In Conversation with the Prairie

May's prairie smoke

This year in early March, I stopped at Holland Sand Prairie to check if the any pasque flowers were blooming. When I arrived at the trailhead, I saw a large portion of the prairie was  blackened by a prescribed burn (part of scheduled restoration and prairie maintenance work). I decided, then and there, to see what I could learn by returning weekly and noting the changes as the prairie regenerated.

During thirty visits from March to October, I observed the burned areas recover.  At the beginning, I saw the black, burned surface displaying subtle hints of greenness. That was followed in April by a fuzzier green and a few true sprouts - many too tiny for me to identify. From there, the prairie forbs quickly grew as the months passed and the weather warmed. Each week, I'd take a few pictures from the same vantage point to get a view to use as weekly/monthly/seasonal comparisons. 

Butterfly milkweed

And somewhere in that time, as the weeks rolled on, I realized that there was a conversation that I was having during each amble along the prairie. The plants revealed themselves to me as they grew and bloomed. As I noted what was bloomed, not-yet-bloomed, past its main blooming time and finally going to seed in my phenology journal, I reflected on the complex web of succession blooms and how the prairie colors changed throughout the seasons.

Deptford pink

I was delighted to discover new-to-me forbs and grasses, looking them up for more information and noting the length of their blooming season. When you're new to deeper observation, the learning comes on fast and furious. Yet it was still slow enough to help me begin to easily recognize so many flowers, grasses and plants. It was like greeting old friends from week to week.

Bluebirds checking out
accommodations

It wasn't just the plants that spoke to me as they grew though. Part of the conversation involved the rich web of life supported by the prairie.

The birds returned and began their mating calls and nesting in mid-April. Their songs accompanied my walks in late spring and throughout the summer. When the songs began to fade with the first migrations in September, it left a lull in the conversation that I missed.

Common eastern bumblebee

The insect life was invigorating, to say the least. From the dragon and damselflies to butterflies, bees and beetles, I found a new urge to know and identify them. That was an unexpected learning bonus in my prairie conversations.

So began a new line of discussion with the prairie's insect life added to my understanding - and homework - as I slowly added to species that I could reliably identify. I began to identify and note more precisely the favored blooms that insects gathered pollen and nectar from. When the more inscrutable (to me) grasshoppers began to rule the day in late summer and early fall, my conversations were again full of chatter. 

Milkweed seeds

Recent opportunities with The Prairie Enthusiasts to help collect seed there have extended my conversation with this beautiful dry sand prairie gem. But I know that cold and winter are soon coming on and our conversation will pause while we await the spring to talk and learn together once more.

During that pause, I'll have a chance to do a little studying and learning sparked by the observations and phenology notes I've made over the past eight months. 

I think that will give me fresh eyes and topics to bring back in spring when the prairie and I can meet again and celebrate next year's seasons together. 

I can hardly wait for the conversation to begin again.

Here are a few views of the prairie's regrowth after the prescribed burn:

April 12, 2025
The green fuzz has begun

May 30, 2025
So many hoary puccoons

June 28, 2025
Coneflowers and prairie coreopsis dominate to the west

August 3, 2025
Tall grasses in their glory

September 10, 2025
Goldenrods continue their strong showing

October 12, 2025
Grasses and plants gone to seed

Invite to Public Input Meetings on La Crosse Zoning Codes

This is an opportunity to provide input/feedback especially in light of how future zoning codes might affect natural areas in La Crosse WI

Your Voice Matters – October 29 Public Input Meetings!   We've heard from hundreds of community members, and the number continues to grow. Now it's time to see how your feedback shaped draft recommendations!   Join us for two open-house style Public Input Meetings on Wednesday, October 29, to review preliminary recommendations for the Zoning Code Update: 12–2:00 PM: Black River Beach Neighborhood Center (1433 Rose St, La Crosse) 5–7:00 PM: Southside Neighborhood Center (1300 6th St S, La Crosse) Need a ride?  Check out all the bus info here!   What to expect: Interactive boards showcasing draft recommendations Short presentation at the start of each meeting Project team on hand to answer questions Your chance to provide feedback before we begin drafting   Can't make it? A recording will be available after the meetings at www.forwardlacrosse.org, where you can also submit feedback and learn more about the zoning update.   Your input is essential to shaping a more vibrant, resilient, and livable La Crosse that reflects the needs and values of our community.   Warmest regards,   Forward La Crosse Team

Naturalist's Corner - Fungi Fun

A wreath of turkey tails around a stump

Wow! The late summer and early fall woods have been a wonderland of interesting fungi. While the flowers of the prairies and forests are fading, the mushrooms are still popping.

We often hunt for mushrooms for tasty eating. Who can resist a morel, chicken of the woods, chanterelle or lobster mushroom? But there is much to be said for simply delighting in and learning to identify the mycelium network's endless parade of interesting fungal fruit.  

Fruit? Yes, fruit.

Mushrooms and fungi are the fruiting bodies of the vast, intricate mycelium network that stretches underground, often for miles. Mushrooms use enzymes to break down organic material rather than photosynthesis. They are the great decomposers of the earth. The material that is broken down eventually becomes soil. We see that decomposition work in every branch or tree trunk covered in fungi that we pass along the trail. And, if we stay alert on the sides of the trails we hike, there are many delightful fungi to catch the eye.

Looking at the inside stem of
a chanterelle mushroom
on a guided hike

If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend going on a guided hike or two with mushroom experts. They provide great tips on finding and identifying both edible and non-edible fungi. As someone new to mushroom identification, I found these learning experiences really helpful as my eyes got more attuned to fungi finding. Plus I'm lucky to have lots of hiking buddies who share my delight - and much sharper eyes than mine!

As a newbie, I often see a mushroom on the trails that I can't identify. I take photos from different angles and then head home to work on more accurately identifying the fungi. Apps like Picture Mushroom, Shroom ID, Shroomify can help to get a first general ID but can be pricey.  Seek can sometimes come in handy but often can only do a generalized identification.

So I start my real study with Teresa Marrone and Kathy Yerich's field guide, Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest. This guide is small enough to carry in a back pack but I am often hiking at pace and don't have the time to linger. At home, I can take my time to compare my photos and their descriptions to come up with an identification. 

Below are a few of my favorite fungi pictures from the last several months. I hope you keep your eye out for the next few weeks while you're leaf-peeping and see what you can find!

The common but always beautiful 
dryad's saddle or pheasant back mushroom

Jelly tree ear fungus

A herd of orange mycena mushrooms

Fluted elfin saddle mushroom

An intricate wrinkled peach mushroom

Very tiny purple fairy finger mushrooms

Not cheetos, but delicate golden club mushrooms

Chicken of the woods

Dog's nose fungus

Snow jelly fungus

An "old" old-man-in-the-woods

Scarlet waxy cap mushroom

Lung oyster mushroom

Indigo milkcap mushroom

Shaggy mane mushroom going to ink

Purple-gilled laccaria

See you on the trails!

Images - Marge Loch-Wouters

Lansing Bridge Closure Update

If you are a hiker who often goes between Lansing IA and the Wisconsin side of the river, you know how important the Black Hawk bridge is. Please consider giving the river towns along both sides of the river some extra spending love over the next year and a half to help them weather what could be critical financial downturns. Here is the latest news release on the Lansing Iowa Bridge closure timing and plans:

Iowa 9/WIS 82 Mississippi River Crossing Project Announces Bridge Closure Date and Plans for Car Ferry Service

LANSING, Iowa – Oct. 7, 2025

The Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation are proceeding with plans to close the existing Iowa 9/WIS 82 Mississippi River bridge between Lansing, Iowa, and Crawford County, Wis., as construction on a new bridge continues. 

• The existing bridge (also known as the Black Hawk Bridge), will close to traffic at approximately 7 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 20. 

• Iowa DOT and WisDOT will initiate a free car ferry starting in early November to provide alternative service until the new bridge is projected to open in spring of 2027. 

The car ferry service is moving ahead after federal and state government agencies issued permits and provided other environmental clearances.

“We are very pleased that federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the city of Lansing, could work together and quickly approve the necessary steps to allow  us to provide this critical service,” stated Iowa DOT Director Scott Marler. “These approvals will allow us to install the infrastructure needed for a car ferry to keep our communities connected when the old bridge needs to be closed.”

The free car ferry will provide an alternative way for vehicles to cross the river. A new bridge is  being constructed alongside the existing bridge. Iowa DOT, WisDOT, and the contractor have determined that future construction stages on the new bridge pose a risk to the safety of the existing bridge. Once the existing bridge closes on Oct. 20, crews will start to demolish and remove the old structure so construction on the new bridge can meet the planned 2027 opening.

“We are providing a new and modern structure that stretches across a beautiful and scenic stretch of the Mississippi River,” noted Wisconsin DOT Secretary Kristina Boardman. “The state 

and federal approvals confirm that we can build the bridge and offer the car ferry service while still maintaining the natural environment that makes this region so special.”

The project will need to install car ferry landings on both sides of the river. Ferry landing construction is already underway, and the exact start date for the ferry will be announced as the work progresses. On the Iowa side, the landing will be located at the Lansing marina, while the ferry will land on the Wisconsin side just south of the new bridge and adjacent to the construction staging area. Planned site improvements including installation of ferry docks, vehicle queuing areas, directional and informational signs, variable message signs, lights, and other features. On the Iowa side, improvements to railroad crossings at the entrance and exit points of the marina have been completed. (A conceptual map is attached to this release.)

In addition to the car ferry, there will be marked detour routes when the bridge closes. The nearest highway bridge is approximately 30 miles south at U.S. 18 connecting Marquette, Iowa, to Prairie du Chien, Wis. The car ferry will serve two-axle vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians, but will not be able to accommodate trucks, buses, trailers, or other large vehicles.

The bridge closure date and car ferry service date will continue to be announced through the  project website, the project Facebook page, local media, on digital message signs on either end of the bridge, and through 511ia.org.

The Iowa DOT and WisDOT project teams are also communicating closely with government officials and other stakeholders in the affected communities. The project website will soon feature an instruction and FAQ section about the car ferry service to help local residents prepare for that option.

For more information on the construction of the new Mississippi River Bridge as well as updates on the existing bridge status, go to iowadot.gov/lansingbridge. Individuals may also sign up to  receive e-mail updates and view the Facebook page www.facebook.com/LansingBridge/.

The latest traveler information is available anytime through our 511 system. Visit 511ia.org; call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide); stay connected with 511 on Facebook or X
(find links at https://iowadot.gov/511/511-social-media-sites
); or download the free app to your mobile device.

For questions about this news release, please contact Clayton Burke at 515-290-2376 or clayton.burke@iowadot.us.
 

I Spy on the Trails - September 2025

Foggy morning start on the bluffside
Image - Kris Lawson

September is always a month of transitions. The trees continue to shut down their  chlorophyll production and "gray" out more. Their full color change in the Driftless has just begun to hint at the coming colors. 

Mornings and evenings are dewy and often foggy.  It's not unusual to hear coyotes barking and baying and barred owl calls are more prominent.  

Crickets and grasshoppers dominate the sound scape. Songbirds continue their migration in massive numbers through our area which leaves the mornings to our more permanent resident winter birds. 

Big bluestem seeds

The flowers that brightened our hikes have been slowly exhausting their blooms throughout the month. Many forbs that filled the trails at the beginning of the month are now done flowering.  A few late asters and the late goldenrods remain. Grasses have set seed as well. The pollinators are few and far between as the forbs go to seed.

Purple fairy fingers
Burntside Lake, Ely MN

Mushrooms and other fungi love the cool damp of September and the mycelium network is fruiting everywhere. They have fascinated me throughout the month and given me plenty of time to learn them a little better. A trip up to Minnesota's Arrowhead to the North Shore and Ely introduced me to a number of new-to-me mushrooms and fungi. I love their variety. Many are toxic so I just admire them unless I know what I'm doing - and then, num, chicken of the woods!

Guide Nancy introduced me to
Kellogg Weaver Dunes

Weatherwise, our month began with a bit of a nip and then settled into some beautiful 70's weather which then morphed into some sticky humid mid-80s. The second half of the month saw temperatures moderate into a more normal September pattern before turning up the heat to usher the month out. We had a bit of rain here and there during the month before a giant dump of 2-3" in the last full week. Climate change makes for whiplash weather.

Sagittarius reflected in
Burntside Lake, Ely

With the autumn equinox now here, our skies darken earlier and on dry, haze-free nights, the star-gazing has been awesome. Orion and Sagittarius are rising, a sure sign of advancing fall and coming winter.  The dark skies up in Ely revealed the Milky Way as a bright slash across the sky - a view I miss, living so close to city lights.

It was a slow hiking month after I pulled something in my knee and my doctor suggested I give it a three week rest to see if it would bounce back. I chose gentle, flatter ambling walks and wandered along the edges of woods and prairies while we traveled to catch sight of what I could. Amazingly enough, there was plenty to see even though the hikes were short.

I was very excited to have this blog featured in an article in the Mississippi Valley Conservancy newsletter and website. Big thanks go out to Karen Solverson and Kelly Sultzbach for sharing the story of the blog!

At Frontenac State Park
Nature School

I had the opportunity to go on a couple of Nature School Classrooms guided hikes before my knee conked out on me. The hikes were incredibly inspiring and rich in information. These Nature School opportunities contribute to my annual training hours to maintain my MN Master Naturalist volunteer certification but anyone would benefit. 

They included: 

Prairie Walk/Talk - Sea of Grass authors Dave Hagar and Josephine Marcotty hiking prairie trails and sharing their research and writing on prairies and their importance. Frontenac (MN) State Park

Damsel and Dragonflies - Jeff Fischer of the MN Dragonfly Society presented on damsel and dragonflies, delving into the different types of this fascinating onodata insects and their lifecycle before we went into the field to try to capture some (sorry too cold for them!). Frontenac (MN) State Park

There are still plenty of great guided hikes and learning and volunteer opportunities coming up in October. I hope I see you on one.

See you on the trails!

Plant Observations

Flowering/mature plants:

• alyssum, hoary

  

  Dewy white heath aster

  
  
• aster, blue wood
• aster, calico
• aster, Drummond’s
• aster, hairy 
• aster, large-leaved
• aster, silky
• aster, smooth blue
• aster, white heath
• aster, white panicle
• black-eyed Susan
• blazing star, rough
• boneset, false
• buttercup, prairie
• cardinal flower
• cliffbrake, western dwarf

  

  Drug eyebright
  Ely MN

• compassplant
• coneflower, grey-headed
• everlasting, pearly
• eyebright, drug
• fern, brittle bladder-
• fern, bulblet bladder-
• fern, interrupted 
• fern, lady
• fern, northern maidenhair
• fern, sensitive
• fern, spinulose wood 
• fern, sweet
• fleabane, prairie
• hawkweed, narrowleaf
• hawkweed, orange
• hawkweed, smooth
• Jerusalem, artichoke
• jewelweed, orange
• jewelweed, yellow 
• goldenrod, Canada
• goldenrod, elmleaf
• goldenrod, field
• goldenrod, giant
• goldenrod, gray
• goldenrod, Missouri

  

  Whorled milkweed flower

• goldenrod, showy
• goldenrod, stiff
• goldenrod, tall
• goldenrod, zigzag
• milkweed, whorled
• primrose, evening
• snakeroot, white
• spurge, flowering
• sunflower, fewleaf
• sunflower, false
• sunflower, stiff
• tansy, common
• thistle, field
• vervain, blue
• vervain, hoary
• violet, bird’sfoot
• wild bergamot
• wormwood, field
• woundwort, marsh
• yarrow

Sprouts/past bloom:

• bushclover, roundhead
• cinquefoil, tall
• coreopsis, prairie

  

  Goat’s rue, Ely MN

• fameflower
• goat's rue
• goldenrod, showy
• Jack-in-the pulpit
• leadplant
• loosestrife, fringed
• milkweed, common
• partridge pea
• Pasqueflower, eastern
• puccoon, hairy (Carolina)
• sagebrush, white
• sweet cecily
• tarragon,
• thimbleweed, cylindrical

Fruited:

• bittersweet, American
• carrionflower, midwestern
• cucumber, wild
  

  

  Midwestern carrionflower fruit

• prairie rose
• Solomon's seal, false
• spikenard, American 

Grasses/sedges:

• cattail
• flatsedge, tall
• grass, bluestem big
• grass, bluestem little
• grass, eyelash
• grass, beardless wildrye
• grass, Canada wildrye
• grass, prairie dropseed
• grass, smooth brome
• indiangrass, yellow
• lovegrass, purple
• panicgrass, Scribner’s
• switchgrass

Fungi/moss/lichen:

• cryptobiotic soil crust (cyanobacteria, mosses, lichen, algae, microfungi)
• feathermoss, red-stemmed
• forkmoss, broom
• lichen, eastern specked shield

  

  Chicken of the woods

• lichen, hooded sunburst
• lichen, mortar dot
• lichen, orange firedot
• mushroom, amanita, false death cap
• mushroom, artist's conk
• mushroom, blew it
• mushroom, bolete, slippery jack
• mushroom, chicken of the woods
• mushroom, deceiver, purple-gilled
• mushroom, dryad's saddle
• mushroom, fairy fingers, purple
• mushroom, flat oysterling
• mushroom, funnel cup
• mushroom, golden trumpet (fuzzy foot)
• mushroom, honey
• mushroom, inky
• mushroom, lactarius (milkcap)

  

  Stocking webcap mushroom

• mushroom, lobster
• mushroom, mycena, orange
• mushroom, oyster
• mushroom, puffball
• mushroom, rosy russula
• mushroom, shaggy mane inky cap
• mushroom, stocking webcap
• mushroom, russula, rosy (bloody brittle gill)
• mushroom, turkey tail
• mushroom, yellow club

Wildlife Observations (seen, heard, detected)
Birds:

• blackbird, red-winged
• blue jay
• bluebird, eastern
• cardinal, northern
• cedar waxwing
• chickadee, black-capped
• crow, American
• eagle bald
• finch, house
• goldfinch, American
• grosbeak, rose-breasted
• grouse, ruffed
• hawk, red-tailed
• killdeer
• kingfisher, belted
• lark, horned
• nuthatch, red-breasted
• nuthatch, white-breasted

  

  Palm warbler
  Image - Merlin Bird ID

• ovenbird
• owl, barred
• pheasant, ring-necked
• raven
• robin, American
• sparrow, house
• sparrow, Lincoln's
• sparrow, savanna
• sparrow, swamp
• sparrow, vesper
• sparrow, white-throated
• thrush, hermit
• thrush, gray-cheeked
• thrush, water
• vireo, red-eyed
• vireo, yellow-throated
• warbler, palm
• warbler, yellow-rumped
• wood pewee, eastern
• woodpecker, hairy
• woodpecker, pileated
• woodpecker, red-bellied
• woodpecker, red-headed

Waterfowl:

• crane, sandhill
• goose, Canada
• heron, great blue
• loon, common
• pelican, American
• teal, blue-winged
• wood duck

Insects/arachnids:

• beetle, end band net-winged
• beetle, goldenrod soldier

  

  Leonard’s skipper butterfly
  Image - Kris Lawson

• bumblebee, brown-belted
• bumblebee, common eastern
• bumblebee, half-black
• bumblebee, two-spotted
• bumblebee, yellow
• butterfly, clouded yellow
• butterfly, Leonard’s skipper
• butterfly, pearl copper
• butterfly, pearl crescent
• butterfly, regal fritillary 
• butterfly, Monarch
• butterfly, mourning cloak
• caterpillar, milkweed tussock moth
• damselfly, tule bluet
• dragonfly, autumn meadowhawk
• dragonfly, green darner
• dragonfly, black saddlebags

What are YOU seeing on your hikes?

A month of hikes
Hikes below in colored, bold type or underlined have links to previous posts OR descriptions/location of the trails found online.

Bluffside Park, Winona MN (2); Holland Sand Prairie, Holmen WI (2), Frontenac State Park, Old Frontenac MN (2); Weaver Sand Dunes, Kellogg, MN (2); Wagon Wheel Trail, La Crescent MN; Hubbard Hills, Viroqua WI; Riverside Park/Marsh Trails, La Crosse WI (2); Amnicon Falls State Park, Superior WI; Echo Trail Road, Ely, MN; Gunflint Trail Road, Grand Marais, MN; Lytle's Landing, Brice Prairie WI, La Crosse River State Trail, La Crosse WI

Undulating sand dunes at Kellogg Weaver Dunes
Image -Nola Larson

The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

What bee is that?
Image - Kris Lawson