Complaining is really not acceptable behavior these days if you and your family are healthy and are secure in having the necessities of life. So far, Sally and I are very, very fortunate to be so situated. So, please don't take this blog post as anything like a complaint.
I have been able to be outside a lot — walking the neighborhood and fishing close to home. Folks are careful and friendly in the neighborhood. Lots of new tricycles, puppies, training wheels, and princess outfits. Folks are paying close attention to otherwise ordinary things. Jeff, my neighbor, loves birds so I wasn't surprised to find him stalking through his backyard with a camera. He was trying to photo the catbird at his feeder. He said it was the biggest, fattest catbird he had ever seen. I saw it the next day and Jeff is right. What is Jeff putting in that feeder?
Gray catbird photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren
I cherish being out on a stream and have seen lots of cool birds — today, a bald eagle, yellow warblers, and a Virginia rail (that's the rail bigger than a sora, right?). But something has been missing from all my outside time... No prairie burnings at Goose Pond or tree and shrub planting either. No planting oak trees along trout streams. No cutting invasive brush or trees and then stabilizing stream banks with brush bundles. None of the volunteer activities I've come to look forward to.
A prescribed burn at Goose Pond Sanctuary in 2019 — it takes a lot of teamwork! Madison Audubon photo
I could go on and on about the loss, hopefully just temporary, to our natural resources but, truthfully, I missed a lot of fun.
Many great folks help with all those activities. There's plenty of time to get to know them and swap stories about birds or bugs or fish or flowers or trees. At Goose Pond, lunch usually followed and the Arlington Bar and Grill makes a great burger. The Trout Unlimited workdays featured potato doughnuts from Goose Gulch Bakery and the BEST PORK STICKS IN THE WORLD from Pecatonica Valley Farm. The Prairie Enthusiasts always produce a bag of truly excellent homemade cookies.
There’s always something memorable to see. On my first burn at Goose Pond, a rooster pheasant erupted just as the flames flared around him. For fans of ancient mythology or Harry Potter, you had to think Phoenix! On Black Earth Creek, I always remember seeing two big red horse on a spawning run and realizing they were the first to make to that part of the stream in decades and were there because our chapter had been partners in a dam removal.
The ring-necked pheasant is even more stunning when it comes bursting out of a prescribed burn! Photo by Monica Hall
And always something to learn. You cannot spend hours burning, planting, or brushing without learning something about prairies, savannas, streams, bugs, birds, and fish. All the organizations I've mentioned have truly expert and thoughtful folks leading the work.
Finally, as much as I enjoy the outdoors, I feel I owe something in return. The work days are an important link to the days I spend in recreation. They enable me to feel more at home, that maybe I've done my part, when I'm having fun outdoors.
I hope we can soon return to some of our volunteer activities — partly because I enjoy them, but also because the weeds, erosion, and forces of nature continue on without us. I'm absolutely in the camp of let's wait until we can more sure that we can safely work together, but I do look forward to that day.
Written by Topf Wells, Madison Audubon board member and advocacy committee chair
