Lost on a Lost Trail

Posted on December 16, 2012 by paulmozina

We got rained out yesterday and that was great. Today, well rested and sharpened, Lindsay and I started cutting Buckthorn at the Eastern junction of the Lost Trail (first described here, with more details here). It took a few minutes to locate the route that DNR Trail Boss Don Dane flagged for us back in August.

I began clearing the trail junction while Lindsay worked reopening the trail. Here are a few before and after shots of the trail junction. This is the view into the Lost Trail.

The view West along the loop trail leading to the parking lot.

The view East on the loop trail heading towards the Old Hotel and Saw Mill.

The view North towards the cranberry bog.

And after…

By the time I finished this, Lindsay had progressed way down the trail. I joined him and we continued on to within less than 100 yards of the Marl Pits. We are planning to finish opening up this cutoff trail on Wednesday the 19th. You can see how far we got marked in White below. There is still a lot of brush to cut between the trail and the river so we’ll be working in this area for a while.

Here is a video tour of the Lost Trail. Note, at the beginning of the cutoff trail that we did not attempt to cut all the little Prickly Ash with our chain saws. I’ll get this on Wednesday with a brush cutter and then we’ll hit them with a foliar spray in the Spring when the re-sprout.

I forgot to mention in the last post that we saw 5-6 good sized Brook Trout lingering at a little bend in the river by signpost #10. This is one of their favorite spots to hang out but we haven’t seen them there for a while. The sunlight was perfect and we got a real good look. I also saw one later in the Emerald Spring.

On the North Side

Posted on December 13, 2012 by paulmozina

We started a new chapter in the Scuppernong River Nature Trail restoration effort today as we began cutting the Buckthorn on the North side of the River. The area is scratched out in white on the map below. Our goal is to reopen The Lost Trail that bisects the loop trail, which I highlighted in white below. We want to clear the area between the trail and the River.

Mark Mamerow, who was assigned as my “buddy” almost 25 years ago when I started working at Northwestern Mutual, is still keeping an eye on me. He piled brush all day and made a great contribution. Rich Csavoy did some piling and cutting as well. And last, but not least, Pati came out to help pile brush and clear the “Sawmill Springs”.

Mark cleaned up the area by the bridge over the River at the Hotel Springs.

And After…

My before pictures on the North side of the River did not turn out, but here are a couple.

And after…

Lindsay and I have noticed a Spring just North of signpost #12 so we’ll call it the “Sawmill Springs”. We began clearing this one out today.

And after…

This still needs a bit of work.

We noticed this permit posted on the bridge over the Scuppernong River at signpost #5. This is where the Water Flow Gauges will be installed.

In case you were wondering, the algae bloom we reported at the Hotel Springs has completed disappeared.

Mark, Pati and I enjoyed the sunset from the Indian Campground.

Down by the River

Posted on December 8, 2012 by paulmozina

You never know who you’ll run into at the Springs. This morning Kris Hinrichs, the outgoing director of the Lakefront Marathon, was taking pictures for her Project 365. We had a nice visit and compared notes on what was ailing our bodies. I searched high and low on the various Project 365 websites and Facebook but could not find her photos. Kris, if see this, please put a link to your Project 365 photo gallery in a comment to this post.

I took these pics on the way to get some drinking water for the day from the Scuppernong Spring.

The Hillside Springs.

Rich Csavoy and Lindsay Knudsvig joined me and our agenda was to re-pile the phragmites that our religious friends piled back in July so that it would burn better and to finish piling all the brush along the river trail.

These phragmites piles are too spread out and would be hard to start when covered with snow. This area is by the Hidden Springs.

And after…

The observation deck area by the Emerald Springs.

We almost finished piling all of the brush along the river trail.

Thanks Rich and Lindsay! I hope to have an “about” Rich page added to the site soon.

After the work was done, Lindsay and I took some time to enjoy Mother Nature and we scouted out some areas where we plan to open up additional Springs.

Be on my side,
I’ll be on your side

See you at the Springs!

Waiting for the Snow

Posted on December 6, 2012 by paulmozina

It looks like we will break the record for consecutive days without snow, 279, this Saturday. I miss the snow so much, I had to go to the March 2012 archives just to get a little fix.

Our DNR friends Amanda and Anne suggested to the Kettle Moraine Natural History Association that they give Lindsay and I a gift to show their appreciation for our efforts. I paid a visit to Forest Headquarters this morning to pick up our Kettle Moraine State Forest tote bags loaded with goodies. Thanks!

Amanda is preparing seeds for us to sow at the Springs.

I got a chance to catch up with Paul Sandgren, DNR Superintendent for the Kettle Moraine State Forest. Paul and Ron Kurowski gave me the go ahead to resume working at the Springs back in May, 2011 and I can’t thank them enough.

After my visit to Forest Headquarters, I returned to the Springs and continued piling brush that we cut on the hilltop just above of the Hillside Springs.

And after…

Here is another perspective.

I didn’t see a soul out there today, had the place all to myself.

I’ll be waiting for you to come along at the Springs.

Respect the Land

Posted on December 1, 2012 by paulmozina

Today Rich and I continued cutting and piling on the hilltop where we left off last time. During a break we discussed our mutual respect and admiration for the Native Americans, who nurtured the land and understood it’s mysteries. When considering their impact on the earth, they planned ahead 7 generations.

Pati Holman and Jim Brown joined us in the afternoon and we got a lot done. Thanks!

Here are a few before shots.

And after…

Later, our friend Andrea Goetzinger paid her first visit to the Springs. She’ll be back for sure!

One of the reasons we are cutting the phragmites and cattails along the river is to take a close look at the land and identify where springs are flowing. We recently found a new one by the bridge over the river near the Hotel Springs (see Map). I took a few minutes at the end of the day today to open this one up. I’ll get some better pictures next time. There are a couple of really nice springs here.

It’s flowing freely now and there is a little waterfall that makes a pleasing gurgle.

There are more springs in this area yet to be revealed…

I hope to see you out at the Scuppernong Springs!

All for one, one for all!

Posted on November 30, 2012 by paulmozina

… the Three BrushCuteers cried as they fired up their chainsaws. Rich, Lindsay and I took the battle to the enemy today and many a stout and formidable foe was slain, dismembered and piled. The battle ground was the hilltop/sand dune just above the Hillside and Hidden Springs (see Map), where we have been working recently.

Rich Csavoy attacked a patch of Black Locust.

And it’s clear who got the better of this fight!

Porthos, aka Lindsay Knudsvig, beat back a frontal assault of Buckthorn and Black Locust while defending the High Ground.

When it was over, you could not cross the battlefield without stepping on a corpse of the invasive enemy.

Meanwhile, Paul ambushed a small army of Buckthorn attempting to sneak up on Lindsay’s blind side.

They never new what hit them.

Anne Korman, Assistant Superintendent of the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, stopped by to enjoy the Springs and offer support and encouragement. Thanks!

This Saturday, December 1rst, The Three BrushCuteers plan to return to the field of battle in the same location. Hope to see you at the Springs!

Happy ThanksSpringing!

Posted on November 27, 2012 by paulmozina

I was nourished by a wellspring of thankfulness and joy today. I’m lucky to be retired and have the opportunity to work at the Scuppernong Springs, and it just gets better and better. To everyone that loves and inspires me…. thank you, thank you.

I swung the brush cutter all day starting on the hilltop at the South end of the Nature Trail by the Scuppernong Spring.

And after.

I’m coming back to this area later this week with the chainsaw.

I spent the rest of the day cutting phragmites and cattail by the river. Walking the land like this is a great way to take an inventory and I’m finding evidence of a lot more springs.

And after.

It was a very peaceful day and I hung out for a while enjoying the moonlight.

I Can See More Piles and Piles

Posted on November 25, 2012 by paulmozina

It was cold enough to snow. We haven’t seen any since last March and we’re poised to set a record for days without snow. I hope we get some soon because we have a lot of brush piles to burn. Today I continued making brush piles on the hilltop between the Scuppernong Springs and the Indian Campground.

There are some nice, new, views of the river opening up from this high spot. Here are a couple shots looking down at Connie and Sophia standing by the Scuppernong Spring.

As the sun broke through the clouds around noon, I was treated to flock after flock of Sand Hill Cranes migrating South. They slowed to a lazy float as they loitered high above me, discussing our work in progress at the Springs no doubt.

Good news! The algae is receding at the Hotel Springs. When I met DNR Water Resources Management Specialist Craig Helker on November 15th, I forgot to ask him to check out the algae but he gave this reply via email after checking out my pics:

“If you would, please keep an eye on the algae – say, over the next few months and into spring. We’ll see what happens. I’m curious if it’s a fall phenomenon, or there is something more sinister going on. I didn’t speciate it out, but it does not appear to be “rock-snot”, which was my number one fear. So, that’s a positive.”

We’ll definitely keep an eye on it and consult with Craig.

“I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles
Oh yeah”

I’ll be heading back to the Springs on Monday, November 26th to finish piling brush along the river.

Every Pile You Make

Posted on November 22, 2012 by paulmozina

The allure of the Hatching House Springs was irresistible, compelling us to pause our brush piling efforts for a couple days. Today I picked up where we left off last time and finished piling at the Indian Springs.

There is a second, smaller, spring and channel next to the Indian Spring and I finally got around to cleaning the brush out of it.

The main Indian Spring outflow channel is on the right below and the spring shown above joins on the left side.

Looking back up towards the spring source.

Next, I went to the hilltop I cut back in October and, along with Pati, made a few more piles. This is where we will resume this Saturday.

The last thing we did was clean the leaves out of the Scuppernong Spring and the Hillside Springs. One of the four Hillside Springs has dried up! I’ll get some pictures with morning light.

It’s another phragmites sunset.

I’ll be watch’in for you out at the Springs.

The Hatching House Springs

Posted on November 18, 2012 by paulmozina

I knew it was going to be a great day when I saw Lindsay’s smiling face!

We picked up where we left off on Thursday at the newly christened “Hatching House Springs” (see #9 on the Map). Our goal was to open up the Springs and cut and pile the huge Willow that had fallen into the wetland. Many of the Willow branches were taking root. We also wanted to finish brush-cutting the cattail, which was concealing yet another series of springs closer to the bridge. Here are some before shots.