuppernong

Posted on November 15, 2013 by paulmozina

I love to look at the sky. Big Sky Visions, that’s what draws me out to the Scuppernong River Habitat Area.

Recently I noticed that my vision was blocked, even dimmed, by what I speculated where chemtrails.

Are chemtrails real? My big sky visions were obstructed again the past view days I spent piling brush at Ottawa Lake, to the point where I had to document what I was seeing and try to dissipate the cognitive dissonance clouding my mind. I even called the Waukesha Sheriff’s dispatch asking them to take a look.

When I arrived at the Ottawa Lake entrance on November 13th I noticed some jet contrails in the sky to the south and east, and when I got to the walk-in campsite 335 looking out over the lake to the west and north, I saw the sky full of contrails.

I tried to focus on the task at hand…

… but the contrails fanning out into huge clouds, that significantly blocked the sun’s rays for hours as they drifted south, stirred my response-able-ness and I called the Sheriff. Deputy Spak insisted on coming out to talk with me and arrived a few minutes later with two other sheriff’s deputies in two vehicles. We had a reasonable discussion about it and they provided me with contact information for a DNR Conservation Warden, who I am following up with. They suggested the clouds were “normal” exhaust vapors crystallizing in cold air and I begged to differ as we all conceded that none of us were expert enough to speak with authority on the matter.

I strive to be a reasonable person and the research I have done into this issue over the last few days has helped me understand what I think is the core issue at hand: global dimming. The pollutants we release into the atmosphere are blocking the sun’s rays and, whether the three types of contrails:

) Short-lived, non-persistent contrail (SLNPC),

2) Persistent contrail, non-spreading (PCNS) ,

3) Persistent contrail, spreading (PCS)

discussed here are the result of “normal” jet exhaust vapors or intentional geoengineering, the end result is global dimming. There is robust debate ongoing as to whether or not the contrails we see are normal or, the result of more aggressive solar radiation management techniques, which include dispersing toxic aluminum, barium and strontium into the atmosphere.

I wondered about this as the sun went down over Ottawa Lake.

I love the big sky and returned to Ottawa Lake yesterday to pile more brush. I hadn’t noticed the contrails yet…

… but when I got down to the wetland I saw them again. I wanted to focus on one in particular and see how it evolved.

The winds were blowing strong out of the southwest and the contrail from this jet billowed out into a thick ribbon as it passed over my head.

The long cloud at the top of the picture below is the contrail from the jet shown in the video above.

I pondered the question all day while piling brush until my back started to give out and I was reminded of my old shoulder injury.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence that I received the SHADE motion picture dvd anonymously in the mail a few weeks ago. It looks at geoengineering from a geopolitical perspective.

It would take a miracle for me to prove that the contrails I saw the past few days over the Scuppernong River valley were “normal” or something more sinister. In either case, they did significantly block the sun and I think this impact is unacceptable.

I tried to ignore the contrails in the sunset…

See you at The Springs!

Return of the Three BrushCuteers

Posted on November 11, 2013 by paulmozina

It’s been almost a year since the Three Brushcuteers joined forces to fight the thorny invaders of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. “All for one, one for all!”, they cried as they stacked the fallen enemy in neat piles along the trail just north of the old barn site (see recent post). Porthos, aka Lindsay Knudsvig, looked sharp in his tailored waistcoat and matching brush pants. Aramis, aka Rich Csavoy, although deeply religious, said the buckthorn didn’t have a prayer. Together we resolved to avenge the insult made by the buckthorn against the mighty and glorious oaks of the Kettle Moraine State Forest.

Here is what the battlefield looked like before we engaged the enemy.

As we worked, Aramis reminded us that it was 50 years ago that our king was slain in Dealey Plaza and, apparently, there is a new web of lies in the form of a digitally remastered video that purports to explain the path of the “magic” bullet. Athos, aka Paul, being immune to romantic feelings about the matter, dubiously viewed this conclusion based on the cold hard facts, e.g. the conclusions of the United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations and years of research into the matter. Unfortunately, the powers that be refuse to release thousands of pages of documentation. Why?

A last look as we left the battlefield.

Then we headed over to signpost #2 to reposition the railroad ties that had been dislodged and dragged into the brush.

Aramis, grabbed a couple loads of oak firewood before heading for home and Porthos and I took a stroll around the trail reminiscing about the many battles we fought at this “world class” site. There is tons of firewood, including well seasoned oak, piled at the worksite and all are welcome to come and take it. You might want to bring a chainsaw, and tools to split wood, to the location to facilitate harvesting.

I think this might be a Gar swimming in the pool at the Emerald Spring.

The day flew by and before I knew it I was bidding my dear companion Porthos farewell until next time.

See you at The Springs!

The Calls of the Kettle Moraine Coyotes

Posted on November 4, 2013 by paulmozina

I spent the past week (Oct 27 – Nov 3) at My Shangri-La working at The Springs and enjoying living out-of-doors. There isn’t any real wilderness in these parts but the calls of the local coyotes do evoke wild feelings. Almost every night they made outbursts of yelps, whines, howls and cries; a vocabulary that put the domesticated dogs at the nearby Skydance Kennels to shame (ruff, ruff… ruff, ruff, ruff… ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff etc…). It’s hard to describe the sounds coyotes make, calling them is an art form, and I listened with fascination imagining what they might be communicating to each other.

Pati helped me setup camp on Sunday, staying for wine and dinner as we listened to the Packer game on the radio by the fire. It doesn’t get much better than that! Men playing with balls; the circus that compliments our bread.

Monday morning I got after it cutting all the buckthorn and thinning ironwood and basswood in the area between camp sites 335 and 334 and in the area between site 334 and the pond and wetlands (please substitute Tamarack when I say Larch Pine).

On Tuesday I returned to the area just north of the old barn site to cut buckthorn along the trail to show off the mighty oaks and open the views into the cranberry bog.

Here are before and after videos and pics.

Back at camp hundreds, maybe thousands, of migrating birds filled the air with songs.

Rain was forecast ahead and I wondered when I’d see the sun again.

The clouds rolled in on Wednesday and I got in a full day of brush piling on the northeast side of the trail between signposts #2 and #1 and back further towards the parking lot.

Thursday the rain came and I sharpened my chains under a picnic shelter by Ottawa Lake. Later I delivered the rest of the oak, cherry and hickory I cut to open the views west from the sand prairie to a friend here in Milwaukee, who has a wood burning stove. I’ve certainly wasted a lot of potential firewood in the hundreds of brush piles we’ve burned, but I didn’t want to see this high quality wood go to waste (I’m using it in my campfires as well).

Friday I was back at it again cutting buckthorn on the northeast side of the trail from signpost #2 to #1 and beyond towards the parking lot. I got this view of the finished work on Sunday morning Nov. 3.

I still had some ya yas to get out and on Saturday I went back to the area just north of the old barn site shown on the map above to continue clearing the understory beneath some righteous oaks. Here are some views from north to south along the trail before I got started.

I got this video showing the results of Saturday’s labors on Sunday morning.

Pati came out to enjoy the day and help me pack up. Here are some parting shots of the great fall scenery at The Springs.

The morning view from campsite 334.

Marl pit bridge perspective.

On the cut-off trail.

The edge of the cranberry bog, where I worked on Tuesday and Saturday.

The beautiful Emerald Spring.

The hotel spring area.

The south end of the trail.

The sand prairie.

Scuppernong River views.

I was amazed to see these two railroad ties near signpost #2 that I had reported missing a while back. Did the thieves return them? Have they been laying here all this time without me noticing? Now all we need to do is lift them back into place.

There is an unmaintained trail along the east shore of Ottawa Lake that leads to the north end of the property where springs north of Hwy 67 flow into a little pond and eventually into the lake. Here are some views of where this stream merges into the wetlands. You can see campsites 334 and 335 in the second shot.

Late afternoon Tamaracks, which I thought were Larch Pines, as seen from site 334.

Ottawa Lake sunset.

See you at The Springs!

A Stolen Face

Posted on October 25, 2013 by paulmozina

I wonder at the boundaries between what’s yours, mine and ours and who owns things that are found.

I’ve been hoping to find on arrowhead on the sand prairie. John Hrobar gave me a tang from a broken arrowhead that he found near the Indian Spring. I have it on the windowsill above the kitchen sink and it gives me pleasure when I notice it. In the Heart of a Seed, at the end of the last video of the post, I showed this really cool stove door that I found at the ruins of one of the marl pit factory buildings…

… and I speculated about how long it would remain there. I thought it was interesting and wanted others to see it, but it’s already been found and taken. Or, was it stolen? How is an arrowhead different from a stove door and when does private pleasure trump public?

I combined private and public pleasure at The Springs yesterday continuing the effort to creating something beautiful, that cannot be stolen, by piling the buckthorn I cut recently. I really enjoy working in the woods and all the feedback I’ve gotten so far has been positive; a win-win situation.

Here is video taken shortly after I got started.

And the results…

From there I went to the sand prairie to dig spotted knapweed and I ran into the ecology class from the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. I get easily carried away and tend to talk way too fast, but they listened patiently as I described the work we are doing at The Springs and they had some good questions. I should have gotten a picture!

A crisp Fall afternoon.

Indian Spring Sunset.

The view from the sand prairie dune.

I’ll be at My Shangri-La all next week.

See you at The Springs!

Autumn at The Springs

Posted on October 22, 2013 by paulmozina

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
― Albert Camus

I love the menu changes at The Springs and Autumn, like the other seasonings, has it’s own spicy flavors to savor. Maybe it was the weekend I spent in LA at my nephew, Danny Bobbe‘s wedding that accentuated the arrival of Fall back home. It was fun and I loved playing in the surf at El Matador beach

…and the scene on the strip between Venice Beach and the Santa Monica pier, where Route 66 meets the Pacific.

Kama Kosmic Krusader

I squeezed in a workday at The Springs on Thursday, October 16 before leaving on a jet plane, and did some brush cutting near signpost #1 and the marl pit factory. It is impractical to try to poison every little buckthorn stub so this effort is to preserve appearances and give other plants a chance. I don’t want to look at flourishing buckthorn resprouts and seedlings until the next burn. A couple days effort with the brush cutter per year is worth it to hold the line.

Here is the area near signpost #1, where the first views of the Scuppernong River Habitat Area open up, after I did some brush cutting.

The area around the marl pit factory before cleanup.

And after…

Pati road her bike out to meet me and, with the threat of rain, we decided to converge in Delafield and visit the Hartland Marsh on the way home. I lament leaving my work at The Marsh unfinished. Without fire in my toolbox, it seemed futile to continually repeat the brush cutting and poisoning cycle. Now, left unattended, the buckthorn is returning to dominate the understory. I’m hoping that the combination of fire and brush cutting will eventually eliminate the invasive woody species at the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail.

I little Hartland Marsh scenery.

I came back to The Marsh yesterday to clear this huge oak branch off the trail.

Then I headed over to The Springs to finish piling brush on the east side of the loop trail just a bit north of the old barn site.

I dug spotted knapweed on the sand prairie and enjoyed visiting with friends passing by. Here are some late afternoon Autumn scenes from the valley along the headwaters of the Scuppernong River.

The spring at the old fish hatchery site.

Sunset at the Indian Spring.

Parting shots from the sand prairie.

See you at The Springs!

In the heart of a seed

Posted on October 13, 2013 by paulmozina

The Little Plant

In the heart of a seed,
Buried deep so deep,
A tiny plant
Lay fast asleep.
“Wake,” said the sunshine,
“And creep to the light.”
“Wake,” said the voice
Of the raindrops bright.
The little plant heard
And it rose to see,
What the wonderful,
Outside world might be.

Way back on September 21, I participated with Jared Urban, Ginny Coburn, Zach Kastern, Rob “the seed man” Baller, and other nature lovers collecting native plant seeds at the Bald Bluff State Natural Area. Rob is a botanist/ecologist and current vice president of the Prairie Bluff Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts with many years experience studying native plants including managing all phases of seed harvesting at Applied Ecological Services, Inc., where he worked for many years. It was very enlightening to seek “the heart of a seed” with him. His scientific approach to ascertaining the viability of seeds in the field prior to collecting them made a lot of sense.

Simple tools like a small tray with edges, a magnifying glass and field guides are helpful. Rob’s approach for every “candidate” plant species was to take a seed sample, peel off the “paper” layers and identify the seed kernels. Only then, using sight and touching with fingers, tongue and teeth, could one judge whether or not the heart of the seed was fully formed and gauge its viability. Years of experience help too. He explained that often the first 10% of a plant’s seed output is not viable and only by peeling back the layers and closely examining the contents could one be sure it was worth the effort. That was a fun day and I learned a lot listening to Jared and Rob. Check out Rob’s new book: The Human Center; why Americans don’t have one; essays on instinct, human scale, and near-equality!

Last Tuesday, October 8, I took advantage of another absolutely gorgeous early fall day to get in some licks at The Springs.

Views from the marl pit bridge.

My mission was to cut the carpet of buckthorn seedlings and resprouts that had emerged on both sides of the newly opened cut-off trail. I discussed this with DNR trail boss Don Dane on a recent walking tour and, now that we are going organic, he suggested I take the brush cutter and mow the seedlings and resprouts, some of which were already over 6′ tall. It may be 2-3 years before we burn the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail again and by then it might prove difficult to get a fire to run through the emerging brush if we don’t keep it down.

This is what I’m talking about.

I’m OK with repeating this effort on a yearly basis pending the next scheduled fire. Cutting the brush will accumulate fuel and give other plants, like the many oak seedlings I found, a chance to get some sunlight. I was able to cut approximately 1/2 of the cut-off trail in a day.

There is an interesting ruin, which I suspect is part of the marl pit operation, alongside the cut-off trail at the red X on the map below.

Here is a close-up look.

Check out the cut-off trail ruins on your next visit!

The sun is setting far enough south on the horizon now to watch it disappear from the sand prairie.

See you at The Springs!

The Buckthorn Tunnel

Posted on October 9, 2013 by paulmozina

In The Buckthorn Metaphor I equate fighting buckthorn with fighting for the truth. A bit of a stretch maybe, but here is another buckthorn metaphor. Remember the last time you were entangled in a complex emotional conflict with at least one other person? How did you get there and what is the path to resolution? It’s kind of like being lost in a buckthorn tunnel: one minute your just walking down the trail and the next thing you know, the buckthorn has grown so thick that it envelops you.

The first hundred yards of the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail taken in the counter clock-wise direction could only be described as a Buckthorn Tunnel. Using towering aspen clones for support, the buckthorn had grown tall and lush on both sides of the trail literally forming a tunnel. During my recent camping adventure at Ottawa Lake I got the chance to shed light at the end of the buckthorn tunnel with my chainsaw. And, via the power of podcasts, I got some useful tools for resolving interpersonal conflict from my friends at Tragedy and Hope that I want to try to integrate.

One is Marshall Rosenberg‘s idea of Non-Violent Communication, which is explained in relation to critical thinking in this excellent article by Darrell Becker. The other is Edward Di Bono’s The Six Thinking Hats, which is a fantastic way to think in parallel and cover all the bases when trying to resolve an issue. Listen to Di Bono enlightening lecture.

I began ripping down the buckthorn tunnel at The Springs near signpost #1.

At the end of the day…

After years of walking through this deeply shaded tunnel of buckthorn, my eyes were eagerly awaiting the views of the landscape and open skies. I was able to get after it two more times before folding my tent. The next time out I cut the east side of the trail.

And here is how it looked afterwards.

Then I cut the west side of the trail.

And after…

I cut heaps of buckthorn that is now waiting to be piled and burned. Opening up views of the landscape and letting the sun shine in is exciting and I deeply appreciate every minute I spend at The Springs. At a much smaller scale I dug out spotted knapweed on the sand prairie in anticipation of sowing the seeds that Amanda Prange, Don Dane and their helpers have been collecting nearby. Since visiting the sand prairie a 1/2 mile east of forest headquarters along the Ice Age Trail and the pasque flower preserve sand prairie just north of Piper Road alongside the horse trail, I know better now what “success” looks like.

Gentian near the boardwalk leading to the Emerald Spring

Ottawa Lake site #335 Sunset reprise.

See you at The Springs!

My Shangri-La

Posted on October 9, 2013 by paulmozina

The walls were closing in on me when I left Milwaukee on September 19th and I hoped a little camping adventure at Ottawa Lake would provide some breathing space. The serendipitous discovery of a little Shangri-La at the Ottawa Lake Campground walk-in sites #335-334 will bring me joy for years to come.

I had been camping at Whitewater Lake for the first 3 nights of the trip and met Pati there on Sunday morning. We visited the Whitewater Prairie

and took a hike on the Ice Age Trail

and then she offered to help me setup camp at Ottawa Lake. Lindsay and Connie joined us shortly after with a bottle of wine to compliment Pati’s and we got the dinner and the fire started.

Lindsay and I squinted through the wall of buckthorn blocking the view to Ottawa Lake and I was determined to cut a corridor through it the very next day. “Cut it all!” Lindsay exclaimed. Pati called it my Shangri-La, and with The Springs right across Hwy ZZ it definitely qualifies as a mystical, harmonious, earthly paradise; I could definitely be permanently happy there!

Here is the view from site #335 as I was just getting started.

And after…

I harvested a downed red oak for firewood

and enjoyed many nights playing guitar by the fire as the music passed through me like the wind.

When I wasn’t cutting buckthorn or sharpening my chains I did a little sight seeing of a couple of nearby sand prairies and got in a few yoga asanas at the marl pit bridge. I hit a stretch of phenomenal weather; warm, sunny days and dark, starry nights.

I don’t know what this plane was spraying; that is not a normal contrail.

I returned to site #335 for 5 more nights the following week and was fortunate that no one was camping at site #334, the other walk-in site, so I had the opportunity to cut the buckthorn blocking the views of this site too. Here is how it looked before I got started.

and after.

I followed the trail that runs along the east side of Ottawa Lake north past site #334 and found this crystal clear stream flowing from the spring that is on the North/East side of Hwy 67, across from the Sky Dance dog kennels. This is yet another spring source ultimately feeding the Scuppernong River.

I’m really looking forward to returning to Shangri-La for another week at the end of October!

See you at The Springs!

Landscape Gardening the Scuppernong Trail

Posted on September 15, 2013 by paulmozina

I want to reveal the natural beauty of the landscape at the Scuppernong Springs and hope to inspire a peaceful and harmonious mental state in all who pass thru. By cutting down curtains of buckthorn and cattail, I’m deepening the field of vision creating unique perspectives, both narrow and broad, that showcase the lay of the land. Water percolates through the undulating glacial moraines to the east, springing forth in the valley at the headwaters of the Scuppernong River, and flows west into the prairie. The Springs are a unique, “world class”, convergence of topographies and ecosystems.

Saturday, September 14, was a beautiful day to be out in the Kettle Moraine (hmmm, are those chemtrails?)

Amanda Prange and Melanie Kapinos have organized volunteer workdays in the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest that include a wide variety of activities. Here is the latest schedule:

I joined the seed gathering party at Paradise Springs and we started collecting in the prairie just west of the Gotten cabin, which is astonishingly beautiful! Amanda informed me that there are two sand prairies, one a half mile from forest headquarters and another off Piper Road, that are almost ready for seed collecting and I’m going to check these places out next week. Below, Amanda explains what seeds to gather and how to do it.

Before joining the seed gathering, I stopped at The Springs and visited the location shown in blue below, to collect, and dispose of, all the american burnweed seed heads that were just beginning to release.

I must confess, that I lacked the patience and skill required to harvest seeds from the prairie that day and didn’t stay long. I was chomp’in at the bit to return to the area marked above to cut buckthorn and open up the views down to the river valley from this stretch of the trail. Here is what it looked like before I started.

And after…

It was a busy day at the Springs and I really enjoyed meeting Kevin and Rachael, first time visitors, at the marl pit bridge.

On my customary evening stroll my path converged with a family including two beautiful and interested young people, and they warmed my heart. Later, back at the marl pit bridge I ran into Michael and Karen, who live nearby and subscribe to this post, and we had an excellent time talking and trying to photograph sphinx moths in the fading light. I encouraged them to do a guest post!