We show up late on the Ice Age trail, north of Madison. You’re supposed to be eager and raring to clip and prune at 9. At 8:30 I’m still tampering with my stove-top espresso maker and stuffing granola into a baggie.
By the time we arrive at the designated meeting place, the gung-ho types have long gunned up to the savannah grasslands, sheers and all. We kind of take it slowly. I mean, such a beautiful day! I munch granola, take a photo or two.
Half a dozen eager prairie rescuers are ready to clip around the Trail.
It’s mostly honeysuckle and cherry we want to get rid of.
Honeysuckle and cherry? Sounds pretty to me. I planted honeysuckle and cherry trees in my yards of the past. What do I know.
So clip it low to the ground and paint it blue.
Are we even making a dent? Looks hopeless to me. Lots of clumpy things up and down the hill.
These stumps? They’re cedar stumps. We got rid of those last year.
So I wonder if cedar is a bad tree. I guess so. I'm so uninformed. But I do indeed want to see the prairie restored. I like the idea of pushing back excess growth and finding flowers again.
Come out in May. You’ll see the fruits of your labors: violets and shooting stars everywhere.
Someone else will have to witness the fruits of my labors. I’m on the other side of the ocean then.
into the sun: looking down from the Ice Age trail
into the sun: gold and blue
driving back: farmland and one old house
rewarding hard work: blueberry cheesecake at Sophia's
It's hard to believe that those photos were taken in mid-January in Wisconsin. The colors remind me of Autumn.
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