Messenger of the Gods

Iris is the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow – who also happens to be the messenger of the gods. 

 

This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek/modern Latin source) for the colored part of the eye and the flower.

 

 

From our walk this morning there was this: Iris versicolor - Northern Blue Flag.

 

 

Blue Flag Irises are native wetland plants, commonly found in wet meadows, marshes, along stream banks, and near ponds and lakes.

Friday Music

From a couple of nights ago the resident Frog Chorale has romance on their mind.

One of my favorite rites of spring...

 

 

Great White

Meet Ardea alba – the Great Egret.  This rare visitor actually paid us a call the other day.  They never stick around, so they must be passing-thru. 

An entirely white bird - they are a tall wading species with long black legs and a yellow-orange, dagger-like bill. These birds are found in both salt water and fresh water habitats and build their stick nest high in trees.  They live in colonies and prefer island-living so as to be safe from predators like raccoons.  This bird doesn’t nest here as I believe we are pushing the furthest extent of their breeding range.  Besides, we have no islands.  Great egrets can be found breeding on a few islands in the lower waters of Green Bay.  You can spot them crossing the Leo Frigo Bridge at the harbor entrance.

This bird spent the afternoon dining on whatever it could catch in the big pond just south of Silver Creek.  Standing still for a period of time it would suddenly thrust its bill into the shallows.  One less frog in the mix so it seems. 

Post-Burn Update

There's an old saying about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence.

On May 10th of this year we conducted a prescribed burn on the seven acres of pollinator habitat out back.

And at the seven weeks point post-burn things are greening-up rather spectacularly.

View east, north-east....

 

 

 

Scorched Earth Policy

Last Wednesday afternoon, on very short notice, and with the window of opportunity rapidly closing it dried out sufficiently for us to conduct a prescribed burn.

You're probably scratching your head over the notion of someone deliberately setting something on fire beside a BBQ grill.

Drip Torch

Over several generations it has been an accepted practice to suppress Ma Nature's use of fire to maintain the natural order.  While suppressing fire will bring a smile the face of Smokey Bear it also has unintended consequences.  Without the impact of fire combustible fuel accumulates on the landscape making any fire event more dangerous.  Witness the devastating wildfires in California, Colorado and other states.  

 

So, at usually three year intervals, we have a professional burn crew set fire to the seven acres of grassland  wildlife habitat that constitutes our backyard.  This removes combustible material that is close to the house and has other benefits that I'll enumerate.  

Our local BUG Fire Department authorized the burn and both their leadership team and county dispatch is kept informed of the timing.

A controlled burn accomplishes a number of things.  Included among them are:

1. Fire removes excess fuel (built-up thatch) thereby reducing the risk of an out-of-control wildfire.
2. Fire returns valuable nutrients to the soil
3. Fire kills undesirable woody vegetation, invasive plant species and the blackened earth warms-up quickly in the spring sunshine stimulating the growth of desirable native plants
4. Following the application of fire the resulting flush of desirable plant regrowth is a benefit to wildlife – including insects, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds.

Photos and video clips.....

 

Burn crew

 

Back burning against the wind

 

 

 

Setting the head fire with the wind

 

 

 

Resulting blackened surface

 

 

Sacred Plant

In its genus category - Verbena - is Latin for 'sacred plant' likely harking back to the past when this plant may have been used for purported medicinal properties.

From our daily walk there is now this.

Coming online in the past several weeks is Verbena hastata - Blue Vervain - a native plant with a long stem and a bright blue flower spike that is now blooming.  

Big, giant clumps of them as in the photo.

To be clear we never panted a single stalk of this stuff.  It was here all the time - its progeny slumbering in the heavy wet clay soil constrained by invasive plants.  It was only after decades of burning and nuking invasive cool season grasses that this striking native plant was released from prison.

This plant likes wet feet.  And wet feet we have around here what with the abundant precipitation. The bees and butterflies like this flower for its nectar. 

Stay tuned as more late summer native plants begin to show-off their colorful flowers.

 

Bonus Flower

Meet Lobelia siphilitica – Great Blue Lobelia – a member of the bellflower family.  Also called great lobelia or blue cardinal flower.

Characterized by bright, dark blue flowers that appear in late summer and early fall - lobelia often grows in colonies located in wet prairies, openings in forest bottomland, soggy meadows, marshes, edges of ponds, creeks, swamps or wet pastures. 

A couple of years ago we stumbled-upon this patch growing on the north edge of our backyard rain garden.  We didn’t plant it so Jill suggested that it found its way here by means of duck feet.  Plenty of wet clay soil here – perfect.    

The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract bumblebees, ruby-throated hummingbirds and large butterflies.  Deer avoid it as a consequence of the foliage containing toxic alkaloids that can cause a reaction similar to nicotine poisoning.  

It is a stunning wildflower.  

Bonus too! 

Great White

Meet Ardea alba – the Great Egret.  This rare visitor typically pays a call in May or August.  It showed-up a week ago and has already vamoosed as it continues its journey south for the winter.

An entirely white bird - they are a tall wading species with long black legs and a yellow-orange, dagger-like bill. These birds are found in both salt water and fresh water habitats and build their stick nest high in trees.  They live in colonies and prefer island-living so as to be safe from predators like raccoons.  This bird doesn’t nest here as I believe we are pushing the furthest extent of their breeding range.  Besides, we have no islands. 

I suppose this is a good location for a pit stop.  We've been content to glass the critter from a distance with the binoculars. Standing still for a period of time it would suddenly thrust its bill into the shallows.  One less frog in the mix so it seems. 

 

Messenger of the Gods

Meet Iris Versicolor - commonly known as Blue Flag Iris or Northern Iris, Harlequin Blue Flag, Larger Blue Flag, Poison Flag, plus other variations of these names.  Habitats include wet prairies, along rivers, wet woodlands, swamps, edges of ponds and streams and other low-lying areas along rail lines and roadsides.  It likes wet feet - and it grows naturally along the banks of Silver Creek and in low woodland habitat.  A beautiful and delicate wildflower it propagates by means of an underground rhizome.  Native cultures used the root for medicinal purposes.

In Greek mythology Iris is a personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods - thus explaining the wide range of colors of this member of the iris family.

 

MudBug

Just when I thought things were beginning to dry-out enough to get out with the heavy equipment and complete the brushing of 3+ miles of trails along with stormwater management and trail repairs we got another inch+ of rain this afternoon.

It seems like we're never going to dry-out.  Ugh.

And then there is this.

A first.  Crayfish burrows.  At the edge of the yard.

A high water table it seems.....

 

Before and After a Prescribed Burn

Six weeks following our prescribed burn there was this:

View east - northeast

View south towards the house

Surface of the turf

And a follow-up on some persistent reed canary grass today

This Burn is for the Birds

It has been slightly more than a couple of weeks since we conducted a controlled burn of the pollinator habitat out behind and to the north of the house.  And things have been greening-up nicely since then.  

It has also been exceedingly wet with almost five inches of rain beginning in the early hours Sunday and extending thru Monday.  

If you read yesterday afternoon's update there's a video of the flooding of Silver Creek.

Anyway here are some snapshots from our walk in the spring sunshine yesterday.  I plan to post updates from the same vantage points at likely two week intervals to document the restorative power of a good burn on prairie habitat. 

View east northeast

View south towards the house 

Green-up

 

This Burn is for the Birds

Monday afternoon, on very short notice, and with the window of opportunity rapidly closing it dried out sufficiently for us to conduct a prescribed burn.

You're probably scratching your head over the notion of someone deliberately setting something on fire beside a BBQ grill.

Over the years we have suppressed Ma Nature's use of fire to maintain the natural order.  While suppressing fire will bring a smile the face of my pal Smokey Bear it also has unintended consequences.  Most recent among them have been the devastating wildfires in California and other states.  So, at usually three year intervals, this practice is performed by a professional burn crew on sensitive wildlife habitat.  Plus it removes a boatload of combustible material that is close to the house.  

BUG Fire Department authorized the burn and was in the loop at all times.

A controlled burn accomplishes a number of things.  Included among them are:

1. Fire removes excess fuel (built-up thatch) thereby reducing the risk of an out-of-control wildfire.
2. Fire returns valuable nutrients to the soil
3. Fire kills undesirable woody vegetation, invasive plant species and the blackened earth warms-up quickly in the spring sunshine stimulating the growth of desirable native plants
4. Following the application of fire the resulting flush of desirable plant regrowth is a benefit to wildlife – including insects, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds.

Photos and video clips.....

Burn Crew

Starting to back burn from the west

 

Continuing the back burn

Commencing the head fire from the south

Letting it rip with head fire from the east  

Prime contractor does terrific work

  
The aftermath on our Tuesday morning walk - blackened, scorched earth.  I'll perform some touch-up work with my new Mini Dragon.

Death to the Invader

There are three species of cattail found in Wisconsin—one good guy that is native and desirable and a couple of bad guys that are aggressive and invasive. 

Broad-leaved cattail (Typha latifolia) is a friend of the wetland and narrow-leaved cattail (Typha angustifolia) is undesirable. The other bad guy is a cross-bred – or hybrid – of the two.  Both narrow-leaved and hybrid cattail are aggressive and can take over wetlands crowding-out more desirable plant species. 

Another bad guy is common reed grass or phragmites.  This invasive species is also capable of forming dense stands that crowd out native plants and make a mess of valuable wildlife habitat.  We have engaged both in battle.

Because we happen to share home range with the Blanding's turtle all of the invasives work performed in the wetland habitat is conducted by professionals. One of the rites of fall is putting to death the phragmites and cattails that strive to gain a foothold in the big pond north of the house.  

I spoke with the crew this morning and the report was good.  After several years of diligent treatment the nasties are a shadow of their former selves.  Over the winter a burn plan will be prepared and filed and a burn conducted early next year to set-back the woody invasives and reduce fuel build-up in the wetland and surrounding grassland. 

The other observation was that the grassland was full of deer beds.

A New Discovery

In keeping with my retirement vow of paying closer attention to the natural world that surrounds me I stumbled-upon this stunning flower returning from the daily walk with the girls.

Meet Lobelia siphilitica – Great Blue Lobelia – a member of the bellflower family.   

Characterized by bright, dark blue flowers that appear in late summer and early fall - lobelia often grows in colonies located in wet prairies, openings in forest bottomland, soggy meadows, marshes, edges of ponds, creeks, swamps or wet pastures. 

We stumbled-upon this patch growing on the north edge of our backyard rain garden.  We didn’t plant it so Jill suggested that it found its way here by means of traveling on duck feet.  Plenty of damp clay soil here – perfect.    

The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract bumblebees, ruby-throated hummingbirds and large butterflies.  Deer avoid it as a consequence of the foliage containing toxic alkaloids that can cause a reaction similar to nicotine poisoning.  

What an attractive bonus wildflower this is.

click on images for a closer look

Great White

Meet Ardea alba – the Great Egret.  This rare visitor actually paid us a call today. 

An entirely white bird - they are a tall wading species with long black legs and a yellow-orange, dagger-like bill. These birds are found in both salt water and fresh water habitats and build their stick nest high in trees.  They live in colonies and prefer island-living so as to be safe from predators like raccoons.  This bird doesn’t nest here as I believe we are pushing the furthest extent of their breeding range.  Besides, we have no islands. 

This bird spent the afternoon dining on whatever it could catch in the big pond just south of Silver Creek.  Standing still for a period of time it would suddenly thrust its bill into the shallows.  One less frog in the mix so it seems. 

It just flew-off about thirty minutes ago.

Quack

Less than fifty feet from the back porch at the edge of the yard is a homemade, makeshift rain garden feature that filters water from the gutters on the north side of the house gradually across the prairie planting and in the general direction of the large pond and Silver Creek. 

And you thought I didn't know anything about managing stormwater.  Humpf!

In any event it is seasonally full at the moment so it has a tendency to be ephemeral in nature.  It is presently home to Mr. and Mrs. Mallard.

Apologies for the crappy composition...