In Pursuit of Wonder

Jan 15, 2023

Jesse and I went to Larry’s to hike to the top of his bluff where there’s a goat prairie. Larry warned us the walk would be challenging; we’d be postholing the entire way up. But Jesse was determined and I love the exercise. Jesse led the way across the yard, into the barnyard, past the barn, down a small slope into the unused pasture. We observed lots of rabbit tracks. The snow was deep and we sank with every step. I tried to walk in Jesse’s track as much as possible but even that was challenging, especially with his longer stride. Soon we were climbing uphill. We came to a sheltered, low spot in the fence. On the other side, it was still an arduous climb. This side of the bluff was in shadow. We came to a road of sorts that angled up the bluff, making the climb a little less steep. I took note of a deer bed, an indent in the snow. We saw lots of droppings. It was one of those weird winter days that wasn’t cold but neither was it warm. Oak trees still held on to red and russet leaves. I trailed behind Jesse, periodically he’d call out asking if I was coming. 

On the hog’s back, the ridge, we were in the sunlight once again. I took in the trees and some rock outcroppings. We had to duck under and brush past thick scrubby trees that grabbed at us. We were following deer tracks. Jesse thought perhaps we should have gone a little further on the other side to avoid these thick areas but I thought it would have been steep terrain to traverse. A couple sparkling paper birch trees caught my attention. Jesse and I stepped over one. There were so many tracks in the snow. We climbed up and over some rocks, and back down. I found another deer bed. 

We arrived at the slope, the goat prairie above the road. Goat prairies are mainly found along the Upper Mississippi River Vallely. They are considered dry prairies, usually a variant of tallgrass prairie and are found on south-southwest facing slopes. These prairies receive plenty of winter sun to cause frequent freeze-thaw cycles. The soil is thin, so bedrock is barely covered. Goat prairies burned frequently keeping the woods at bay but with the suppression of fire, goat prairies are being colonized by trees, particularly eastern red cedar. Publicly owned, and some privately owned, goat prairies undergo prescribed burning for maintenance. They used to be excellent habitat for timber rattlesnakes which are now rare. 

We had a bird’s eye view of the valley, even Weaver Bottoms, and Wisconsin far off in the distance. With the 600mm lens, I could see there were fishermen on the lake. Jesse had brought a beer with him and sat to enjoy the view and the beer. We enjoyed playing around with the long lens. Just a sliver meandering through the valley, we could observe East Indian Creek up close with the long lens. I perched on a rock above Jesse but was being struck by the wind, I ambled down to him, nestled against the sun beaten bluff. We sat there awhile but we’d soon lose the sun. 

We climbed back up the rocks, through the small, tightly growing trees, some with thorns. Jesse went down from the ridge a bit, on the west side, hoping for a more open trail. It didn’t exactly pan out. It was more open than at first but going over some down logs and going through more thick areas but on steep ground, we went back up and along the ridge. (I also stumbled a bit.) We hiked an open trail among the handful of paper birch trees. Taking in the limestone outcropping. Bittersweet berries contrasted against paper birch. 

Back down the hill. Under a low hanging canopy to a low spot in the woven wire fence. We stepped over. Jesse looked for our tracks but oddly couldn’t find them until we were half way across the pasture. The barn was picturesquely set in the valley. We peered into the barn. A squirrel startled us as it darted down from the beams holding the haymow up. Back across the yard and into the house. We lingered, drying our pants and enjoying the wood stove with some nature magazines and books before going home. 

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