05/17/2050
It's a wonderful thing being retired. It's a Tuesday morning, and spring migration is in full swing. I decided to venture out early this morning. After a full night's charge our EV is ready to go (It really only needs about 2 hours of charge to be ready; it's just easier to remember to plug it in before bed). It has a range of 500 miles. I won't be needing the full charge for this road trip as I set out before sunrise to visit Horicon Marsh.
I back out of the driveway slowly watching for critters who are active before dawn. Over the last 30 years, the neighborhood has become more densely planted. Our oak trees now tower in the front yard. Throughout the neighborhood oaks, maples, aspens and birches line the streets. Lower growing serviceberries and redbuds decorate the street with white and pink blooms. The city sponsored a native plant initiative and encouraged property owners to more densely plant their yards, and the results speak for themselves.
The town now resembles neighborhoods which dotted the parameter of the UW Arboretum in the 2000's. It's commonplace to see Wild Turkey strutting across the street and Red Foxes make occasional appearances cutting across the road in the dark. Last fall, our acorns provided a sufficient food for turkey, jays, squirrels, and grouse. The spread of large deciduous trees throughout town has lead to a boom in woodpecker species; 30 years ago Downy and Hairy were common place but now it's not unusual to see Pileated, Red Bellied, and Red Headed Woodpeckers. In fact, with our close proximity to the retention pond a pair of Wood Ducks have been inspecting a hole dug out in our Bur Oak by woodpeckers two years ago.
My car rolls quietly in the dark past the retention pond. Signs have been posted warning drivers to slow down and watch for frogs, turtles and ducks in the road. I drive slowly, stopping to get out and usher a few Green Frogs across the street.
The sky is still dark as I speed down the highway out of town. In the distances, I can see the flash of red beacons marking windmills. The county is almost entirely powered by clean energy. Electric water heaters and heating are in most homes while a few still use natural gas. At this point it's somewhat unusual to use gas, like a lan line telephone in the age of smartphones.
Still cruising down the highway, I pass under a number of bridges spaced about every 15 or 20 miles. The bridges don't carry car traffic though. These are green spaces. These green corridors help connect mammals living on one side of the highway with another. The number of dead deer and raccoons on the side of the road has been drastically reduced.
The sun is just starting rise as I pull into the parking lot near the Horicon Auto Tour off HWY 49. It's been dubbed a scenic highway and traffic passing between the start of the Auto Tour and Cty Rd Z has a speed limit of 35 miles per hour which is strictly enforced by camera / radar enforcement. Tickets for speeding across this portion of marsh have triple the fine.
I walk the auto tour route in reverse, starting at the largest pond, knowing that flocks of American White Pelican are easy to spot here in the morning. I'm also keen to skirt over to the floating boardwalk quickly to spot the growing flock of Whooping Cranes who wade in the reeds between the boardwalk and the Old Marsh Rd. 30 years ago, I spotted a pair along the Old Marsh Rd, safe inside the refuge. Every spring since, the flock here has grown, and now it's not unusual to spot a few dozen birds here during migration.
The refuge continues to be an important habitat for all types of ducks. On my walk I spot: Blue Winged Teal, Ruddy Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Redheads, and Gadwalls. In case you're interested, people still hunt in the fall. In fact, members of the Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited make up a significant green voting block which helped restore wetlands and forest across the state and encouraged cities across Wisconsin to take up native plant yard initiatives.
After the morning's successful birding adventures; I head to Waupun for lunch. Nearing the town, every building's roof is gleaming. The bright May sun is soaked up by solar panels which adorn most buildings. Wind and solar make up most of Wisconsin's power supply, and many property owners installed solar panels as way to offset their electrical use as EV cars become common.
The speed limit on this stretch of HWY 49 is still 55 MPH but the riparian buffers give me pause so I limit my speed to 45. In order to prevent soil loss and nutrient run off, farmers have adopted buffer zones which are largely comprised of native prairie plants. This stretch doesn't appear to have been burned this year so a tangle of dense brown grasses could hide any number of animals looking to cross the road. It's midday so I luck out and the critters remain asleep or hiding.
I sit down for lunch and do some people watching. I'd be a liar if I said I didn't eavesdrop on the conversations of the locals. I overhear them talking about the heavy snowmelt in March and April's heavy rains. They remark that none of the roads flooded despite the high cresting of the Rock River. In addition to restoring wetlands, rain gardens and rain barrels have become the norm and run-off from storms has been significantly reduced. Municipalities offered cost sharing plans to encourage the use of rain barrels and rain gardens as they ease the city's need to maintain and build storm water sewers and retention ponds.
I finish my lunch at the local burger place. I return my plate and cup to a tub so they can be taken back to the kitchen to be washed, and I throw my paper napkin away. There is garbage of course but for customers eating-in all restaurants have moved to using real plates, cups, and silverware. Beverages to go now typically come in an aluminum can or glass bottle, and yes that means I get charged for a second beverage. I take a root beer to go and start my drive back home.
As I pull into my driveway, I notice that the Columbine, Delphinium, Lupine, and False Indigo have started to bloom. I'm greeted by the buzz of bumblebees and the thrum of hummingbirds. Bees have made a huge comeback, their populations began to bounce back at about the time people's lawns stopped being so green. We still have some grassy lawn; it's practical for picnics and barbecues, and many other people have patches of it as well. It's just a little green. It's yellow and purple too with dandelions, violets, and creeping charlie. As I walk across the lawn, I stir up Cabbage White and Sulfur butterflies.
This reminds that Monarchs have rebounded as well. I won't expect to see them for another few weeks, not until our Milkweed has gotten much taller.
In retirement, I had planned to continue to blog, but there isn't really a need. Wisconsin was among the states that took the lead on green initiatives; this wasn't really a surprise given our historic roots passed down to us by Also Leopold and Gaylord Nelson. Momentum built and eventually the U.S. took the lead on global climate initiatives. The plastic garbage islands aren't totally cleaned up but the Navy has partnered with private industry and is making progress on the plastic problem. Given that most packaging has gone back to easily recyclable products like paper, glass, and aluminum; plastic has become less common.
The blog has become obsolete. Now everyone sees butterflies, bees, and migrating birds in their yards. Wildlife instead of being rare is common. Our children have had most of the heavy lifting to do, and they've helped us learn how to better live with nature.
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