SANDHILL in SEPTEMBER

The other day my hubby and I took a road trip to the old Sandhill Game Farm near Babcock, Wisconsin.  I was hoping to see more fall colors in the tree tops but it was still a beautiful day.  Maple leaves are turning a bit slowly this year, perhaps because we haven't had a killing frost yet.

Trumpeter swans in one of the many marsh areas at Sandhill

Sandhill Wildlife Area, as it is now called, consists of over 9,000 acres of land and has been owned by the State of Wisconsin since the early 1960's.  It was created as a game farm in the 1930's when purchased for back taxes by Wallace and Hazel St. Germain Grange during the Depression.  The Granges were a unique couple who raised deer on this vast acreage, closing up its borders with 8' tall fencing.  While living and working at Sandhill they studied wildlife, waterfowl habitat, and forest management.  Wallace and Hazel then shared the abundance of their labor by transporting excess wildlife for many years from their farm to various states through the U. S. to help re-establish dwindling numbers of deer and grouse.

A fourteen mile graveled road can be driven by automobile through the wildlife area.  On your drive you may see many waterfowl species including sandhill cranes, trumpeter swans, loons, ducks, geese, and bald eagles.  Early morning and dusk are the best times for viewing wildlife.

Hearing four swans call to one another as they flew beside us from one of three observation towers was the highlight of my day at Sandhill.

Rocky debris on a high knoll inside Sandhill littered with remnants of the glaciers, remind us of the history of Glacial Lake Wisconsin and millions of years of changes that have taken place right here before us.  Steps of long ago carved along a hiking trail lead to a tower atop North Bluff.  Head to the right when you see a sign labeled the "Carl Bowden Trail" to find the location of this tower.  You can see Saddle Mound on the horizon in Jackson County to the west when you reach the top.

Hazel Grange wrote a memoir when in her 90's titled "Live Arrival, Guaranteed" that I highly recommend reading.  This book is about Hazel and Wallace's life together during their early days in Door County, Wisconsin and at their Sandhill Game Farm in Wood County.  The book was published in 1996, just a year before Hazel's death in a western state.

Hazel's grandfather, David St. Germain, a Civil War Veteran born and raised in Wisconsin, is buried in the Sherwood Cemetery in Clark County.  When Hazel was a child she lived with her parents, Moses and Delvina McClure St. Germain, and her siblings, in the Town of Lynn in Clark County.  Later they moved to Rusk County, where both her of parents passed away sending Hazel out into the world alone in her youth. 


When Wallace and Hazel sold Sandhill to the State of Wisconsin they asked that this vast acreage of wetlands and woodlands be used to educate the public about wildlife.  Their unselfishness has left behind a beautiful and peaceful legacy for the public to explore and enjoy.  

 

MOSS

I'm anxious for fall colors to appear, but they can wait a few more weeks.  This Wisconsin weekend was filled with plenty of sunshine, cool mornings, and a beautiful sunset last night that can't be compared.  I am enjoying the cooler temperatures and moss!

Although Wisconsin doesn't have moss that hangs on tree branches and leaves one wonder struck, we have many different kinds of moss that are beautiful and can be seen nearly year round.  Moss coats stumps, the bases of trees, and low wet places in the woods.

My yard has acidy soil and plenty of shade and moss flourishes here.  I'd rather have a carpet of moss in my yard than green grass that needs continual mowing.  Moss is soft under the feet and easy on the eyes.

A special kind of moss, called sphagnum moss, grows in the acidic peat soil of central Wisconsin marshes.  It has been a source of income for many years and my father and brothers all have had jobs harvesting it.  After the moss is pulled up, it is dried and baled.  Then it is shipped to nurseries, greenhouses, and gardeners throughout the country.   This moss can hold up to twenty times its weight in water.  This little patch of sphagnum moss below is growing near my cabin.

Years ago I planted a moss garden in the yard that includes about six different types of moss.  Through the years the mosses have blended together amid stones and bricks and share their spot with wild flowers in springtime and wintergreen and partridge berries.  With adequate rainfall each summer, I can always count on seeing green when I look at my moss garden.

Celebrating, 
and appreciating,
an incredibly soft and precious plant called moss!