Beyond Xenia

North, beyond the flat fields, where the stubble of corn stalks left standing fades to blond beneath a bright winter sun, and silver-roofed silos stand as sentries beside small, clean brick houses of the dozing mid-western farms, the historic town of Xenia welcomes rural travelers. Its stately, old city buildings, the picture of the picture-perfect town.
And beyond Xenia, on a bright and breezy day, we revisited the Fen.

Boardwalk trail of Seibenthaler Fen

From the edge of the nearly mile-long boardwalk, cottonwoods and sycamores stand in swamps that line the banks of the parallel waters of Big Beaver Creek. But, soon the planks turn and set out across the sedge meadows, small puddles of the cool, clear water from the aquifer below, seeping through to the spaces beneath our feet.

The marshes are a tangle of browns now. The dense summer greens, gone.
Cattails stand in great groups, their fine, downy droppings gathering in piles along the trail, keeping just ahead of the brisk breeze carrying us along. Dock, its sturdy, lined stem of deep rusty tones is backlit by the afternoon sun.
The fruits of Swamp rose and stems of Dogwood, shine as bright reds.
And the Willows, in deep, golden yellows.

View across Sedge Meadow

Rose Hips

Cattails

Dock stem and seeds
Rumex sp.

Golden stems of Willow beside the marsh

Scattered among the brown,
the colors of winter.
Such a fine greeting to visitors here.

Big Beaver Creek
December 2008

Big Beaver Creek
May 2008

Delicate seeded stems
beside marsh trail

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A chat with Julie Z.

I enter a swamp as a sacred place.
~Henry David Thoreau


It never ceases to amaze me--the diversity of natural areas around us.
And, that as often as we go out exploring, there continue to be places brand new.

Siebenthaler Fen is part of the Beaver Creek Wetland complex, several miles east of Dayton, and less than an hour's drive from our home. A protected peat-forming wetland, it's fed by groundwater and offers a mile-long stretch of board walk, observation areas and a tower platform, from which to view these rare communities of plants and animals--without getting your feet wet.
And, for the 20th anniversary of the organization that oversees this unique area, an early morning walk led by Julie Zickefoose.

Big Beaver Creek, rimmed by willows and shrubby cinquefoil, reflected a bright blue sky in its quiet surface. While in the wet woods, the shaded water beneath the cottonwoods hides frogs and turtles.
Even on this cool morning, emerging.
Green frogs in green duckweed.
And the tiniest painted turtle that slips beneath the surface before excited fingers find their focus.




From the treetops, Orioles and Indigo Buntings shone brightly in the sunshine. Orange and blue. Defending territories in persistent calls.
The low, dense shrubby areas covering the birds and their nests well-- their songs the only clue to their presence.

Julie's ear caught the song of a Yellow-breasted Chat, and we watched--as she called him into view, mimicking his whistle and chatter. Flitting from branch to branch, before finally resting at the top of a small tree to sing in the open--his throat full with sound and pouring forth joy. In the thick green tangles, the bold yellow spot with black gape--he held us there, watching.

In the sedge meadows, Skunk Cabbage and Great Angelica showed their large leaves from between the narrow sedges.
What looked like grass, was not that at all.
There is roughness here--spines and burs.
Texture.


Even into the woods, rushes in dark, clear water.
Just tall enough to hide beneath--if you're young.
And don't mind muddy feet.


So much packed into this rich area.
And so much richer with a leader like Julie.

Boardwalk down from Tower

Skunk Cabbage Rolls

Julie & me, after walk