It’s early spring. Tendrils of mist dance like sprites on the water. The lake’s surface is smooth like polished silver. Several ducks skim silently like shadows in the fog. This is Lost Lake, a relic of the glaciers, which covered much of Wisconsin until 10,000 years ago. Lost Lake is nestled in prairie and woodland just west of Holy Wisdom Monastery.

You hike along the trail, which meanders around the lake. To your right oak trees rise like pillars, leaves rustling in the spring breeze. On your left emergent vegetation creates a verdant foreground to the lake. You squint as the brilliant morning sun consumes the mist opening a cloudless azure sky. Bird song and insect buzz envelope you, producing a spring reverie.

Then a bizarre sound scatters your dreamlike state.

Cow-cow-cow-cow-cow-cowp

You pause.

With binoculars in hand, you scan the lake to no avail. You resume your hike, tucking the sound away in your memory.

You return to Lost Lake a few weeks later. It doesn’t take long to hear it the call.

Cow-cow-cow-cow-cowp

Once more, you scrutinize the lake with your binoculars. Several Mallards paddle lazily on the sun sparkled water. Swallows swoop and slide, acrobats hunting insect meals. But source of the sound remains elusive. Then as you’re about to turn away something catches the corner of your eye and pulls you back.

A tiny brown bird pops to the surface of the lake, appearing from nowhere. You note she’s smaller than the nearby mallards. Before you can study her more, she vanishes with a graceful dive. You wait. A minute later she resurfaces in a different spot. She glides across the water, slicing the glassy surface like a knife and drawing closer as if to give you a better view. She’s a Pied-billed Grebe.

Pied-billed Grebes are compact birds. A thick body, slender neck and large head make them appear comical. But their anatomy has a purpose. They’re built for water. Grebes’ Latin genus, podylimbus (Podilymbus podiceps), means “feet at the buttocks.” True to their name, their legs emerge near their rumps enabling them to swim like submarines but rendering them awkward on land.

Many waterfowl species that visit Lost Lake are transitory. Yes, Mallards stay all summer, and Wood Ducks hang around, too. But Buffleheads, Teals, Goldeneyes are all short timers. Like summer’s bookends, they appear in spring and fall for a brief rest stop on their migration.

Pied-billed Grebes have made cameos at Lost Lake, too. But they haven’t lingered long. But this year is different.

A small splash disturbs the placid water as the grebe dives again. In seconds the water is calm. You hear a call.

Kee-kee-keee-kee-kee

This call is grebe-like but higher pitched and whiny. Your curiosity is piqued so you search the vegetation on far side of the lake. In one spot the reeds stir then part like curtains. Something emerges. It’s like your grebe, but smaller. Then you realize. It’s a juvenile Pied-billed Grebe!  In short order the parent appears, and they start to swim together.

The parent dives again, disappearing for a few minutes while the youngster waits at the surface. She emerges with a shiny fish. The youngster takes the fish, struggles with it, then gulps it whole.

So, what’s different this time around? This season marks the first time Pied-billed Grebes have bred and raised young at Lost Lake. The family arrived early last spring and can still be found at Lost Lake.

Newly hatched grebes leave the nest quickly but stay close for the first few days. Then they begin to hitch rides on their parents’ backs. The young grebe at Lost Lake is older now and swims on his own but follows close behind his parent.

Soon winter will creep in. The green oaks will transform into twisted skeletons silhouetted against foreboding skies. The grebes will be long gone.  So be sure to visit Lost Lake this fall and look for small birds gliding on the water, diving for food and uttering their grebe calls. They can be hard to see, so follow their calls to find them before they’re gone for the winter.

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What does it truly mean to “care for the earth“?

 In this episode, take a deeper look at what “care for the earth” means from two leaders of our natural restoration efforts – retired Land Manager, Greg Armstrong and his successor, Amy Alstad, PhD.

Both our guests share their knowledge of the restoration work that the sisters have done over the years.  You’ll also hear about Friends of Wisdom Prairie, one of our volunteer communities, and their amazing contributions to the land at Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Furthermore, Greg and Dr. Amy share their own reflections of the varied meanings of the phrase “care for the earth”.

With Earth Day around the corner, this is a perfect episode to remind us of the work and meaning behind the restoration efforts of Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Where to Listen?

You can listen to The Holy Wisdom Podcast at any of these online locations:

Our Blog, under the “Podcast” Category

Anchor.fm

Apple Podcasts

Breaker

Google Podcasts

Spotify

RadioPublic

PocketCasts

The post “Restoration and Care for the Earth,” The Holy Wisdom Podcast appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Because we have always been a small community and because we value collaboration and community building, we have consulted with and involved others in our ministry and decision-making through the years. In the early 90s the sisters brought together a group of people to help them vision for the future. The result of that process was that the sisters’ community decided to explore becoming ecumenical.

In 1998, Sister Mary David Walgenbach, sensing the interest in Benedictine spirituality among people who came to the monastery, called together Father Ken Smits, OFM Cap who was serving us in liturgy and spirituality, Jody Crowley Beers, the director of spirituality at the monastery, and a group of people who wanted to develop Benedictine spirituality in their lives. After a year of meeting together, the oblate community was born as the first class made their promises as oblates. In 2019, the oblates will celebrate their 20th anniversary as a community.

Sunday Assembly grew out of the people who came to the monastery beginning in the 70s to celebrate the Eucharist with the sisters. When we were in the process of becoming ecumenical 30 years later, the sisters held listening sessions after the Eucharist to hear how the people wanted to go into the future as we became ecumenical. They told us they wanted to continue worshiping at the monastery because of the open and welcoming community and the inclusive language used in the service.

More recently, Friends of Wisdom Prairie was born from the growing desire of many people to be involved in and support caring for the earth at the monastery. With the establishment of the Ecumenical Center for Clergy Spiritual Renewal, another community of people will be added to those who journey with us.

At the end of my presentation to the Servant Leadership class, Carolyn, a member of the class, commented that this was an evolutionary way of moving into the future. Indeed, it is. The Benedictine values of prayer, listening, humility, seeing Christ in the other, collaboration, openness to change and community building are the guiding practices that will continue to lead us as we evolve.

Carolyn also noted that what we offer at the monastery is the wholeness that so many people are seeking in their divided and fragmented lives. As we offer the opportunity for integration through Benedictine practices, people will continue to be drawn to participate in the life of the monastery.

Years ago when I was talking with Sister Joanne Kollasch about the uncertainty of the future, she said to me, “We don’t have to know what we are going to do in the future. The important thing is to know who we are with.” I take comfort and hope in those words. We sisters are with wonderful people: our coworkers, oblates, Sunday Assembly members, Friends of Wisdom Prairie members, retreatants, guests, friends and other seekers.

As we stay faithful to Christ and the Benedictine values that guide us, we will be led step by step into the future. During this month of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the people with whom we journey.

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