Summer's recap #phenology

September meadows have turned from green to tan, washed by pinkish-purple or purplish-pink. Our meadows have been brightened by the colors of little bluestem and purple lovegrass, with brown accents of round-headed bush clover.

purple love grass and bush clover in August

Photo by J. Harrington

Thinking back over the Summer now almost entirely past, we have no recollection seeing any snakes or turtles; fewer sightings of turkeys [than most years]; no bucks in velvet; plus, we know we missed several local patches of wildflowers while they were in bloom. On the other hand, we did see our first monarch chrysalis; our first katydid; we also noticed several tree frogs and American toads; plus the usual mix of songbirds but with fewer exotics than most years.

a pair of whooping cranes, an endangered species

Photo by J. Harrington

Although we still haven't labeled the photos, our visit to the International Crane Foundation let us see more kinds of cranes than ever before. A second trip this year to the Aldo Leopold Foundation's buildings near Baraboo let us see many sandhill cranes and Canada geese gleaning some harvested small grain fields between the city and the Foundation's buildings. In between our two trips to Baraboo, we visited the driftless area around Viroqua. Unfortunately, several of those valleys suffered severe flooding several weeks after our visit. Perhaps another visit next Summer would be in order, to help restore local economies eroded this Summer.

Autumn Grasses

Margaret Gibson

In fields of bush clover and hay-scent grass
the autumn moon takes refuge
The cricket’s song is gold

Zeshin’s loneliness taught him this

Who is coming?
What will come to pass, and pass?

Neither bruise nor sweetness nor cool air
not-knowing
knows the way

And the moon?
Who among us does not wander, and flare
and bow to the ground?

Who does not savor, and stand open
if only in secret

taking heart in the ripening of the moon?

(Shibata Zeshin, Autumn Grasses, two-panel screen)

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