Photo essay: New Munster Wildlife Area and KD Park in Kenosha County

New Munster is in western Kenosha County, off Highway 50. The drive there took nearly an hour. Gambling with dueling forecasts, one of which showed overcast skies and the other suggesting partly cloudy, I left in the dark and arrived shortly before dawn. The gamble paid dividends when the clouds parted just before the sun rose. Having seen a lake on Google maps in a Kenosha County park across the road from New Munster State Wildlife Area, I went there first. I caught this lovely sunrise and had almost an hour of beautiful light before another cloud bank rolled over.

KD Park is being developed by Kenosha County into what they plan (according to the rather grand sign at the entrance) to call a Sustainable Living Education Park. Sounds interesting. So far it's a looping paved driveway with several small parking lots in a broad grassy clearing that slopes down to the lake.

234-acre KD Park was developed on a former gravel quarry. Its primary feature is the 39-acre lake, which provides opportunities for fishing and non-motorized boating. According to the park website, there are over 4 miles of trails maintained for hiking and cross-country skiing.

 

When the sun died I crossed the road and parked in the tiny dirt lot at the entrance to the New Munster State Wildlife Area. I'd never heard of it before. Since my recent tour of edible plants at Theresa Marsh I've been on an email list for DNR-sponsored hikes and this one was the next on the schedule. This hike was billed as a birding tour. I always love learning about birds. However, the gloomy overcast sky that had settled in motivated me to use a tripod for my photos and I found myself mostly hanging back peering through the tripod-mounted camera while the birders ranged ahead peering through their binoculars at the cedar waxwings, warblers and whatever else I missed.

The birds were mostly small and high in the canopy, so I focused in on other things.

 The New Munster Wildlife area, established in 1947, encompasses 1226 acres. The DNR website describes it as "predominately oak woodland, lowland woodland, shallow marsh, grassland, and agricultural fields." The DNR stocks the area with pheasant for the hunters. My eyes were opened to this when I asked our guide, Diane Robinson, about the sign: No pheasant hunting after 2:00 p.m. The stocking takes place after 2, she told me, so that there will be birds for the hunters in the morning.

 

Seymour Simon Preserve: Encounters in the Chicago Wilderness

On a Sunday afternoon recently I drove down from Milwaukee to pick up my wife at O’Hare. Her flight was due to arrive in the late afternoon when traffic tends to pile up as travelers return to Chicago from their weekend in Wisconsin. I’ve been in this position before. I like to avoid potential backups on the Interstate by going early and taking the time to stroll in one of the Forest Preserves along the Des Plaines River near the airport.

I happened upon a sign for the Seymour Simon Preserve and pulled into the nearly full parking lot next to a large open field. Large groups of people were using the shelters provided there. I found the Des Plaines River Trail and headed south along the river. Maybe it was the heat—somewhere between 80 and 90, depending on whether you were in shade or sun—but the trail was uncharacteristically busy that day. So was the river itself. I saw canoers and kayakers going upstream and down.

Here is a short photo essay from my stroll that afternoon. As you will see, wildlife is represented, but most of my encounters were of the human variety.

First snowfall: Greenfield Park and Havenwoods

Greenfield Park, West Allis

Sunday was one of those magical days. Big, fluffy snowflakes floating out of the sky. Weekend lassitude. A walk in the park. A walk in a forest in a park. A forest thick and silent with new fallen snow. And, mysteriously, after the first few minutes I had it all to myself.

Here is what I saw, along with a couple of haiku for good measure:

solitude

in the snowbound forest

Packer game today

the silent forest

surrounding me        somewhere

the city

Havenwoods State Forest, Milwaukee

Monday morning I went out early, partly to beat rush hour traffic but mostly because I was afraid that the snow would melt off the trees. And it did, very quickly. Again I had the place to myself. After nearly two hours I finally met a dog walker on my way back to the car.

I love the solitude, but I fear for a society that has no time for nature. Here’s what I have of it to share:

woodland stillness

…a train roars by…

deeper stillness

soft growl of traffic

in the fresh snow

coyote tracks

sunless sky

over the prairie

Cooper’s hawk

first snowfall

already the trail

puddles

To see a selection of Milwaukee’s parks in all seasons go to my Flickr album.