Date: 4.27.24
Time: 4:30 pm – 9:30
Location: The Palmatory Overlook/Quicks Point Trail – The perfect spot for watching a storm over the Marsh. This is also a relatively easy hike area with only one steep incline.
Birds Spotted: Tree Swallow, American Pelicans, Sandhill Cranes, Greater Yellowlegs, Trumpeter Swans
Animals: wooly bear caterpillar
Number of Pictures Taken: 338
Keepers: 37
There’s something magnificent about experiencing a storm rolling in. I knew the Palmatory Overlook would be the perfect spot to watch and photograph nature’s beauty, and I wasn’t wrong. We began with a 3-mile walk before the storm, taking in the changing sounds, colors, smells, and skies.
The Marsh constantly transforms, not by the year, month, or week, but by the minute. Subtle and bold simultaneously, its changes are evident all around. Spring at Horicon Marsh is something to behold, with all the plants waking up. The goal was to capture a storm over the Marsh, but I realize now that narrowing my focus like that is unfair to the project. Every trip must serve the overarching goal of observing all the factors that shape the preserve over a year.
The night offered much more than storm shots—though, wow, what a storm! The lighting was pink and red, something I learned was due to atmospheric particles, dust, humidity, and temperature. Cool lightning gives off red and pink hues, while hotter lightning appears white and blue. I captured some of my best lightning photos to date.
But those aren’t what stand out most from the night. The evening had a wholeness, with little details like the woolly bear caterpillar that was just as magnificent as the lightning. Did you know they’re sighted more in fall, and their banding patterns are linked to winter predictions? Then there was the breeze cascading over everything, the birds that grew loud before the storm and quiet during it—all of it felt magical.
This might be one of my favorite trips yet. Not because of the storm or the bare tree photos, but because of the wholeness of the night: great conversations, shouts of joy over getting the shots, little details, and an overwhelming sense of joy that lightened the heaviness of the world. April was a tough month for me, busier than usual. Getting out into nature more than I normally would during such a hectic time made everything better. And having some fabulous people along on some trips certainly didn’t hurt.