This week has been dry, warm, and breezy…perfect weather for a little rambling! We opted for Crow-Hassan Park Reserve this time around, a wonderful park that borders the eastern shores of the Crow River outside Hanover. We only walked a few miles, just the tip of the iceberg in this large and diverse park. We encountered peaceful woodlands, miles of prairie, and walked along a ridge above the river for a time. But there are miles upon miles of additional trail that we have yet to explore, so this park is one we will definitely be coming back to!
Our wandering began in the trees: sunlight flickering along the path, leaves whispering in the breeze, the brilliant greens of the forest wrapping around us. We walked at a leisurely pace, enjoying the cool, the quiet, the serenity. But soon enough the woods opened onto prairie, and although the day was
still fine, suddenly walking became a much warmer proposition! Even so, the sight of the tall grasses flowing in response to the wind, and the many terns calling and criss-crossing the air over our heads made it easy to continue taking our time. The trail wound between the hills of waving grasses to our right and a good sized pond to our left. I was excited to spot my very first Prairie Skink, but it disappeared into the tall grass before I could get a photo of it. Grasshoppers were everywhere along this portion of the trail…leaping away from the path as we moved along, a bit like erratic little waves parting to allow us passage.
I have to admit I did get a little overheated today. I hadn’t stopped to think that much of the trail could be in open country, as it was – not my cleverest bit of planning. We did have water, but had left it in the car. After a while under the heat of the sun we did opt to move along a bit faster, in search of shade. Once we reached the ridge above the river, however, we were in woodland again, thankfully, and slowed our steps once more. The views of the river along this stretch (between trail markers 15 and 16) were brief, with only broken glimpses through tree branches. But we could hear the water rushing along below us, and found a picnic bench to rest on for a short time to enjoy the view.
Our walk took us in a loop, and as we moved north and east the vistas opened up again into prairie. As I understand it, there is over 600 acres of prairie in Crow-Hassan Park. They are expansive, and display layer upon layer of color and texture. We haven’t spent much time in prairies this 
summer, so it was a wonderful (albeit hot) change of pace for us. The critters accompanying us on this leg of the journey were primarily dragonflies (such as the Autumn Meadowhawk pictured here) and butterflies. While raising Monarch butterflies for the first time this year, I’ve learned that 
they gather in staging areas, much like some migratory birds do, and travel from there as a group. Monarchs are fascinating, and I will definitely continue to raise them in the years to come. We released 14 of them this year, with our tiny milkweed patch. That seems like a small number to me, but hopefully that number will grow as the milkweed patch expands. On the trail today we did see about a dozen Monarchs, presumably making their way to the nearest staging area! Then, just as we were moving toward the fringes of the prairie, we spotted a Northern Harrier flying low over the grasses. Watching all of these winged creatures was an uplifting note to end our prairie experience with!
As we reached the point at which our loop connected to the path we’d initially branched off on, we entered woodland once again, and slowed our pace in relief as the cool washed over us. The entire afternoon we’d only encountered two people, although we saw a couple riding horses along another route as well. The trails had been pretty much ours alone, making it easy to take the photos I wanted, explore at our leisure, and walk at our own pace. I found a wealth of 
textures both in the prairie and the forest, spinning me low to the ground in one moment, looking for the highest vantage point the next. Crow-Hassan has about 17 miles of trails to explore, so we will definitely be going back to check out more of what this beautiful park has to offer!