Marsh

This evening we took a walk on a trail through our local marsh. Before I moved here, no one told me about Wisconsin producing the largest cranberry crop in the United States, or that the state has a plethura of marshes, but every time I turn around in central Wisconsin, there is a marsh. I knew about the local marsh, only about two miles from my house, but I don't go that direction very often. Because everything in Wisconsin happens between trees, I am forever discovering some new place I haven't been that is just next door to where I am. It unnerves me.

I had read once that there was a long bike trail through the marsh, but I just sort spaced it out until this evening during a hairy supper hour. I realized that I needed to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE and that it was a beautiful evening for a walk. Like a light bulb, my brain just flashed "Go to the marsh!" before my thoughts, and so we did. Although the marsh is only 2 miles from our house, we drove about 10 miles getting to the marsh because we missed the sign the first time, but that ended up being alright too, because we landed up on a beautiful little gravel road that wound through a small, fall colored forest.

The sun was setting during our small trek down the trail. We only went in just a bit because it was getting close to bedtime for Ms. Crazy Preschooler and Gus. It was a great walk. Some of the marsh grasses have started to turn colors, and the ground was dotted with late fall wildflowers. I stopped to take a picture of one of the wildflowers because upon it were resting three large bumble bees, possibly still reeling from the cold weather last night since they were hardly moving at all, but slowly feasting on purple nector.