September in the Baraboo Hills

For me, the woods is wonderfully rejuvenating. Let me tell you about one fall day in 1994 with my friend Sandy. We went out to Durward's Glen in the Baraboo Hills near The Wisconsin Dells. It's absolutely beautiful there! I can't quite describe it with all the changing colors of fall. A stream has cut through the rock for the past 12,000 years and left a geological record behind, visible in the layers. You'd never think that such seemingly calm small springs could do so much erosion work, but they do!

I had a great day out there! In those days, Sandy was a budding naturalist, self-taught. She showed me the middons of worms. Did you know that earthworms like to eat oak leaves? These leaves are heartier than others (like maple) and take longer to decompose, so they need a little help from the worms who like to roll them up and drag them down into their holes, where they eat them and turn their fibers back into dirt. Sandy says we're all just temporarily NOT dirt. Anyway, if you look down at a dirt path that might be covered in leaves, and if you look closely enough, you might see these tufts of leaves in various states of decay, rolled up like a lily and sticking out of the ground. And you might wonder, "Well--how did that get there?" Earthworms! Isn't that remarkable?

At the edge of a wild prairie, we spent some time with the Aspens. Their leaves are yellow now and they shimmer in the wind because the stems of their leaves are flat and catch the air just so. Sandy had me put my ear up to one of their trunks and listen. Just listen. I heard a sort of gurgling sound--like plumbing--due to all the motion up on top. That was neat--my favorite part of the whole day.

We also found a fallen log that had turned RED and soft with age and decay. Sandy took a piece in her hand, crumbled it, and brought it to her nose. "Mmmmh! This is humus. This is new dirt." And so it was.

Before we left the Glen, we sat and ate our lunch over-looking the river valley from a field. It was a spectacular view! All those rolling hills and the river cutting through and the changing colors of the leaves. Makes you wish every day could be like that! We also sat underneath a huge 400-year-old oak tree that the priests who take care of the Glen wanted to cut down. There is nothing wrong with this old tree--it's till in very good health. I don't understand what these old coots are worried about. It's a tree that has been here longer than our own country, even. What that tree has lived through and seen is truly remarkable!

There's a whole cycle of life out there in the woods.

[This was from a day in 1994 with my friend Sandy. I miss you. I don't get out to woods nearly so much anymore. I hope you are well, my friend!]