Artist in Residence
MENOMONEE VALLEYEDDEE DANIEL
STORIES & ACTIVITIES
Mayor Barrett walks 3 Bridges Park
Yesterday, July 30, Mayor Tom Barrett led a group of over 50 people on a walk through Three Bridges Park in Milwaukee's Menomonee Valley. It was the latest lap of an effort to "Walk 100 Miles With the Mayor" that began, according to the City's website, 50 days ago. Mayor Barrett has reputedly walked 158 miles in that time. Presumably he added at least a couple more miles walking from one end of Three Bridges Park to the other and then back again.
Denis Sullivan
"Wisconsin's official flagship," the Denis Sullivan left its winter berth on the Menomonee River yesterday. Owned and operated by Discovery World, the Denis Sullivan is "the world’s only re-creation of a 19th century three-masted Great Lakes schooner," according to the Discovery World website. It's mission is "To provide programming that is an introduction to field science with an emphasis on environmental issues, Great Lakes concerns and stewardship of our natural world."
Taking a Chance on 3 Bridges Park
As familiar as I am with Three Bridges Park I can still be surprised. This time it was neither something recently added to the unfinished landscape nor a flower newly sprouted, our recalcitrant spring being slow to unfold. No, I was surprised and delighted by a new perspective, a way of seeing what has been there all along.
Bike to Work Week
“Do you know each other?” I asked after taking this shot of Bernadette and Jim on the Hank Aaron State Trail. No, they assured me cheerfully. She was traveling west to her job at Melk Music in West Allis. He was on his way downtown to MATC where he taught mechanical design. The chance encounter came about because they’d both stopped for coffee and a bite of pastry at the commuter station set up next to the Trail for Bike to Work Week.
Cargill Sculpture Park
Cargill, the giant food products corporation, has been in the news lately for closing its beef cattle slaughterhouse, resulting in the sudden loss of about 600 jobs. Earlier this year, it was at the center of a much quieter story of preservation. The company was in the process of demolishing several disused structures on its property. One of them, an old, decaying cattle ramp, had long formed the backdrop of a small sculpture park nestled in the Menomonee Valley.
Kayaking with Mke Riverkeeper
In August Milwaukee Riverkeeper hosted the second in a series of three kayaking expeditions. Each has been meant to explore one of Milwaukee's three rivers. The first, in July, headed up the Milwaukee River. This time it was the Menomonee. The third toured the Kinnickinnic River in September.
Jennifer Bolger Breceda, Milwaukee Riverkeeper's new Executive Director joined us for the tour guided by Cheryl Nenn, who is the official riverkeeper. Thanks go out to the Milwaukee Kayak Company for supplying the kayaks and supporting Riverkeeper.
I went along to document the event and to provide a water's-eye view of the Menomonee Valley.
Photo Phenology
Phenology refers to the observation of seasonal plant and animal life cycles. Aldo Leopold was a habitual phenologist. Substantial portions of his classic book, A Sand County Almanac, are devoted to such observations. Photography, of course, can serve the phenologist well with its ability to record the visible world with indiscriminate accuracy—as long as you know where to point the camera!
Photo Phenology 2
In March I reported on the Urban Ecology Center's Photo Phenology program, which is a monthly exercise in observation and documentation of seasonal plant and animal life cycles in the parks near the Menomonee Valley Branch. On Saturday I once again accompanied a team of Phenologists, Scott and Andrea, who volunteer at the Center. We walked through 3 Bridges Park to see what we could see. Here is what I saw.
Photo Phenology 3
For the third time during the course of this year I’ve undertaken a personal, somewhat unscientific version of phenology in the parks of the Menomonee Valley. Phenology is the science of observation, specifically of seasonal variations in the life cycles of plants and animals. The Urban Ecology Center has volunteers who go out into the two parks adjacent to its Menomonee Valley Branch on a monthly basis to photograph in a methodical manner. On my first two phenology excursions I accompanied UEC teams. This time, it being a glorious autumn afternoon, I went more spontaneously, alone. The light was magnificent and kept getting better as the day wore on.
Herons Roost in Menomonee Valley
I discovered the heron rookery by accident a couple weeks ago. I was investigating an out-of-the-way corner of the Menomonee Valley.
Does it sound strange that there can be an out-of-the-way place in the Valley? It’s true: A place so unlikely to be visited by people that herons are willing to roost there. It’s one of the greatest miracles of urban wilderness, to be able to experience wildlife in the midst of industrial development.
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