A half-mile trail loops through a colorful meadow along Token Creek, a tributary of the upper Yahara River. Deep, alkaline peat deposits support the lush vegetation; they formed when the river's drainage was blocked, probably as glaciers melted ten to twenty thousand years ago. Dredging of the creek in the 1930’s significantly lowered the water level around the basin. As a result, water-loving sedges were replaced by prairie-like plants such as lavender asters, sunflowers, and goldenrods that bloom in late summer. Aspen, another common invader of drained lowlands, spread from original saplings into thickets through a network of underground stems. In spring, when pussy willows sprout, woodcocks perform a “sky dance” in open meadow areas, repeating a loud “beep” or “peent” from the ground, then flying slowly upward in a wide spiral with twittering and warbling sounds before dropping suddenly and beginning again. Summer brings the tall, square-stemmed cup plant, whose paired leaves catch rainwater where they join around the stem. As fall approaches, bushy, succulent-looking jewelweed appears, with tiny seed pods that explode when touched. In winter, animal “roads” wind through the snow in the meadow, and shrub identification can be learned by observing the buds.