I’ve always loved summer, the best of all seasons. Just as school lets out for the year the longer days beckon invitingly and being outdoors is all I require. Yes, I know that, with apologies to Gershwin, the living isn’t always easy. It got uncomfortably hot at times, smoke from Canadian wildfires thwarted plans to go outdoors for a few days, and a serious drought dried things up for a couple weeks. But after all, the rain came back, the temperatures dropped, and the smoke cleared. There were more pleasant than unpleasant days.
Now it is Labor Day, the traditional unofficial end of summer. Although mild weather is likely to continue for a while longer it is never quite the same. The light dims earlier and earlier. The pace of activities shifts into a higher gear. The nights grow cold. Cicadas and crickets provide a poignant soundtrack for the end of summer.
“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last forever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year—the days when summer is changing into autumn—the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and change.” —E.B. White
Labor Day and the transition to autumn seems like a good time to take stock of the summer, to spend a moment reminiscing and revisiting in memory and in imagery the places that made this summer special. I had a busy summer. Regular readers of The Natural Realm already know some of the highlights, those which became stories that appeared here. But there have also been plenty of places and activities this summer that have not appeared in a story. They deserve a story of their own. This post is devoted to those places. It is essentially a variation on the “What I did during summer vacation” theme with an emphasis on sharing nearby places worth visiting on your own.
The places appear in roughly chronological order from Memorial Day to Labor Day. As usual, the links in the captions will take you to more information about the places. The banner photo above, which was taken in mid-August, is a summer smile from the Milwaukee County Grounds in Wauwatosa–basically my big backyard.
Photo Essay
Finding solitude at Ryan Park in Pewaukee. Ryan is one of the few Waukesha County Parks that doesn’t require an entry fee. It has a lovely system of trails but no amenities.
The folks in this photo are “streaming,” which means they are collecting aquatic creatures. The stream is Genesee Creek and it is running through Prairie Springs Environmental Education Center in the Town of Genesee. The 75-acre center is owned by Carroll University for, you guessed it, environmental education. It was opened for our group thanks to a Field Trip sponsored by the Natural Resources Foundation of WI.
The Kenosha Dunes are the northernmost portion of Chiwaukee Prairie State Natural Area south of Kenosha. It is a rare example of relatively undisturbed lakeshore dune and related habitats in SE Wisconsin.
Near the northern end of our region another beach, at Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve in Grafton, became a point of controversy when the neighbor next door erected a barrier, “no trespassing” signs, and a surveillance camera to stop the public from straying away from the county park. However, later in the summer the public’s right to walk on Lake Michigan beaches, enshrined in Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine, was tested in a lawsuit at Atwater Beach in Shorewood and found to be sound.
The plant in the foreground is called rattlesnake master and that is actually its highly unusual flower, which looks more like seed pods. I found this enormous field full of the highly beneficial native flower at Engel Conservation Area in Muskego, which in addition to prairies full of wildflowers like this, boasts wetlands and woodlands as well.
In July I was co-leader with Jessica and Nathan of the DNR of another Natural Resources Foundation Field Trip. This one took in Brady’s Rocks, the southernmost outcropping of the Niagara Escarpment (seen here), and a segment of of the Ice Age Trail in the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest.
This was my first-ever visit to Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay, next to Geneva Lake. I am grateful to the Friends of Kishwauketoe for their invitation to tour their excellent, very diverse preserve. They’ve clearly put a lot of time and effort into restoration of native habitats.
I was heading to a different preserve nearby when I drove past the sign for this unusual state property with a cumbersome title: North Branch Milwaukee River Wildlife and Farming Heritage Area. Some of its 765 acres, as the name implies, is agricultural. The rest, while open to the public, is undeveloped (no trails) and apparently used primarily by hunters. It is located between Fredonia and Random Lake.
I didn’t need my drone for this view of Mequon Nature Preserve. Thanks to their 40-foot observation tower anyone who climbs to the top can enjoy the 360-degree panoramic view of their 510 acres.
The last half of July saw a drought that reduced area waterways like Honey Creek in Wauwatosa to a trickle.
August brought rain and we were able to paddle in rivers again. We chose one of our favorites, the crystal-clear and swift-running Bark River near Dousman.
August also brought smoke from Canada. The top photo shows a smoky version of the same scene photographed previously in the bottom photo at Veterans Park in Milwaukee.
I am grateful to Helen of Waukesha County Land Conservancy for giving me a tour of their Nagawicka Lake Kettle Bog Preserve in Nashotah.
This is the largest wasp I’ve ever encountered. About as long as my thumb! It is a great black digger wasp on a swamp milkweed blossom, which I saw in Phantom Glen Park after a kayak excursion on Phantom Lake in Mukwonago.
I’ve long admired the magnificent, asymmetrical oak seen in the top photo from several years ago in the Kinnickinnic River Parkway in Milwaukee. Imagine my dismay, then, when I went back in August and found its current, sadly truncated condition.
That great blue heron didn’t want me to get any closer! I learned about Kirkorian Park in Sturtevant from the Root-Pike WIN newsletter. It has a surprisingly large, mostly wooded (including a lot of buckthorn!) natural area for a neighborhood park.
I photographed this scene along the Pike River in Petrifying Springs County Park in Kenosha five years ago when it had been scraped down to bare earth in order to stabilize the riverbanks and restore native species alongside the river. As you can see, the effort worked wonders.
Dramatic skies can’t be planned. They are a gift when they happen and I always try to find a way to capitalize on them if possible. I caught this one at Sam Poerio Park in Kenosha.
Did you know that a new section of riverwalk opened this summer? In this case, however, it is a harbor walk. Unfortunately, its two sections are not yet connected, separated by the railroad at the far end of this image. This section is easily accessible from Harbor Plaza at the end of Greenfield Avenue in Milwaukee. Sunday, Sep 27 would be a great time to check it out. That’s when this year’s Harbor Fest is being held.
Sometimes I enjoy taking photos of urban parks that make them look like they are anywhere except in a city. I could have done that here at Doyne Park. But instead I chose to include a tiny reminder that this natural-looking setting is in fact in Milwaukee. What you can’t see is that the whole park is built on top of a former landfill.
This City of New Berlin park is called Valley View Park. True to its name, this is the view of the valley from a large hill at the south entrance. Said hill is great for sledding in the winter! Much of its 75 acres is natural. However, the only trail doubles as a disc golf course, so if you go on a weekend or holiday, watch for flying discs!
A kayaker and an angler face off across the Root River here at River Bend Nature Center in Racine. The river is still pooled here by the Horlick Dam downstream, but won’t be much longer. As reported in 2024, the dam is slated for removal.
Last but not least, taking us right into the beginning of September, I stopped at 53-acre Carver-Roehl County Park, which is also a State Natural Area, outside of Beloit in Rock County when I was on my way to Beloit. While it’s a bit far afield for A Wealth of Nature, I thought I’d include it because it’s especially lovely for a small county park; it sports a mini dells in a compact area. I have Kimberly and The Park Next Door to thank for letting me know about it.
Eddee Daniel, writer/photographer, is a board member of Preserve Our Parks, the Program Director of A Wealth of Nature, editor of The Natural Realm blog (and a former art educator and resident of Wauwatosa). Read more or subscribe at awealthofnature.org. Also available by arrangement for group presentations and guided tours.
The Natural Realm blog is part of A Wealth of Nature, which is a program of Preserve Our Parks.
About Preserve Our Parks
Preserve Our Parks, Inc. is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of parks and green spaces. Our mission: To advocate for and promote Milwaukee area parks and open spaces and to strive to protect the tenets of Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine.
For more than 25 years, we have been a leader in advocating for the protection of Milwaukee County park lands, halting many proposals to develop, privatize, or sell local parkland and lakefront spaces. More information about POP, including past accomplishments, is available at www.preserveourparks.org.
