365 Days on Flickr

One of the activities photographers engage in on Flickr is creating a photo set with one picture from every day of the year.  This helps photographers to expand their skills by challenging their abilities to shoot in different kinds of light and under different conditions.

The two pictures above were both taken at Hartman Creek in Wisconsin, on the same warm October day.  Evergreens are always colorful and photogenic.

However, not every tree is an evergreen, so sharing a beautiful photo from every day of the year in Wisconsin would be a challenge, especially if one is not particularly into self-portraiture.  Even though every day does have its own kind of beauty, some months might consist of 29 pictures of gray.

Sometimes beauty is hidden.

One October Day in the Kettle Moraine Forest:

Maybe someday I will attempt a 365 day photo project, but in the meantime I have decided that I should better utilize Flickr by posting and sharing more photographs.  The pictures below are all from one day in the Kettle Moraine Forest near New Fane, Wisconsin.

Here, a single-track mountain bike trail winds its way through the golden Kettle Moraine Forest.  In Wisconsin, October is a colorful month, and some days are worth more than one photo.

Above, a fiery warm sunset illuminates golden trees in the Kettle Moraine Forest.  The sun is at our back.

Below are three pictures of trees from the other side, with the sun towards the front of the camera:

Autumn leaves, filled with golden sunlight, glow against a dark background.

Sometimes, I think the lives of Christians are like those leaves: just as the leaves are filled with and reflect the physical light of the sun, so also our lives are filled with and reflect the spiritual light of the Son of God.

If “anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”  (Philippians 4:8, NIV 1984).

The sun sets at the Kettle Moraine Forrest near New Fane, Wisconsin.

Even if one does not take a beautiful picture every day; in Christ, every day is still a good day.

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Potawatomi State Park Trees Cut 3

Potawatomi State Park in Door County, Wisconsin is cutting down (according to my estimate based on the pictures I took) at least one thousand trees, many of which are 75 years old and older, in order to build a new RV group campground.

This is shameful for at least two reasons.  First, this particular natural area was especially beautiful.

Second, on the other side of the park there is an abandoned ski area and former group campground.  It currently has an overturned rotting picnic table, power poles laying in the grass, gravel roads and parking areas covered in weeds, a building with boarded up and broken windows, broken glass, rusted machinery, wires laying on the ground, and refuse strewn over approximately 20 acres.

The DNR could clean up and reclaim this abandoned area as a campground.  There are many tall trees there, and if the garbage was picked up, it would be quite scenic.  But rather than do that, the DNR is instead cutting down majestic trees in the park’s most pristine natural area.

How does the DNR justify this?  The DNR says they are following the park’s master plan.  However, there are at least two flaws with this argument.

First, when the master plan was approved over 21 years ago, the ski area was still being used for skiing.  However, the amounts of rust on the abandoned equipment, the broken glass, and the decay of the wooden structures all testify that this area has been abandoned for many years.  The master plan is hopelessly outdated.

Second, the trees are being cut east of where the master plan says the group campground should go, so they are not actually following the master plan.

Finally, it appears as though the DNR may not have gone through the public notice/public comment period required under the WEPA for a building project of this size.  This new group campground is being paid for with conservation and stewardship funds of over $300,000. (I received this information from the Door County Environmental Council).

The DNR should halt this campground until the master plan can be updated so that there can be public input and participation on the project.

The Former Campground/Ski Area:

This is an overall picture of the abandoned former campground/ski area inside Potawatomi State Park.  The trees behind and to the left of the lodge have areas cleared out for camping and/or parking.  The trees on the right and far left are also inside the park.  This picture was taken from the top of the former ski hill overlook.

This picture shows the condition of the lodge (the triangular shaped building in the first photo).  Notice the rotted wood and broken windows.

This is a picture of rusted machinery and boards partly up the side of the hill.  For additional pictures go to this Collection of Photos.

The Natural Area:

This is a picture of a stump from one of the trees that has been cut down for the new group campground.  I count 75 tree rings.  On a picture of another stump from the new campground, I counted 85-90 tree rings.  The picture at the top of this post is also from this same natural area.

Make Your Voice Heard:
Office of the Governor
Wisconsin State Legislature
Wisconsin DNR
Potawatomi State Park
Friends of Wisconsin State Parks
Wisconsin Natural Resources Board

Updated Posts:

Conservation Catagory

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