Fall is really here. Isn't it funny how our bodies, minds, spirits begin to crave and do different things? I know my days are changing dramatically due to less sunlight, cooler temperatures and taking on a full work schedule. Four to five days a I have an hour drive coming to and from work. The drive to work is on the meditative side. The drive home not so much, as it is dark which means I don't have the spectacular view. Since so many of you don't know Harsens Island I would love to clue you in on my slice of heaven.
When Joe and I moved out to Harsens Island we had several agendas to fulfill by being here. First of all, and maybe the most important was to be close to nature. Secondly, we wanted to be in a place where there was a sense of community. Third, due to feeling beat up from being on the road, running bands, dealing with club owners, agents and managers - I could feel a stagnation of spirit and because of that, I was up for an adventure. But finally and most important, the great Lake St. Clair is an important piece of Joe's young history. He had such a "soul" connection with this magical lake. Since nature and the connection to the earth is so important to us, I will lead with that.
When you get off the island and head west, almost immediately you are in Saint John's Marsh. Besides being the largest freshwater delta in the world, the St. Clair River Delta contains the greatest area of unaltered coastal marsh in the state. It is under management by the St. Clair Flats Wildlife Association which protects 745 acres. St. John's Marsh is part of a cluster of lake plain prairies within the St. Clair River delta. Lake plain prairies are relatively flat, occurring on sand ridges overlaying clay. Close to 160 different kinds of plants thrive in the area. The Natural Area is adjacent to 3,000 acres of St. John's Marsh which is occasionally managed with fires.
What I have found so far is that the shaping of Michigan's landscape began during the great Ice Age, sculpting four massive continental glaciers rapidly moving across the Midwest. Michigan experienced the last great ice sheet, known as the Wisconsin Glacier, about fourteen thousand years ago. Actually, some say it was 13,500 years ago and this is a cycle that happens every 13,500 years and believe me, last winter, with all the ice, I believe them. Okay, back to the history of the Marsh. This huge mass was a mile thick and almost four million miles square. As the "river of ice" crept over the underlying rocks, its base scraped millions of tons of earth like a giant bulldozer over the land. The debris composed of soil, pebbles, cobbles and boulders - all being pushed forward, grinding rocks into dust, while boulders scratched their way through the bedrock. Then the climate began to warm. Melt-water carried the soils and rocks away from the melting glacier, depositing over the landscape. As this blend of soils and rocks was dropped away from the ice, the low hills, were created across the state. The weight of the glacier was lessening and the earth began to rebound, like a sponge returning to its original shape when the squeezing stopped. The landscape began to emerge like a slowly rising phoenix. Plants began to appear on the drying landscape. Communities formed as plants found a suitable growing environment near each other. Okay, I did ramble a bit - hope this wasn't too dry, but I find it really fascinating that all of this happened and here I am, little ol' me, lucky enough to live next to it.
But this is only a part of what I see. In addition, there is an incredible array of river fowl, deer, raccoons, beavers (love their twig huts that stick out of the marsh like summer built igloos), swans, ducks and geese. Other animals species include great blue heron (which nests on the islands and I am privy to see almost daily), the Eastern fox snake (one of which kept slithering up to my produce stand - I eventually grew fearless, picking him up and putting him back in the weeds by the canal - oh and let's not forget his babies that were in my house) restricted to coastal marshes of Saginaw Bay, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Erie, King rail, and the rare Forster's Tern (nests on the channel levees that extend west from Dickinson Island). The Marsh is a well-known stop-over for migrating waterfowl, and provides nesting habitat for other birds, including some of the state-threatened birds. Along with the animal life are the incredible prairie wildflowers/grasses, such as blazing star, tall sun flower, big blue stem grass and Indian grass. On Dickinson Island, next to Harsens Island, small areas of wet prairie exist between the oaks on the ancient delta formation and meadow of the younger delta wetland. Wet prairie sites on both Dickinson and Harsens Islands provide habitat for rare plant species.
My daily drives and living on the island reflect all of the above. As a matter of fact, when driving home early on a Sunday last winter, the iced up canal had one small opening, exposing a bit of fresh water with two swans huddled, waiting for lunch to swim by. Other days I might see, ice fisherman, in cars, trucks, portable and more permanent looking shanties, dotted long the lake. In the summer I'll see canoeing, fishing, hunting, nature study groups, photographers and birdwatchers. Beats looking at the back end of a car on the freeway.
When people ask me, "Isn't it hard to drive that far? or "Doesn't it get to you when you can't get off the island?" I have to smile. In my opinion, the disconnectedness with nature has just about ruined this planet. Being with nature while trying to live a life in the modern world, is not easy. But the hardship is worth it. There is a high price for not paying attention to this incredible earth that we are living on. I once wrote a children's story about a girl named Fig who lived in a world where all the trees were disappearing because people just stopped thinking about them. Maybe I can take my lead from Fig while I slowly pick away at living a life that won't be a terrible impact on earth. Everything from plans to purchase a small car, to putting in a wood stove for heat. But none of this would be foremost in my mind, if I weren't living in a place that was a constant reminder of what is really important - and that my friends, is the ground we stand on and the earth that feeds us. Home Sweet Home!
Now what you want to know about , the food!
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