Evening Phenology, Owen Conservation Park in Madison Wisconsin
Trail Through Virginia Bluebells ©2016 Bo Mackison
May 5, 2016
Owen Conservation Park, west side of Madison, Wisconsin
Start: 6:00 p.m. (sunset 8:04 p.m.)
sunny 68˚F
wind 5 mph NW
barometric pressure 30.00
humidity 29%
In the woods:
Virginia bluebell, in full bloom along the woodland trail.
False solomon seal emerging
Wood anemone in bloom, moderate show
Woodpeckers, species unknown (lots of rat-a-ta-a-tatting high in the hardwoods)
Fiddle heads, many fully opened, common in open wooded areas.
Honeysuckle, beginning to flower
Robins, common
Lesser periwinkle (vinca) in full bloom, common
Dutchman’s breeches, only a few still blooming
Forest of Bloodroot ©2016 Bo Mackison
Bloodroot, emerging foliage, common in the under-story.
Yellow bellwort, bloom done
Columbine emerging
Creeping charlie (ground ivy, spreading mint) in dense bloom, disturbed ground near trail
Wild geranium (potted geranium) profuse bloom, common
Dandelions
Common blue violets (wood violet, wooly blue violet) in bloom, profuse
Trillium, Grandiflora, two bunches
Wood sorrel
Small white violets, uncommon
Tree Canopy ©2016 Bo Mackison
White oaks, leaves emerging; Red maples, silver maples, leafing.
Arrow-leaved violet, uncommon
Garlic mustard in bloom (invasive weed threat)
Golden alexanders, full bloom
May apples, emerging foliage, no bloom.
Sumac, 6 ft high “sticks” with emerging red leaves
Maple tree shoots, six inches high, cover the forest floor.
Crabapple trees, several varieties, in moderate-full bloom
Finish:
6:35 p.m.
64˚F sunny, few high clouds to the south
wind 5 mph NW
humidity 28%
~~~~
Twice a week phenology reports in woodland; once a week reports from prairie and pond. Owen Conservation Park, Madison Wisconsin
Phenology is the study of plant and animals and their cycles influenced by climate and seasonal change, i.e., birds nesting/migrating, flowers blooming, trees leafing.
Phenology is Alive and Well – Report #1
Lesser Periwinkles ©2016 Bo Mackison
May 1, 2016
Owen Conservation Park, west side of Madison, Wisconsin
Start: 8:10 am
cloudy 43˚F
wind 10 mph NE
barometric pressure 30.10
humidity 80%
Woods:
hear Woodpeckers, species unknown
Fiddle heads emerging
Trout lilies in full bloom
Jack in the pulpits, just emerging from earth
Honeysuckle, in tight bud
Chokecherry, leaves clustered
Robins, common
Bluejay, male adult
Lesser periwinkle (vinca) in moderate bloom
Dutchman’s breeches, close to full bloom
Virginia bluebell, full bloom
False solomon seal emerging
Wood anemone in bloom, moderate show
Bloodroot, emerging foliage
Yellow bellwort, in moderate bloom
Columbine emerging
Creeping charlie (ground ivy, spreading mint) dense blooms, disturbed ground near trail
Wild geranium (potted geranium) in moderate bloom
Maple tree shoots, six inches high, thick
Crabapple trees, several varieties, in moderate bloom
Golden Alexanders ©2016 Bo Mackison
Prairie:
Common blue violets (wood violet, wooly blue violet) in bloom, profuse
Garlic mustard in bloom (invasive weed threat)
Golden alexanders, moderate bloom
May apples, foliage emerging, no blooms – love these clusters of green umbrellas
rafter of wild turkeys – one adult male, three adult females
Confederate violets (blue and white variation of common purple) uncommon
White oak trees with emerging leaves
Ironwood trees, partially open leaves, still curled
Red maples, partially opened leaves
Silver maples, partially open leaves
Sumac, 5 ft high “sticks” with emerging red leaves
second rafter of wild turkeys – one adult male, five adult females
Rafter of turkeys ©2016 Bo Macksion
Pond:
Red wing blackbirds, common
Cardinals, a pair
Mallards, pair in water
Yellow warbler
Finish:
9:43 am
46˚F cloudy
wind 5 mph E
humidity 72%
~~~~
Twice a week phenology reports in woodland and prairie; once a week reports from pond. At Owen Conservation Park, Madison Wisconsin
Phenology is the study of plant and animals and their cycles influenced by climate and seasonal change, i.e., birds nesting/migrating, flowers blooming, trees leafing.
On The Road to Why — A Poem
Brittlebush © 2013 Bo Mackison
It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. ~ Ernest Hemingway
Checking the map, 112 miles to Why, then south to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Highway 86, Ajo Highway, I head west on the road of roadside memorials
and shrines, over a hundred I photographed a few years ago.
I travel through urban sprawl, then open space.
Silver Star Road, brown earth, barbed wire fences.
Robles Junction.
Water puddles in the irrigated fields at Buckelew Farms.
Fuller Road. Battered mailboxes along the road, a row of scraped paint,
crushed metal, gunshot holes and red flags.
Where are the shrines and crosses? They’ve disappeared.
Scraped off the desert earth.
Kitt Mountain is due west, dotted with white observatories,
celestial connections on the highest peaks.
Telephone poles string across the desert scrub. Earthly connections.
Tucson Rifle Club. Members Only.
Hayhook Ranch Road. Ranch For Sale.
Watch For Animals Next 54 Miles.
Yellow bundles of brittlebush and desert marigolds crowd the median strip.
Gravel piles stands where once there were roadside memorials,
the adjacent desert has been scraped level for a road widening project.
A bush of orange mallow, waving stalks of purple pestomen,
white sacred datura, like bridal bouquets dropped along the road.
Tohono O’odham Nation. Green desert, red earth.
San Pedro Road. Coyote Trading Store, open for business no gas.
Asphalt shoulders, graded hills with rolls of burlap hold back the earth.
Where are the memorials? Relocated? Destroyed?
Pan Tak Road
Kitt Peak Ahead, Turn Left
Road construction Expect delays
The road is wide, the shoulders wide,
and safer for the driving living.
Fewer memorials on the side of the road.
Saguaros relocated from the easement, twenty feet tall, propped with 2 by 4s.
By law, saguaros must be relocated.
A saguaro must face its original direction, or it will die,
and become another road casualty.
Gouged earth. One giant saguaro still stands
upon the graded bank, its roots exposed and twisted in the air.
Yellow earth movers shovel the ancient earth into piles.
This is progress. A safe road is a good road.
A good road is a safe road.
Smooth and homogenized, the desert tamed.
Three hawks soar high. Far enough west, the road narrows.
Red plastic ribbons flutter from branches marked for the bulldozer.
But for now grasses encroach over the yellow lines.
Mesquite and tree cholla crowd the roadside.
A single white cross remains, decorated with bright flowers.
The peak of Baboquivari, I’itoi’s sacred mountain, pierces the desertscape.
Border Patrol. Their green-striped white truck is parked
under a mesquite while they search the scrub.
Littering Unlawful
You Are Entering Sells, Arizona, Population 2734
Komkcʼeḍ ʼe-Wa:ʼosidk, Capital of the Tohono O’odham Nation
The O’odham name means Tortoise Got Wedged.
Indian Oasis School Baboquivari District
Watch For Animals Next 10 Miles
Papago Assembly of God
Highway 19 Junction, Hospital Here
The Shell gas station pumps regular for 3.47.
Two wild horses, white and shaggy, graze along the road,
unperturbed by passing trucks.
Eugene Tashquinth Livestock Complex hosts
76th Annual Tohono O’odham Rodeo
January 26 – February 4, 2014
Tree cholla forest.
Yellow flowering mesquite, seed beans swing in midday breeze.
Road to Nolia. Turkey vultures. Triple decker saguaro.
Quijotoa. A historical marker tells me
it is Papago for Mountain Shaped Like a Carrying Basket.
Carrying Basket had pockets of gold and silver.
And a mining boom in 1883.
Ghost towns. Logan City, New Virginia, Brooklyn, Allen City,
there was only a small pocket of precious metal.
The desert reclaims the abandoned.
Highway 15 Junction to Santa Rosa Casa Grande.
Desert sprawl, yellow blossoming brittlebush color the cactus floor.
The road narrows, ocotillo arch over the pavement. Toothpick saguaros.
Quijotoa Pentecostal Church of God.
Red and purple bows tied to mesquite branches,
remaining traces of a roadside memorial.
The dirt is leveled, the pull-off blocked with a rock pile.
Flashing lights on a Park Ranger’s truck slow oncoming traffic.
Three teen runners jog in the truck’s exhaust fumes,
one carries a banner. Unity Runners.
Road to Pisinemo.
San Si:mon. Tohono O’odham High School.
San Simon Health Center.
Flash Flood Area Next 10 Miles
Why 18 miles. Ajo 28 miles
Chain cholla glitter silver in the sun.
HIWAYRVPRK next road. Shuck Toak Road
Desert Diamond Casino, asphalt parking lot.
Coyote Howl RV Park. Abandoned.
Road in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument ©2016 Bo Mackison
Highway Junction 86/85
Lukeville 27 miles. 10 miles to Ajo
Approaching Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, A Biosphere Reserve
12:46 pm. March 18. 86˚F.
Blue skies. Windy.
Relentless sun bleaches color from the desert.
The organ pipes loom tall,
massive and thick, multi-armed.
Alien. Grotesque. Beautiful.
~~~~~~~
Not so much a poem, more a travel log.
Praise the Day – A Desert Poem
Tree in Yellow © 2014 Bo Mackison
Praise the day, first light.
Praise the bird chatter. Cacophony.
Praise that word, a wild word, a burst of joy.
Praise the velvet acacias in yellow bloom,
its yellow fuzz paints the pavement.
Bees and stardust.
The tree alive with buzz and bee swarm.
The desert a sanctuary; the birds its choir.
The tree a storyteller; the bees her audience.
Sing praise. Sing praise.
~~~~~~~
It is good to begin the day with a praise song.
