You've Got Some Kettle On Your Shoe

Drove out to Delafield, about 40 minutes west of Milwaukee, yesterday morning to meet a friend for a little hike. The chosen spot was Lapham Peak in the Kettle Moraine Forest. We'd decided to do the 4-mile portion of the Ice Age Trail that cuts through the park -- seemed more interesting than one of the loop trails, which are designed mostly for cross-country skiing in winter.

It was a great day for a walk. A slight breeze, 70ish degrees. It's a beautiful area. There's a lot of prairie and wetlands on one end.






Then the trail rises up to the 1,233-foot "Lapham Peak" in the park's center. You even get to climb this huge, wooden observation tower get a good view of the whole area.



The second half of the journey was more wooded, and we encountered quite a bit of muddy trail. Perhaps this would have been expected if I'd read the definition of "kettle" before we left: "A depression left in a mass of glacial drift, formed by the melting of an isolated block of glacial ice. A pothole." My shoes certainly look like they've walked through a glacier's pothole. And, of course, I have no pictures of that part of the journey because I'd decided to put the camera back in my backpack and didn't feel like getting it back out. (And besides, I was with a master photo documenter.)

I saw my first ever eastern towhees -- a pair of them scratching in the leaves under a tree to look for food. Also saw either a northern flicker or a red-bellied woodpecker; it flew off before I could tell for sure.

It was a good morning. Muddy shoes and all.