August is a great time for a visit to Collins Marsh. Although most of the migratingbirds of fall have not yet headed our way, there are many colorful residents that takeadvantage of the summer insect populations, tree swallows and purple martins arediving about, fly catchers hunt in the willows, egrets and great blue herons are […]
July on the marsh illustrates summer in full swing. There is activity everywhere,from our colorful migrant birds, flowering plants, croaking frogs to butterflies anddragonflies flitting here and there, too many things to see and experience in such ashort time. Summer in Wisconsin doesn’t seem to last that long, there are so manyplaces to visit and […]
June on the marsh is an exciting time of year! The world has become greenalmost overnight and with it the sound of life is everywhere, birdsong, buzzing bumblebees, hovering dragonflies and the leaves flickering in the wind with a breeze. Afreshwater marsh is a unique ecosystem filled with a high diversity of life, fromspecialized plants, […]
Wetlands come alive in May and Collins Marsh is no exception,booming with life! Under the serene looking waters there is a wholedifferent aquatic world that we don’t get to see. As the length of dayincreases and temperatures warm both on land and in the water, there is apalette of color before you. Green occurs in […]
It feels like time has taken forever, much like the anticipation of a visit from an oldfriend, waiting for weeks, then days for an arrival that took way too long. That issometimes what April feels like, waiting for the grass to turn green, the buds on thetrees to burst forth into leaves and the earliest […]
It starts with the warmer intensity of the sun and longer length of daylight, drip, drip, drip, becomes a slow dribble as meltwater, obeying the law of gravity, makes its way downhill recharging groundwater, filling the creeks and streams that empty into Lake Michigan. Instead of snowfall we may experience some rain showers, and the […]
February can be a difficult time for gardeners. So much brown and so little green in thelandscape. The cold weather seems to linger on, and winter keeps people inside more than theywant to be. One by one the seed catalogs have arrived in the mailbox, and it is a time ofdreaming and planning for spring […]
There is something exciting about taking a walk in the woods in January, especially after a fresh coat of snow has fallen. The snow lies undisturbed before you, a blanket of white with sparkles that shift and rival the twinkle of a diamond as the sun hits it just right. The tree trunks guide […]
December on the marsh could mean a blanket of snow, and who isn’t dreaming of a white Christmas? As temperatures decrease, we may see less open water, more ice-covered areas. As open waters freeze, waterfowl move on. The marsh may seem devoid of life, but that is an illusion. life is still there, unseen but […]