I was contacted by a neighbor saying they had pink lady’s slippers blooming in their yard; oh, what a wonderful invitation! Semi-hidden amidst some tall grasses, she showed me multiple clumps of these lovely flowers. Pink lady’s slippers are part of the orchid family, and are about 6 to 10 inches tall. They are delicate and stand tall on a single leafless stem. Like other ephemerals they bloom for only a few short days before the deciduous trees form their full canopy of leaves blocking sunlight to the ground. I sat on the ground and marveled at these beauties, thankful that I could enjoy them at their peak.
Wisconsin
A full moonrise
A week ago there was a lovely full moonrise. I stood by the lake and waited for the moon to clear the hill and the trees on the opposite shoreline. The wind slowly settled down, and there was a lovely quiet that wrapped around me. The waves calmed and the lake became still. Then the moon appeared – large and pearl colored, and as it rose it seemed that the tops of the trees were supporting it and offering it up to the night sky. I watched and then my ears picked up the haunting call of a loon at the other end of the lake. It all seemed a perfect rite of spring, and I savored this respite from the many worries of the world right now.
A snowshoe hike through the prairie
It was a cold day with a temperature of 16 degrees, but the sun was shining brilliantly and beckoned us outside. We packed our snowshoes and went to Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary in northwest Wisconsin. The wind was brisk, but if we could snowshoe along the tree line there was a welcome wind break. There was even protection from the wind as we headed across the prairie, and in the valleys of the steep hills we could bask in the sun’s heat. It was late afternoon so the sun threw its shadows across the landscape at a sharp angle. We soaked up the sun and the crisp fresh air of the day and enjoyed the exercise.
A morning coat of hoarfrost
I awoke last weekend to an amazing winter wonderland. The air was cold and still and everything was coated with white hoarfrost. The tree branches were outlined in frost, each individual leaf was outlined, and everything was shining white. I wandered the nearby roads and saw pine trees and shrubs, oak trees and weather vanes, all outlined in white. Even though our snow pack had gotten old and not-so-white, the hoarfrost brightened the entire landscape and gave it a magical look.
Ice fishing on a balmy day
We’d finished our “work” for the day and it was mid-afternoon on an unseasonably balmy day for the North with a temperature of 34 degrees. We loaded up the sled with our ice fishing equipment and headed out across the lake. Leaving a trail behind us, we settled near the middle of the lake, set up our portable fish house and settled in for some comfortable fishing. With protection from the wind, we fished for a couple of hours coming back with crappies, sunfish, and one Northern pike. We packed up after dusk and were beckoned back to the cabin with its warm lights. It was a delightful end to a mid-winter’s day.
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