Nature Notes for Summer 2010
by Greg Armstrong, Holy Wisdom Monastery volunteer and
former director of the UW Arboretum

Ah Summer! Warm weather, no school, nothing to do, but explore the woods, marshes and farmland. That’s what I most fondly remember of my childhood summers. You can still experience something close to that idyllic time of long ago, here at Holy Wisdom Monastery. At least you can come and enjoy the natural beauty of the woodlands, wetlands and prairies on the monastery grounds.

The woodlands, dominated by black and white oak but with some hickory and linden, are pretty green places in the summer. Most of the understory plants have finished flowering and large stretches of the forest floor are covered with woodbine accented with ferns and some shrubs, such as grey dogwood and elderberry. My grandmother used to make jam from elderberries—fantastic. One of the great experiences of visiting the green shade of the monastery’s woods is to hear the red bellied woodpecker burble their wonderful call that seems to echo through the woods.

Emerging from the woods onto the prairie is a dramatic change of scene. Full sun—you can see a long way off and there are lots and lots of flowers. How spectacular the flowers are! I suppose the most common are the yellow composites (daisy family). My favorites are the prairie dock and its relative the cup plant. Stalks reach over your head with big yellow daisy flowers. The compass plant, another relative, flowers a bit earlier in July. Read ‘A Prairie Birthday’ in Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac about the beauty of the prairie, “when it tickled the bellies of the buffalo.” Oh there are so many other beautiful plants on the prairie in the summer in many different hues grading into asters and golden rods toward the end of the summer. Walk through the monastery’s prairies every couple of weeks and you will discover a whole new pallet of flowers, and late in the summer, the graceful grasses making a background substrate for your view.

In the wetlands around Lost Lake you will find many species that can deal with wet feet. I guess they actually prefer wet feet. There are lots of animals that also like the lush vegetation and open water. Lots to eat, water to drink and at least some predators have a difficult time following into the wetness. Redwing blackbirds and wetlands seem to go together. You may see plenty of them around Lost Lake. Their high pitched, scratchy song conjures up memories of steamy wetlands in summer for me. There are nice paths near the wetlands around Lost Lake so you will not have to get your feet wet too.

Come and enjoy the beauty of summer in the monastery’s natural lands. Before you know it, school will start again, so let’s enjoy the freedom while we can.

Have you been exploring here on your own? Please share your on-site nature discoveries with me at info@benedictinewomen.org.