Deranged, Finding a Sense of Place in the Landscape and in the Lifespan
“The benefits of having Mayflies, however, as any fisherman will tell you, far offset the occasional nuisance of a swarm. Fishermen have nicknamed adult Mayflies “spinners,” and if there is a swarm, most likely, there will be good fishing. Mayflies are preyed upon by trout, as well as by birds, minnows, water striders, dragonflies and frogs. Besides, most species of Mayflies live, as adults, for only a few hours or a few days. Their lifespan at this stage is so short, in fact, that they do not even have working mouthparts; there is no need to eat when there is so little time to complete the business of mating. So Mayflies, as the insect order to which they belong—ephemeroptera—implies, are short-lived enough that a swarm is just bearable.” |
–from “Part 1 The Myth of My Childhood” Deranged (Baltimore: Loyola University, Apprentice House, 2010. Print.), is a book of essays by Jill Sisson Quinn, a resident of Scandinavia, WI and currently an educator in Stevens Point, WI.
The book is a “must read!” Delightful and thought-provoking personal essays that lend credence to ways we, all of us, are influenced by a healthy environment.
When listening to Ms. Quinn read from her pages, I picture a film produced by trout-fisher friend, Tom Young, of tiny mayflies crawling from their encasements among the rocks of our most pristine spring creeks in Central Wisconsin. As Tom’s film displays a story that is not often witnessed, Ms. Quinn’s writing delivers us to insights of an ecosystem that non-anthropocentric lovers of nature seldom read---She gets it!
But in a society that allows technology and expansion to displace bird and macro-invertebrate habitat, isn’t it necessary to be aware of the life seldom seen? Most are too busy to notice this important subterranean life because it is beyond our scope. Typically, we focus only on what we see; not what we don’t. Funny then isn’t it, we focus on what we want to see and not what’s really there. I digress.
This is water-monitoring season: the time to take a look at what’s in the stream, what gives it life. Of course, temperature indicates a healthy patient as does the tone of the skin. It’s the first thing the nurse does when a patient enters the doctor’s office. She sees your complexion and reaches for a thermometer. (Turbidity and Temperature) Next she may take your height and weight and ask how you’ve been or what you’ve been doing as we would assess stream flow and habitat. Too, biotic index is a great indicator. What life lies beneath the water’s surface; submerged among the vegetation along the riparian way! Too, the dissolved oxygen is a fortifying proof of our findings. These six tests are important for the base-line information we collect on a monthly basis on our water-monitoring teams. (click here to see the UW Extension stream database.)
Now get out there, celebrate Earth Day!
The water-monitoring season starts soon. Help contribute to our Central Wisconsin Database. We need you. The water needs you. Contact us if you want to be involved.
Happy Earth Day, Everyone!
