11/10/09 OCTOBER IN NOVEMBER

NATIVE HOLLY, ILEX VERTICILLATA
RED BERRIES IN THE WINTER
OCTOBER IN NOVEMBER

8:00 AM. 40 degrees, wind WNW, calm. The channel is sparkling, the sky cloudless and the barometer predicts the same. We are getting our October weather in November and it is fine for traveling. We are going to visit a number of old friends in Langlade and Mountain for a few days, traveling southeast from the Chequamegon National Forest to its southern counterpart, which used to be called the Nicolet but for some reason is now a hyphenated subsidiary of the former. Anyway it is a nice trip through forests, farms, small towns and lake country, and from the little Red Cliff Rez to the huge Menominee Reservation. We have a lot of visiting to do but may pretend to do some grouse hunting or fishing as well.
The red berried shrubs are the native winterberry holly, Ilex verticillata. They do not have evergreen leaves as do the better known English and American hollies, but their fruit is outstanding in the winter. These are south of Bayfield along Hwy 13 and the Sioux River. We saw very nice specimens the other day along the Wisconsin River but could not get to them. They are river bottom and bog plants.