Twin Springs - Walk There Again

We all make promises to ourselves that we fail to keep for whatever reason.  Some of these promises are critical to our very being and they can define what and who we are.  Breaking them would result in a personal crisis so we do what we can to succeed in keeping them.  But there are other promises that might qualify more as wishes - things I would like to have happen if life allows - and these are the promises I often fail to keep for myself.

One such promise was to take more "walk there agains" during the Spring.  We did a fine job in the Fall and had plenty of accomplishments to report on while we were at Kauai.  But other parts of life - things like illness and a sense of overwhelm from our jobs and the farm - have taken away the energy we wanted for regular hikes over the past couple of months.  

We took a short trip to the Decorah area because we needed to pick up a bulk order of flour at the Oneota Coop, with whom we have been members starting when we lived there years ago.  It was supposed to be a there and back sort of trip so we could use some energy and get a few farm things done.  Luckily, Tammy made the suggestion that we stop at Twin Springs and interpreted my ambivalence as a "yes."

This was a short hike at a place both of us appreciate very much.  You can learn more about our reasons for liking it in this August 2020 Walk There Again.

One of our first sightings was a Hairy Woodpecker.  You can probably find that bird in the photo above.  Unlike Kip Ladage, we don't have the equipment or skills for a "nature calendar shot" that he is so good at (yes, that is a plug - his daily comments are worth reading and viewing).  So, we take pictures of birds that are more documentation than anything.

Elm trees, on the other hand, are unable to flit, fly, creep, crawl, run, jump or otherwise get away from us as we approach.  So, this elm allowed me to get close enough to take a picture of these leaves.  Both Tammy and I have fond memories of the giant American Elms that graced so many towns in the Midwest as we were growing up.  Dutch Elm disease resulted in the death and removal of most specimens over time - but this appeared to have the leaf structure of an American Elm.

We know that some younger American Elms still exist out there, but they often get to a certain size and then succumb to the disease.  If we identified this one correctly, has it adapted somehow?  It's just one of the things we wonder as we walk.

Since our last walk here was in August, the ground cover in the area was very different this time.  I don't recall seeing Comfrey, probably because the plants were not blooming.  But, there were several specimens near the walking path this time around.  

The Minnesota wildflower site identifies Common Comfrey as a "garden escapee."  In other words, it is not a native wildflower, but it was introduced to the area by gardeners and the plant propagated into wild spaces.  They have a different entry for Wild Comfrey, which is clearly different if you take a look.  The Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden site has a page for Common Comfrey and they also identify it as an introduced plant.  But, the mere implication of its inclusion as a "wildflower" sends some mixed messages.

Well, I won't help much with the mixed messages.  I am often concerned how human actions introduce invasive plants that crowd out and make life difficult for native plants.  On the other hand, you have to ask the question for each invasive about how it performs on a balance.  Common Comfrey is related to borage and is great for pollinators of all sorts and has numerous other good qualities.  No one would mistake Twin Springs as an undisturbed landscape, so maybe it's a positive addition here?  I won't pretend to have the answer, just a lot of questions.

We will hear the song of an American Restart rarely at the Genuine Faux Farm.  The habitat we provide is probably not optimal for this little warbler.  Twin Springs, on the other hand, appears to be perfect.  We heard multiple Redstarts belting out their song as we walked.

Tammy noticed a little bird in the bushes at the base of a larger tree that was busy going about its business.  After sizing us up, it decided we were not a threat and it went through the process of posing for the camera. 

This is an American Redstart and we're thinking it is either a female or an immature male.  It didn't sing or make any scolding noises while we were watching.  But it did spend a fair amount of time foraging in the bushes. 

Periodically, the bird would flare out its tail and flap its wings, showing the bold pattern of yellow and black.  Apparently this bright flash startles the insects that would be the bird's prey.  And, sure enough, as soon as the bird went through this maneuver there was a flurry of foraging behavior. 

There was a sporadic breeze that moved the leaves on the trees in their upper stories, but the air was very calm down where we were.  The Redstarts were chirping away, bumblebees were buzzing and the water burbled and gurgled its way along the stream bed.  We weren't walking terribly fast because we were enjoying what we were seeing in the world around us.

In other words, we were relaxing - and it felt good to do.

As we progressed, we came up on this area where we saw some plants we initially thought might be Wild Phlox, but it turns out they were the invasive plant known as Dame's Rocket.

Wild phlox flowers have five petals and Dame's Rocket has four (see below).  Dame's Rocket originated in Eurasia and it has a long bloom period, which allows it to produce large numbers of seed.  The plants are biennials (starting one year and blooming, producing seed and dying the next) and their success in seed production and a relative lack of natural controls can result in a monoculture (just this type of plant) in areas where it gets established.

Crowding out other plants might be the best reason to not like Dame's Rocket.  Otherwise, they are a decent food source for some of our pollinators - such as Tiger Swallowtails.

It is interesting to note that some states have placed Dame's Rocket on their invasive species list.  Meanwhile, some wildflower seed mixes actually INCLUDE this plant.  I have noticed that many sites suggest that you check the seed list for wildflower and pollinator mixes carefully before you purchase and use them.  Yes, I know.  More work for you.  But, if you really want to do it right, you need to check the seed list in the mix and then check to see if what you're getting is filled with native wildflowers (assuming that was your intent with a wildflower area).

We were also able to observe a Hummingbird Moth / Hawkmoth zipping around the flowers we found in the area.  Clearly, the Dame's Rocket do a good job attracting pollinators, which insures that their high volume of seed production will result in more viable seed for future plants.

And this is why I sometimes struggle with the balance.  It is tempting to equate "invasive" with "completely bad."  But, that's not true.  Both the Comfrey and the Dame's Rocket have some value in the landscape.  I just don't know enough to decide whether the scale is tipped too much one way or the other.

And speaking of struggling with ambivalence - the larval stage of Hummingbird Moths are Hornworms!  Certain types of hornworms can be a real problem for tomato production.  However, we learned over time at the Genuine Faux Farm that, if you have a good, balanced habitat, there are parasites that can help control that population.

And speaking of parasites....

We were able to spot a couple of Black Giant Ichneumon Wasps on a tree during our walk.  These wasps lay their eggs next to the eggs of a Horntail Wasp where their young will parasitize the Horntail larvae.  Horntails typically lay their eggs on trees that are in poor health (which was true in this case).  

So, while the Black Giant Ichneumon Wasp might look a bit threatening from a human's perspective, they actually provide a balance for another wasp that we probably don't want to have a population explosion.  How cool is that?

And, by the way, these wasps have a very long ovipositor (egg laying tube) - note the thread like appendage that curls up and then back down to the surface of the tree.  This wasp was currently laying eggs when we took the photo.  Some people see these wasps and proceed to "freak out" because they have a long "stinger."  No.... sorry.  It's not a stinger and this wasp isn't interested in you at all. It just wants to lay its eggs so they can hatch and live their lives.

And there you have it.  A short and unplanned "walk there again" ended up being a full-fledged learning opportunity.  I think we're just going to have to get back on the hiking bandwagon, don't you?