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!

Spring Break

Posted on September 18, 2013 by paulmozina

Thanks again for following my exploits at The Springs!

I’m going camping near The Springs — back online in a couple weeks. I’ll definitely be mixing a little work with pleasure and hopefully, will have some good stories to tell when I get back.

I’m under assault again from borrelia burgdorferi, and his bacterial buddy, ehrlichia. They definitely have a monthly cycle. I could barely get out of bed yesterday, but I’m feeling much better now. I’m hoping that fresh air and water, and lots of rest, exercise and good organic vegetarian food will get me back on track. Nevertheless, I have tons of medical tests to review with my doctor when I get back in town — it ain’t over yet.

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!

Check out Michael’s sphinx moth pictures!

See you at The Springs!

The Tibby Line

Posted on September 12, 2013 by paulmozina

Storms clouded the skies and my mind as I arrived early September 11th at The Springs.

I was reminded of the fact that, although September 11, 2001 was a bright, sunny, day in the city, hurricane Erin, a category 3 hurricane, passed by just offshore as the towers disintegrated.

There is a lot we know — or choose not to know — about what really happened on 9/11. Don Rumsfeld explained the conundrum: “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.” Now juxtapose that with the words of the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard: “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” So long as the majority of people choose to remain ignorant, i.e. to not ask who, what, where and when, examine the facts and remove the contradictions, regarding the events of September 11, 2001, the crime of the century, we will continue down the path of endless war that we are on.

I found solace for my breaking heart and worried mind at The Springs yesterday. My first stop was the drainage ditch along the trail near signpost #1 in which a curtain of cattails had risen up to obstruct the view into the Scuppernong Prairie.

And after…

White turtlehead is a new plant for me (thanks for the ID John).

Water Smartweed (Polygonum amphibium). I found it in the meadow in front of signpost #1. Thanks to Amanda Prange for identifying it!

This great plains ladies-tresses is near the marl pit bridge.

On my way to the marl pit area I noticed that someone had made off with two of the original rails from the Dousman Marlboro & Southern railroad at signpost #2. Robert Duerwachter, the author of THE PONDS OF THE SCUPPERNONG, also wrote a fine history of this railroad called The Tibby Line, which you can find at the bookstore at the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest headquarters. John Hrobar noticed last week that one of the rails had been loosened and he suggested that I try to secure it before it got stolen. Sorry John. You can sum up all of Natural Law in one statement: Do Not Steal!

The area between the gaging station bridge #5 and the marl pit bridge #4 is another meadow that is being invaded by cattails, phragmities, purple loosestrife and reed canarygrass. Here is a look before I got after it with the hedge cutter.

And after…

Then I went to a cranberry bog along the cutoff trail to finish piling some buckthorn that I cut last spring. My to-do list is clear now and I’m looking forward to getting back to Buckthorn Alley. I had a little time at the end of the day to dig spotted knapweed on the sand prairie.

Relaxing at the marl pit bridge.

Another sweet sunset.

See you at The Springs!

Scuppernong Springs Refuge

Posted on September 9, 2013 by paulmozina

Nature is my refuge, it’s been my Bridge Over Troubled Waters ever since I was a boy growing up in a family of 12, and now no less since I’ve become aware of the truth about how the world really works. I feel a bit selfish spending so much time at The Springs; shouldn’t I be doing something to stop the U.S. intervention in Syria, or, nurturing my gardens at home?

The world “out there” is never far from mind when I’m at my Scuppernong Springs Refuge. I felt comforted and protected there yester-Sun-day morning and, as the day progressed, I calmed down a little.

I started the day in the lower meadow cutting cattails and purple loosestrife. I have seen loosestrife eating beetles and their effects at The Springs; nevertheless, this will be a bumper year for the purple invader.

As I was walking along the south side of the river in the lower meadows heading back to my truck, I had to stop and appreciate how beautiful it was (sorry, the video is blurry for the first couple seconds, while the camera focuses.)

I’m cleaning up my “to do list” — last time it was girdling black locust — and there was some brush I cut back in the spring between the cut-off trail and the river that I needed to get piled (note, I mistakenly refer to the upper meadows at the beginning of the video, s/b lower meadows.)

There is one more place that needs piling and I’m chomp’in at the bit to start whacking buckthorn again. Meanwhile, I spent the afternoon pulling and digging weeds, mostly spotted knapweed on the sand prairie. I’m seeing tons of young lupine plants on the western slope of the north side of the prairie and, in many cases, I was able to dig out the knapweed leaving the lupine unmolested, which was very satisfying.

Later, I took a walk around the trail and captured these images of the lower meadow

After a cloudy day, the sun came out just in time for me to take a dip in the river and do a bit of yoga at the marl pit bridge. I got these parting shoots as the clouds thickened again.

See you at The Springs!

Scuppernong Summer

Posted on September 7, 2013 by paulmozina

Usually you’ll find me in the mountains this time of year, when they are gentle and uncrowded. This year I’m looking forward to experiencing the waning days of summer right here at home — at the Scuppernong Springs.

I’m taking liberties at The Springs including attempting to transition the cattail and phragmities dominated marshes that border the river into wet meadows, which will encompass a wider diversity of flora and fauna. The upper meadows (shown in blue below) are along the river valley upstream of the sawmill site #12 and the lower meadows (in red) are downstream from there to the gaging station bridge #5.

The upper meadows

It was a beautiful summer day at The Springs yesterday and I got started with a project that has been on my mind for some time i.e., re-girdling the black locust trees on the south end of the loop trail. Some years ago the DNR hired a person to girdle the trees in this area and they did approximately 200 of them before committing suicide (he did not mention the black locust trees being a motivating factor in his last note). Unlike this unhappy forester, many of the trees survived despite being deeply wounded. I re-girdled around 40 trees and added a new girdle to another 20 or so.

There is a vernal pool inside the south end of the loop trail just below the trees shown in the beginning of the video above that was filling in with phragmities, reed canarygrass and Japanese knotweed and I spent some time with the hedge trimmer cutting the flowering seed heads from these invasive plants. Then I headed over to the west edge of the lower meadows at the gaging station bridge to cut some cattails. Below are before and after videos, and again, I was able to cut above most of the flowering heads of the aster, golden rod and joe pye weed.

I almost finished before the hedge trimmer jammed. Then I headed up to the south end of the sand prairie and dug out spotted knapweed for a couple hours and finally finished the day pulling Japanese knotweed on the hillside just south of the Indian Springs. It was a great day to stop and enjoy the sky, the breeze and the summer flowers that are approaching their peak color.

Another Scuppernong Sunset

See you at The Springs!

Spring Meditations

Posted on September 4, 2013 by paulmozina

I spent another blissful day at The Springs yesterday contemplating the age old question: “Why am I here?” It’s the labor of love, and I know who to thank. Imitating Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations:

From my grandfather Verus I learned good morals and the government of my temper.
From the reputation and remembrance of my father, modesty and a manly character.
From my mother, piety and beneficence, and abstinence, not only from evil deeds, but even from evil thoughts; and further, simplicity in my way of living, far removed from the habits of the rich.
From my great-grandfather, not to have frequented public schools, and to have had good teachers at home, and to know that on such things a man should spend liberally.

From Mike and Yvonne Fort (Friends of Lapham Peak), I learned what a labor of love is, and that has made all the difference.

I’ll never forget the time, almost 20 years ago, I was wandering the trails behind the Ice Age Trail Alliance storage barn at Lapham Peak, modestly intoxicated, playing The Battle of Evermore on Pati’s mandolin, when I saw Mike and Yvonne pulling sweet clover from a prairie they were restoring. As Lau Tzu said, “The longest journey begins with a single step”, and their vision, manifest in the prairies and oak woodlands of Lapham Peak State Park, inspired me to take the first step in discovering my own labor of love.

One last thought from Marcus Aurelius — who was probably one of the most powerful men to have ever walked the face of the earth — I heard from John Taylor Gatto in The Ultimate History Lesson: “Nothing you can buy with your money is worth having, and no one you can boss around with your power is worth associating with.”

It was a misty morning and I lingered at the Hotel Spring before heading up the trail, past the old barn site, to meet a fallen red oak or two. Keeping a trail clear can be challenging and is always gratifying.

This one wasn’t blocking the trail yet, and, since I was all geared up for it, I took it out too.

On my way back to the truck I passed by the bend in the river across from the old barn site and decided to cut the cattails in this area too, given the excellent results we see in the “upper meadows“.

Before and after video perspectives below.

Then I headed over to the Indian Springs to tangle with Japanese Knotweed, which, per Don Dane, is growing like crazy all over the Kettle Moraine State Forest Southern Unit.

I see the wisdom in Jason Dare‘s advice to focus on herbaceous weeds for as long in the growing season as makes sense. I’ll be pulling Japanese Knotweed for another week at least and this is one that I definitely need to learn how to identify in the early spring when it first appears.

It was a cool evening and I was glad to leave the bug net in my pocket.

Sand Prairie Sunset

Marl Pit Bridge Reprise

See you at The Springs!

Spring Labor Days

Posted on September 2, 2013 by paulmozina

Thanks again for checking out my work at The Springs via these posts! Paradoxically, it’s serious play, entertaining study and effortless labor. I’m so lucky!

Yesterday was the first of September and I had loads off my mind as I drove out to the Kettle Moraine State Forest. I was looking forward to meeting a carpenter, Bryan Menning and trail boss, Don Dane to review some construction projects we have in mind for The Springs. The Kettle Moraine Natural History Association has generously offered to fund:

2 new observation decks overlooking springs on the east side of the river
A new observation deck and bench at the Indian Spring
A new bridge near the marl pit factory that would cross a drainage ditch and connect the main loop trail with the recently reopened cutoff trail
A short boardwalk spanning a ditch that drains an old cranberry bog along the cutoff trail

The sites are marked with blue numbers on the map below.

I began the day in chest waders pulling watercress near the Emerald Spring observation deck and a few other places where it was especially thick. Then I headed over to the marl pit area to pull weeds including: Canada Fleabane, American Burnweed, Common Ragweed and Queen Anne’s Lace. I’ve seen fleabane and burnweed dominate the disturbed areas I cleared at the Hartland Marsh and I don’t want to see that happen at The Springs. Common ragweed has some redeeming qualities that I just became aware of via the link above; I’ll have to reconsider pulling it.

Views from the marl pit bridge

American Burnweed at the marl pit factory

I ran into John and Sue Hrobar on the sand prairie and John shared his perspective that, by cutting down weeds like canada fleabane and brush cutting red oak, buckthorn, cherry re-sprouts and other woody brush on the prairie, I’m reducing the amount of organic material produced and thus the amount of fuel accumulating for the next prescribed burn. In the case of the woody brush, that makes sense to me, but I’ve seen how quickly and thoroughly weeds like canada fleabane can dominate disturbed areas, so I’m hesitant to let them go to seed.

Sue captured these incredible pictures of a northern water snake with a grass pickerel in a death grip. I wonder how it turned out!

After pulling weeds down by the Indian Spring for a while, I met Bryan and Don over by the DNR parking area above the Hotel Springs. I’ve been trying for months to find someone with the skill and inclination to build the projects we have in mind and I’m confident that we have the right person. Bryan lives in the neighborhood, knows The Springs very well, and he just completed rebuilding a bridge over the Bark River on the Glacial Drumlin Trail for the DNR.

2 new observation decks overlooking springs on the east side of the river (note the sign with #9 and Emerald Spring has been moved to the boardwalk that leads to the Emerald Spring. #9, described in the Trail Brochure, is the Old Fish Hatchery, so we need two separate signs for these locations.)

A new observation deck and bench at the Indian Spring

A new bridge near the marl pit factory that would cross a drainage ditch and connect the main loop trail with the recently reopened cutoff trail

A short boardwalk spanning a ditch that drains an old cranberry bog along the cutoff trail

Thanks again to Ron Kurowski, from the Kettle Moraine Natural History Association, and Don Dane for being instrumental in the progress of this effort! We’re looking forward to reviewing Bryan’s proposals!

A brief shower blew in from the northwest and, from the looks of these clouds and the distant thunder, we could have had a real storm.