Feeding the koi at Second Nature Reeds Creek

There’s a place between Viroqua and Readstown called Second Nature at Reeds Creek. It’s a greenhouse-meets-gift shop hybrid tucked alongside a winding creek, bursting with plants, flowers, koi ponds, and a kind of slow magic. One summer evening, during their night market event filled with local vendors and live music, Dan found himself drawn to this peaceful corner of rural Wisconsin.

In that gentle twilight, something about the way people gathered around the koi pond—soft murmurs, reflections in the water, the warm glow of string lights—caught his eye. He snapped a photo, tucked the memory away, and later turned it into this painting.

“Feeding the Koi at Second Nature Reeds Creek” captures that perfect little moment. The palette is grounded in warm earth tones with vibrant highlights dancing across the water’s surface. The composition invites viewers to slow down and notice the quiet beauty in community spaces, nature, and those fleeting in-between moments we often overlook.

This painting belongs to Dan’s Driftless Region series, celebrating life in and around southwest Wisconsin—places often skipped by travelers, but loved by locals.