Soul Soothing

I can think of nothing more soul-soothing than the enveloping rays of the sun bidding farewell at the end of a satisfying hike through a desert, marsh or bog.

Spring Green SNA, Sauk Co, WI 12Sept2018

Being more of a night owl than an early bird, I often find myself in these moments....Among the din of crickets and frogs. Cleansed. Harnessing that ephemeral inner peace. Fleeting, but magical nonetheless.

Spring Green SNA, Sauk Co, WI 12Sept2018

September 12th I found myself at Spring Green State Natural Area for my second and likely final trip of the year. Strange yet sensible to have found myself here for only two visits for 2018.

One trip for Prairie Fame-flower...

Prairie Fame-flower, Spring Green SNA (west), Sauk Co, WI 5Aug2018

...and most recently, this second trip to witness September's Splendid Tiger Beetles.

Spring Green SNA bluff Splendid Tiger Beetle habitat, 12Sept2018

Undoubtedly the Splendids are something I look forward to each September, an exquisite reward for a moderately strenuous climb to the top of the bluff.

Splendid Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

The journey to the top reliably yielded nuggets of Nature's goodness along the way. Oblique Tiger Beetles were numerous along the sand path en route to bluff. This species seems quite prolific in early September whether it be the desert of Spring Green or sandy terrain of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Oblique Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

Few plants were flowering which is to be expected during this season of senescence. A smattering of Rough Blazing Star and Asters dotted landscape.

Rough Blazing Star, 12Sept2018

Aster species, 12Sept2018

They provided islands of nectar for a small array of butterflies including Eastern Tailed-blue, a species that was present on both my visits to the desert prairie this year.

Eastern Tailed-blue, 12Sept2018

Eventually to the top of the bluff I climbed. Inevitably as I approached my destination, a niggling angst of dipping invaded the serenity of my cognition. However my fears were quickly allayed when my peripheral vision detected the frenetic flight of a Splendid along the path. As I walked slow and methodical I spied another, and another, hooking me into the moment.

Splendid Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

"Hello grasshopper!" ~Splendid Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

These metallic nuggets of eye-candy endeared me for a good part of nearly an hour at which point I nudged myself to begin my descent back to the desert prairie and my car.

Splendid Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

Splendid Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

Surprisingly, as glorious as the Splendid Tiger Beetles were, the Virginia Big-headed Tiger Beetles I found in the desert below were the pinnacle insect for the trip.

Virginia Big-headed Tiger Beetle, 12Sept2018

Having only seen this species once before, I was elated to find several that cooperated for photos. This species is known for being crepuscular. So I had hopes when I set out for Spring Green in the late afternoon that I might reap the reward of witnessing these buggers scurrying along the path near dusk. I could not have wished for more, or four to be exact.

Virginia Big-headed Tiger Beetle, 12Sept2018

Brimming with Nature's goodness, I hiked the remaining southern stretch of the trail in near darkness. Intermittently I found my thoughts being deafened by a crescendo of crickets. However, through the din of Nature's sometimes shrill accompaniment, I heard a distant and unseasonable call of a Whip-poor-will from the bluff. And as darkness continued to eclipse me, with the rising crescent moon by my side, my soul felt blanketed in the soothing near absence of light, in the stillness of the moment.

Peace had settled into my viscera along with a salient sense of satisfaction. Farewell to my dearest desert prairie. Until next year...