Gotcha Day

We celebrated Teddy's first "gotcha day" (his birthday, since we don't know his real birth date) last week on November 12- it's hard to believe it has been one year since he came home!  He was happy to get a new toy and some Frosty Paws ice cream for his special day.

Cub Scout Teddy on a rainy Halloween 2015

Happy Gotcha Day!

The generally nice weather has continued, so we have been out to hike or bike almost every weekend.  Two weeks ago we hiked a new section of the Ice Age Trail segment within Point Beach State Forest.  We had already completed two other sections on previous visits, so this 6 mile out-and-back section would complete the Point Beach Segment.  Teddy went along with us for the hike through the State Forest and for a loop through the Rahr Memorial School Forest.  The Manitowoc Public School District owns the 300 acre property that is used for school learning exercises, field trips, and programs, and is open to the public.  Such a neat place!  We finished the hike around mid-afternoon and headed out quickly since it is deer archery season and public lands get pretty busy with hunters, even on Sundays.  We opted for a quick walk on the pet beach (Teddy is afraid of waves) and Rawley Point Lighthouse photos before heading out.

Hiking the Ice Age Trail at Point Beach State Forest, Rawley's Point Lighthouse

We recently became wine club members at Captain's Walk Winery in downtown Green Bay, and had our first social event earlier this month.  We picked up our wine selections for this quarter, had glasses of wine and appetizers, and checked out the "Captain's Quarters" wine club member lounges.  We signed up for the club about a month ago when we stopped in for a tasting and got to talking to our wine server Joe, who used to live in Gettysburg and happens to be a big history buff.  Scott especially enjoyed talking to him about all things Pennsylvania and the Civil War.  Looking forward to visiting Captain's Walk more often (especially since one of my workplaces is right next door...tempting).

 Captain's Walk Winery

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” - L.M. Montgomery

During October in Wisconsin, you have to take every advantage of each and every nice day (especially weekends) to get out and do something outdoors.  This has become our philosophy...we know what's coming.  This is the final countdown!

The last couple weekends involved 2 state park trips:  hiking at High Cliff State Park with Teddy, and biking 22 miles on another stretch of the Ahnapee State Trail/Ice Age National Scenic Trail, from Kewaunee to Casco Junction.  The leaves have been very colorful over the last few weeks, an added bonus for sure.  A lot of leaves are down now, but the weather has been generally mild.  Therefore, the "get out and enjoy it" philosophy tends to conflict with work and household chores over long periods of time.  Oh well.

Apple picking at Oneida Orchard ; Mountain-Bay State Trail in Green Bay

 The Niagara Escarpment (the Ledge) at High Cliff State Park

Lake Winnebago at High Cliff State Park

22 mile bike ride on the Ahnapee State Trail, Kewaunee River Segment.  Don't let flatlands biking fool you!

Pure Michigan

We had been meaning to give the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (The UP) a decent visit ever since we arrived in Wisconsin.  September was busy at work for both of us, so we tentatively planned a weekend camping trip for October, which provided something fun to look forward to.  It may not be Wisconsin, but still the Upper Midwest for sure.  The weather was fantastic last weekend (60s-70s in October!!), so the trip was on and it was fantastic.  Scott was heard saying several times over the weekend..."Is this really Michigan?" 

We decided to drive the 3 hours to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, one of only 4 national lakeshores in the country and my first visit to Lake Superior (Scott had technically seen Superior in WI during a work trip, but really his first visit too).  The trip up was beautiful as we drove all the way up the west shore of Green Bay (it takes almost 2 hours) and then through the Hiawatha National Forest.  We arrived at the visitor center in Munising, MI (Chippewa for "place with the island") and starting driving along the shore scenic route to the campgrounds.  I was concerned that we were showing up too late on a prime weekend, but we were the first to arrive and had our choice of site at Hurricane River Campground, right on Lake Superior.  We spent the afternoon hiking to the Au Sable Light Station, joined an excellent tour, and climbed the 98 steps to the top of the tower.  After a little more sightseeing, we ended up in the "town" of Grand Marais ("the big marsh" in French, basically one intersection of a town) at Lake Superior Brewing Company.  The slogan on their website is accurate: "we're a little hard to find, but harder to forget."  We ate dinner with lots of Youpers (i.e., people from the UP) and a few tourists.  After the ride back to the campsite, we listened to the waves of Superior all night long.

 Wagner Falls, Hiawatha National Forest   

 Lake Superior- the largest, the deepest, the cleanest...and lots of shipwrecks!

Au Sable Light Station and view from the top!




The next day, we headed back toward Munising and stopped to hike to several waterfalls along the way.  SO many waterfalls in this area due to the rocky shoreline.  The lakeshore was pretty crowded on the last weekend of the season, so it REALLY must be crowded in the summertime.  The last sightseeing stop was at Pictured Rocks Cruises at Munising City Docks.  No better way to actually see the pictured rocks than by boat!  We learned a lot on the tour and had some great views of the shoreline and East Channel Lighthouse on Grand Island despite being trapped on the boat with all those annoying tourists!  Last stop of the day- Pictured Rocks Brewing Company for another drink and a sandwich.

 Miner Falls

 

Spray Falls, from Pictured Rocks Cruise boat Grand Portal

 

East Channel Lighthouse, Grand Island

Sunday morning meant that we had to start heading south.  We packed up the campsite and stopped at the Chapel Falls trailhead for a morning hike to a beautiful waterfall.  Then, it was on down the road to Escanaba, MI for lunch and the first half of the Packers game at Hereford & Hops, our last microbrewery of the trip, and one more lighthouse.  Then, back to Central Time Zone and Titletown.  Go Pack Go!

 

Chapel Falls

Escanaba Lighthouse

Perhaps the Pure Michigan slogan is right on? Eh?

Ahnapee Trail: 31 miles for 31 years

Last weekend, we decided to go for a bike ride since naturally our "nice" days are now numbered with the onset of fall.  Last Sunday had temperatures in the lows 70s, but it was still pretty cloudy and breezy.  Nonetheless, it makes for good biking weather when the sun is not beating down on you. We felt like biking somewhere new, so we decided to try out the Ahnapee State Trail (pronounced ANN ah pee).  The mainstem of the trail (around 16 miles) runs from Algoma on the Lake Michigan shore in Kewaunee County to the northwest to Sturgeon Bay on the Door Peninsula.  The route is the old railway for the Ahnapee & Western railway.

We drove east to the city of Algoma (which originally was called Ahnapee, or "land of the great gray wolf") with the intention of riding "some" of the trail and turning around whenever we felt like it.  Reviews suggested that the trail was pretty bumpy and not well-maintained since it is also used for trail riding with horses.  We set off on our bikes from Algoma and had a nice ride through farmland and forest along the Ahnapee River for several miles, and through a few small communities.  The trail itself was fairly remote without much in the way of rest stops or points of interest on the way, but was in pretty good condition despite the crushed gravel surfacing.  By the time we made it to the 12 mile point, it made sense (at the time) to just keep going the last few miles to Sturgeon Bay, making the outbound trip about 1.5 hours total.  Another factor in the decision to keep going was the fact that the Ahnapee Trail is a segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, one of the long distance trails we try to visit as part of our Wisconsin travels.  This 16 mile stretch was a new segment for us, plus it was nice to have the opportunity to do a section by bike.  We took a break in the parking area in Sturgeon Bay, and turned around to head back to Algoma.

Needless the say the wind shifted and was working against us (pretty flat so not "uphill both ways", but into the wind both ways!), plus fatigue set in by the time we set out for the return trip.  We did see lots of wildlife including porcupine, deer, a garter snake, and even stopped to observe some sandhill cranes near the trail.  It was not crowded and for most of the ride, we had the place to ourselves.  The one thing we did not account for was to bring enough water for a 30 mile bike ride.  There were no points along the route to fill up since the two parks we did pass did not have running water.  Even so, we made it back to the truck in one piece (barely) and finished the last of the water.  After a little moaning and groaning and wondering why we did such a thing to ourselves, we realized we had biked 31 miles round trip- coincidence?  I think not.

Next stop was Ahnapee Brewery to grab a celebratory beverage right before they closed and a quick view of the Algoma Lighthouse.  Then, back to Green Bay to get ready for another busy week.

Several cool murals in town

Algoma Light on Lake Michigan

Catching up

Sorry for the almost month-long break from the blog- life has gotten a little busier over the last couple weeks which leaves less time for fun stuff to write about. However, fall is almost here so there should be plenty of camping adventures, festivals and the like to keep us busy on the weekends before winter sets in yet again.

My job has got a lot busier in late August because we are now in the herbicide treatment season for Phragmites, and we are up against a moving target of the first hard frost, which could come any time in October (which means the work has to be done in time before a date we don't know).  The plants start to store energy to make it through the winter in the late summer/early fall, and that makes it a really good time to effectively treat them with the herbicide.  Lately every day has been packed with trying to set up contractors and get the last minute arrangements in place.  I can't say I've ever had to make arrangements for a helicopter to take off and land before!  We expect to get started this week and should be able to finish by the end of the month, if the weather cooperates.  We had rain last week and winds so far this week, which are the two things that make it a lot harder to get the work done.

To top it off,  I started a second part time job after Labor Day at the Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission, also working with managing Phragmites on a different project- this one funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (from EPA) to promote recovery of the Green Bay/Fox River Area of Concern, which has been impaired due to historic pollution from industry in the area.  I will also be developing some outreach programs for different audiences, and already have attended a couple of meetings in just a week of work.  So far, so good.

So then once I was working full time, I accepted a last minute third job teaching a biology lecture class this semester at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay!  I start the animals section of the class on October 26 (the first half of class covers plants).  While I am pretty busy right now, all of this work will be over by the end of the year, so the chaos will be relatively short-lived.

After a quick flight "back east" to PA over Labor Day weekend for my dear freshman roomie's wedding (congrats, Karen and Brent!), Mom and Dad came to visit last weekend on their way to the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan for their vacation.  We had a nice visit and nice weather- we spent one afternoon up in Door County visiting Door 44 Winery, Door Peninsula Winery, and Door County Distillery, and checking out the shops and lighthouses in Sturgeon Bay.  And of course, a trip to Culvers!

Sturgeon Bay Pierhead Light- much warmer than last time we were here!

 

 Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Light- on an active Coast Guard Station

We finished off the day watching the sunset at Potawatomi State Park.  The view from the shoreline was great, but the climb up to the top of the observation tower made it even better!

Sunset behind Green Bay

Wisconservation

I had been looking forward to the Building a Land Ethic:  Teaching and Learning Across Boundaries conference for months.  As a Land Ethic Leader alumna from last year (revisit the blog mention here), I heard about the conference through communications from The Aldo Leopold Foundation and knew I had to attend- especially since the event was held at the University of Wisconsin- Baraboo/Sauk County, only a 2.5 hour drive away.  I booked a campsite at Rocky Arbor State Park in Wisconsin Dells (i.e., "the Dells") and hoped for good weather!

For those that don't know, Aldo Leopold was a trained forester who became the first professor of wildlife management (at UW-Madison), as well as a skilled writer for diverse audiences.  If you need a book to read, check A Sand County Almanac published in 1949- his most popular work, which describes his observations of nature and seasons, has been translated into 12 different languages.  To say he had a way with words would be an understatement, but probably the most interesting aspect (I think) is how relevant his words and observations remain today, so many years later.  One of my favorite essays describes The Land Ethic, the concept of caring for the land because we are a part of the biotic community and not separate from it, which developed over the course of his life as opposed to an "aha" moment.  For us wildlife professionals anyway, this is meaningful stuff.

Scott had put in some extra time at work the weekend before working at the WI State Fair down in Milwaukee (176 different deep fried food items to try!?), so he was able to travel with me to camp and do his own sightseeing in the area (hiking at state parks and beer sampling at the local microbreweries- he should write another blog about this part) while I attended the conference events.  We left Thursday morning and made our way in the southwesterly direction through cows, corn, corn, birthplace of the Republican party, and more corn.  The weekend was a hot one throughout- low to mid- 90s with lots of humidity, but it only rained lightly a couple of times for short periods over the whole weekend.  We really lucked out.

The conference was fantastic- lots of discussion of diversity and inclusiveness, as well as engaging communities in the land ethic.  I met so many other professionals in conservation education, non-profit organizations, Land Ethic Leaders, and Leopold Education Project leaders. I even got to connect with a few friendly faces from RLEL last year!  I also enjoyed field trips to both the International Crane Foundation (representatives of all 15 of the world's crane species are in residence) and the Leopold Family "shack" (so named by Leopold himself, now a National Historic Landmark) on the Wisconsin River- both fantastic visits and very inspiring.  I had been to the shack once before during a Wildlife Society conference in October 2013, but this was my first time on a guided tour where I had the opportunity to visit inside.  Added bonus!

Estella Leopold, youngest daughter of Aldo, talks about her experiences with her family at the shack.  The notes on the screen behind her are hers from when she took her dad's class as a college student.  How cool is that?!

 Black-crowned crane (native to Africa) at ICF- so beautiful!

 Beautiful mural of what the Baraboo Hills prairie looked like historically, complete with passenger pigeons on the left (now extinct).  Yes, they have "hills" over in Baraboo- I was so excited!

Whooping crane exhibit- tallest flying bird in North America.  So majestic!

Leopold Shack- the family worked on weekends and holidays to restore the shack (a former chicken coop) and the surrounding land after the farm was completely burned out and sold during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s.

The fireplace in the shack was built by the family.  Very rustic accommodations, but so practical!

Conference attendees participated in the dedication for the newly constructed Leopold Memorial site, including this memorium and a restored prairie (complete with bison figures).

The only negative was the oppressive heat, but it was survivable if you held still and kept quiet!  Wisconsin Dells is eerily very much like Gatlinburg, TN, with the addition of all the water parks- lots of touristy stuff in such close proximity to great natural wonders, which makes it a little bit depressing in my opinion.  Everyone else disagrees apparently (it was packed), so what do I know?

On the way home on Sunday, we continued the Wisconservation theme by visiting John Muir's boyhood home, now maintained as a county park and National Historic Landmark.  He immigrated to the US with his family when he was 11 years old and settled on Fountain Lake Farm in Marquette County, Wisconsin in 1849 (whoa- exactly 100 years before A Sand County Almanac!).  John Muir is known as the father of the national park system and for his deep connection with and tireless protection of Yosemite National Park, not to mention co-founding the Sierra Club.  Before John Muir walked to Florida for the heck of it and moved to California to save the sequoias, he was right here in our backyard exploring the prairies of Wisconsin.  We hiked a short 2-mile segment of the Ice Age Trail that loops around the lake (now called Ennis Lake). 

 

The beautiful prairie at Fountain Lake Farm

 "...even if I should never see it again, the beauty of its lillies and orchids is so pressed into my mind I shall always enjoy looking back at them in imagination, even across seas and continents and perhaps after I am dead." -JM

 John Muir- Foster Son of Wisconsin (figured I would be in it, but it turned out kind of neat).

A fantastic Wisconservation weekend, if I do say so myself!

Bird is the word

I had the chance to help with 2 duck banding efforts in the area in addition to my regularly scheduled work program over the last couple of weeks.  You may have read the previous post from June about goose banding- the concept is pretty similar, although the tactics for catching the birds are a little different.  The information collected from banded birds can be valuable for population studies related to survival and mortality, migration and dispersal, and reproduction success (see the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory for more information).

Collins Marsh
Collins Marsh Wildlife Area is located in Manitowoc County, about 45 minutes southeast of the City of Green Bay towards Lake Michigan.  The duck banding operation there involves an early morning, a cannon net, and a duck blind- observers get into the blind at about 4:30 AM and wait for the ducks to come in to the baiting site (the corn pile).  They are often very wary of people, so the observers wear camouflage clothing, stay hidden in the blind, and stay very quiet.  The biologist "takes the shot" when ready, which detonates the explosives and releases the net, and captures the ducks beneath unharmed.  Most of the time, the shot occurs at around 6 AM and ducks are processed very quickly thanks to all the volunteer help.

  An early morning at Collins Marsh

Each duck is aged (juvenile or adult) and sexed (male or female), and receives a bracelet (or band) with a number and website for a hunter or other individual to report where the bird was located if recaptured or killed at a later time.  Unlike the geese we banded a few weeks ago that were flightless at the time due to their molt, ducks will take right off from your hands when released.  We banded 42 ducks that morning (a lower number than usual, due to a light wind that made the shot difficult)- 10 mallards, 31 wood ducks, and 1 green-winged teal.  The ducks are not in breeding plumage right now and some of the young born this year are right on the cusp of adulthood, so it can make it a little more challenging to figure out their age and sex. 

 Getting ready to release an male wood duck after he received his new "jewelry."  Woodies have surprisingly sharp claws, used for perching in trees.

Nice look at the green-winged teal, complements of event organizer Josh

Staff and volunteers rolling up the net after finishing with banding- very important to get it put away properly so it will fire correctly at the next shot. 

 The team after a successful morning of banding (which ended at 6:30 AM, before the morning even began!).  The blind is located up in the trees behind everyone, to the right of the photo.

As I heard beforehand, one of the best things about duck banding is the delicious group breakfast at the Silver Dollar Diner in the nearby village of Valders following a successful morning of banding.  Friendly staff and a wonderful breakfast- they even gave us a shout out on Facebook!



Navarino
Navarino Wildlife Area is located in the westerly direction from the City of Green Bay in Shawano County (pronounced SHAWN oh- weird, I know) and Waupaca County (waw PACK uh).  Unlike at Collins, Duck banding at Navarino takes place at night beginning at dusk.  Volunteers watch a short presentation given by the local wildlife technician beforehand and then jump into vehicles to ride to 3 different trapping sites.  Each site has a wire trap set up (referred to as a "walk-in trap"), that allows ducks to walk in to access the bait (also corn) through several open doors.  The first team on site approaches and quickly closes off the small doors with burlap bags, leaving the ducks inside the wire trap.  The ducks are gently herded to an opening once a separate smaller trap is prepared to then transport the ducks to the banding location.  Banding takes place under lanterns since it is so dark on the wildlife area.

Scott and I both volunteered for an evening at Navarino (on our 4th wedding anniversary, in fact), so it made for an interesting and fun evening out!  We helped to herd some of the ducks to the portable traps (Havahart live traps) and also carried ducks to the banders for processing.  We also got to help with blocking off the exit doors at the second site, so that was pretty exciting to jump out of the truck and hurry in on the trap.  The mosquitoes were pretty bad at the first couple of the sites, but overall it was a nice evening in the marsh even though rain was expected the next day.  I heard Navarino is a great place to view stars, but it was pretty cloudy on the evening we were there.  The team banded 90 new ducks- 31 mallards and 59 wood ducks. We also captured 18 mallards and 11 wood ducks that already had bands (known as recaptures).  For recaptures, we recorded the number on the band as a known location of the bird and released them.  Unfortunately, no photos from the evening due to the darkness and cardio workout received from swatting at Wisconsin's state bird (i.e., mosquitoes).

Great Lakes fishing adventures

Well, it has been just over a year since the start of the blog and our arrival in Wisconsin.  The longest and the shortest year of my life.  We have experienced a lot of adventures over the last year- and while it may appear from the blog that we are constantly out and about having fun, we still miss all of our family and friends very much.  We try to keep busy to keep us going.  So thanks for reading and supporting us!

Last weekend we had a great opportunity to do some Lake Michigan salmon fishing during the height of the season.  Our coworker James (my cubicle neighbor) is a avid angler and was kind enough to offer to take us out on his boat very early on Sunday morning to get the true experience.  James enjoys taking out newbies and offering them a charter-like experience to get them hooked on fishing.  Needless to say, we had a great time. 

We met James at the Kewanuee Marina at 3:30 AM (early!), which meant we had to leave Green Bay at around 2:40 AM.  The marina was already bustling with anglers getting ready to head out on the water.  We boarded James' small boat and headed for the Lake.  The Kewaunee lighthouse was lit and the stars were fantastic on our ride out.  It was already pretty crowded out on the water with other boats, and we set up and started trolling not far from the shoreline just a little south of Kewaunee.  After about an hour, we got our first bite.  It was my turn to bring in the fish- after a few minutes of the fish running out on me and bringing him back in very slowly (a lot hard than it looks!),  I brought in the first fish of the day- a nice king salmon that ended up being the largest fish of the day at 14.8 lbs.  For the next hour, we reeled in fish non-stop and had 4 or 5 in "the box" (i.e., the cooler) by 6 AM.  The sunrise provided a beautiful backdrop. 

The big guy of the day was our first catch at sunrise

Our ride was pretty relaxing for the rest of the morning.  We would cruise and enjoy the sunshine and then randomly catch a fish about once every hour.  We learned that trout and salmon are stocked in the Lake and heard more about the history of the fishery.  For example, the lake trout population (which relies on wild reproduction) was severely decimated by the 1950s and 1960s and has since rebounded some.  Many of the trout and salmon populations today are not sustainable because of reduced populations of "feeder fish" (i.e., smaller fish that these larger guy would eat).  The feeder fish are declining because of the water clarity and lack of native vegetation due to the introduction of invasive zebra mussels into the system.  Everything is connected.

 Another nice king salmon

 

 Bringing another one in- hard work!

 Scott caught a nice rainbow trout- see how blue it is?

In addition to 7 nice king salmon, we also got a rainbow trout and a lake trout for a total of 9 fish.  James was also kind enough to filet our fish at the marina for us and we now have a ton (i.e., 80+ lbs?) of fish in our freezer.  The early morning was well worth it- exciting catches, beautiful weather, and calm seas.  THANKS, James!

 Nice box for the day- all king salmon on the hooks, rainbow trout on the far left and lake trout on the far right.