Pheasant Branch

   I've made a couple trips to the Pheasant Branch Conservancy north of Middleton. Both days
offered up natures best.
   The paths are well groomed, many are covered with pea gravel. Just off the parking lot is a huge
area of restored prairie, at this time of year these trails are lined by last years dried remains. We choose to take the gravel path that lead to where the old farm house had stood since the mid 1800's. The signage here was full of great information about the history behind this conservancy. Here we got our first taste of what was to come.

 
  The path then took us on an easy ascent to the top of the hill, at each slight turn
we saw something of interest. Like the still golden stems of little bluestem waving in the wind.

 

   There are many new homes with back yards that attach to this treasure, in many ways it made us  jealous. Near the top of hill there are several paths leading off in different directions but they all eventually looped back. We could see for miles where ever we looked. It was a bit hazy but the Madison skyline was in the background beyond Lake Mendota. ( I have been here in the summer and there were sailboats gliding across the shining blue water).
   

    There are several Native American mounds here.
Some of them have been dated to about 2000 BC.
The others are much newer about 500 years old. They are believed to have been
built by the Winnebago and Ho-chunk tribes.

         Another view of the water shed from the top of the hill.
   A wonder filled finish to the hike is a stop at where a spring bubbles out of the bottom of the hillside. There is a deck above the magical pool of water filled with mini geysers of sand rising to the surface. There are steps that will take you down to the edge for a closer look. This is the first spring in a series that creates the creek.

On the first day there, we spotted a wood chuck collecting leaves to line it's den hidden under the massive roots of an oak tree. Perhaps later in the summer we'll see it's young playing at the waters edge.

 

    Remember to click on a photo to enlarge the group.

Heading north

  The other day as the snowfall began to diminish in the afternoon I shoveled out under the bird feeders. In no time after I put down what I call critter mix groups of birds took turns filling their bellies.
   First came the cardinals, juncos and sparrows. Then several mourning doves stopped by.
After awhile I lost interest and turned away to watch a movie. I was sitting with my back to the window where the action was going on. At one point there seem to be a large shadow moving across the yard. Upon checking, it was a flock of about one hundred plus red-winged black birds with a some common grackles mixed in. I spent about an hour watching their comedy show after that. They'd all start in the trees then down to the ground, after about two minutes back into the tree. This was repeated a couple times then they'd make a circle around the house and would end up back in the same tree and repeat the cycle.
  The sharp-shinned hawk was watching all this and made several flights through the yard.
This hawk has spent about five winters here and never hit a window to my knowledge.
Not so this day three times there was a thump on the window. I think all the choices caused it lose track of where it was headed. There are five feeding stations in my yard so they were spread out.
This group of photos calls for a click to enlarge!

 

Waves and white caps !!!

  The wind out of the west was driving the water back up river today.
It offered a great show.