A Moment in Time in Prairie Du Sac

One day in August, I had coffee and cookies in a Prairie Du Sac cafe overlooking the Wisconsin River....maybe 35 feet above the river. It was a beautiful day. Some wood ducks were actively swimming and feeding. A snake was traversing the channel to find its warm bank side den. A Kingfisher was diving for minnows for its nested chicks. A bald eagle was soaring above, eyes periscoping for prey. A muskrat swam by a sunken log looking to and fro for sticks and branches for its home. And, a jet skier was making sharp turns for thrills. Of all the animals on the river, the human was the least interesting!!! Oh well, the cookies were M&M laden, the coffee was Latte and my focus was on the natural beauty of the scene in front of me. What a wondrous day!

By now, you know that I love writing about my journey and the many and varied experiences it brings. "America the Beautiful" it's true. I'll bring it all to you.

Hey, anyway, the kingfisher lost the minnow while flying back to its nest....what a long trip for naught!!! And, then, a flock of Canada Geese flew in in perfect formation...landing one-by-one like DC10s in perfect position. As they broke up to swim-n-feed, the snake finally made it to the other side to its den in the river bank. And, the bald eagle continued to soar overhead majestically...no longer worried about feeding its chicks mercury-laden morsels....Thank you Rachel Carson, kind of!!!

For awhile, I forgot the jet skier...peace in the river channel reigned. But, zoom, he whizzed by again scattering the geese in all directions and diverting the Kingfisher away from his role. UGH, such dominance this man had over the beautiful river during this moment in time. But, you know, in the spring the river will get its revenge!!! Maybe, as much as 35 feet high in Prairie Du Sac!

Iowa's Pikes Peak

One day not to long ago, I stood on an Iowa ledge overlooking the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers....wow what a sight! I had a tourist take my picture there....can you see the rivers meeting off to my right and left? You may want to ZOOM the picture out 200% ... WOW, what a sight it is way above the meeting of two great rivers!!!!

Let me tell you what I was feelings when I looked down the bluff at that beautiful sight for the 3rd time in 40 years. It was:

A spectacular physical sight ... one river meeting another and the sand from one dropping out as it was being slowed by the stronger current of the other ... forming a gigantic sand bar, making Wisconsin fatter!!

A beautiful sunny day ... streaks of light flashing up at me as the two rivers formed waves that intermingled randomly ... forming a frothing mixture of soil, sand and wooden debris now heading to New Orleans and out to sea.

Soaring Bald Eagles above the conjoined rivers ... seeking fish for their hungry chicks in nests atop the Cottonwoods lining the river's edge....no longer threatened by man's pollutants spewing from factories upstream.

A marsh beside the joining rivers, filled with every species immagineable ... jumping fish, wading herons, rasping snails, siphoning clams, trolling humans, diving ducks, winding snakes, and stabbing kingfishers ... all peacefully doing what they do best ... surviving to the next meal.

The bluffs on the Wisconsin side ... rounded by erosion over the centuries, covered by elms, oaks and maples, and majestic in their valley crawl both up north toward Minnesota and easwards towards Wisconsin's center.... the two magnificant rivers flow from their lakes of origin, down these valleys of glacial splendor.

Winding rivers flowing downstream ... forming oxbow lakes, shallow marshes and splendid new beaches ... hundreds of years in formation and useful living systems for spawning fish, egg-laying birds, and frollicing bathers.

Just a few observations from your ole biology teacher ... the beauty of our country is everywhere to be seen ... I love it all the best!!!

On Wisconsin!

Remember beating Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium?
I remember it clearly!
Remember their "obviously superior team?"
I remember it clearly!
Remember they were destined to be Big 10 champs?
I remember it clearly!
Remember how red and white things were that day?
I remember clearly!
Remember how awesome those big lineman looked in their pads?
I remember clearly!
And, do you remember the final score?
I remember clearly!
It was 1942, the score was Iowa 6 & Badgers 0, lucky Big 10 champs, and I was only 3 years old!!!
Dad told me this and I remember clearly!