<![CDATA[Palos Restoration Project - Blog]]>Thu, 10 Sep 2026 19:36:36 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[Maple Lake/Paw Paw Woods September 5, 2026]]>Thu, 10 Sep 2026 21:27:12 GMThttps://www.restorepalos.com/blog/maple-lakepaw-paw-woods-september-5-2026Saturday September 12, Maple Lake/Paw Paw Woods
We had a small group for our first brush pile burn of the season, on a day warm and sunny enough to make you appreciate a bit of breeze and a little shade. We were within allowed temps for burning, but approaching the top limit.

We mostly were cutting honeysuckle, with Jim again hitting a few small trees with his chainsaw. The fire wasn't hard to start and only needed occasional coaxing along the way, which sometimes is needed when all the fuel is smaller branches that burn quickly. Nobody was disappointed when Joe called it a day right at noon - a couple had already departed. Holiday weekend, ya know.

The Case of the Disappearing Swallowtail Caterpillars
Late spring we put a fennel plant in a pot. Last week I wanted to water the plant pots, and discovered eight (8!) black swallow caterpillars clinging to the leaves. Didn't realize fennel was in the carrot family and a host for these.

I didn't think the plant had enough remaining leaves to feed eight little cats and pulled some dill from a couple plants in the back of the garden. Two days later I checked and four caterpillars had vanished. One day later a fifth was gone.

Yesterday all were gone.So was every last leaf from the fennel plant, though they didn't eat much of the dill. Ate it all and took off (or were devoured by predators; I prefer the former and expect the latter.
]]><![CDATA[Paddock Woods, August 29 2026]]>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 20:20:34 GMThttps://www.restorepalos.com/blog/paddock-woods-august-29-2026Saturday August 29, Paddock Woods
We had at least a dozen volunteers Saturday morning, the largest group I've seen this summer in Palos. Excellent!

Joe did another morning of light brush-cutting, with loppers, a bow-saw or two, and Jim's electric chainsaw. These e-tools are such a blessing for the ears. Our main target was honeysuckle and we cut quite a bit. No fire this morning, it was cut-and-drop. 
]]><![CDATA[Paddock Woods August 22, 2026]]>Thu, 27 Aug 2026 15:51:25 GMThttps://www.restorepalos.com/blog/paddock-woods-august-22-2026Saturday August 22, Paddock Woods
Joe had a small group of volunteers at Paddock Saturday, cutting honeysuckle resprouts in an area where they refuse to quit. If, like me, you weren't able to come, he scheduled a repeat for this Saturday to take the edge off your disappointment.

I had the good fortune to join Friends of the Chicago River for a Paddle and Plant session on the Little Calumet River, out of the Blue Island boat launch. Fellow Palos volunteer Joy Vrchota also came along, as we planted native aquatic plants along the riverbank to impede erosion. It's a fun activity and an excuse to get on the river and paddle a bit.
]]><![CDATA[Black Partridge August 16, 2026]]>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:03:51 GMThttps://www.restorepalos.com/blog/black-partridge-august-16-2026Sunday August 16, Black Partridge Woods
This was our first time at Partridge this summer, on the soggiest weekend of a soggy summer. Margaret canceled her Saturday workday at Cap Sauers, largely out of safety concerns over mature trees toppling due to the saturated ground.

Black Partridge didn't present the same concerns since we were going to a grassy area, with some trees occupying the spaces that once were hedgerows when the south side of the plot was a dairy farm. John Marlin  and I collected teasel flowers, getting every one in sight in one old pasture and then moving east in search of more.

John felt there were fewer targets this year than last, hopefully a sign that past efforts are paying off. Did I ever mention that habitat restoration isn't the place for folks who like instant gratification? Yeah, there it is. Tip of the cap to the veterans of 30 years, 40 years and more; beside them I'm still the new kid.
]]><![CDATA[McMahon Woods August 8, 2026]]>Thu, 13 Aug 2026 21:39:49 GMThttps://www.restorepalos.com/blog/mcmahon-woods-august-8-2026Saturday August 8, McMahon Woods & Fen
This will be our last day pulling melilotus here. Swear! We kept our focus on the relatively few plants with flowers and seed intact. Many of the plants were well past ripe, brown and dry and looking like they could be last years crop. By ranging out in bigger circles we still managed a decent collection by noon. At least the weather was somewhat gentle, with occasion breeze and temps didn't get close to oppressive. Will I miss it? Probably so.

]]><![CDATA[McMahon Woods & Fen August 1, 2026]]>Thu, 06 Aug 2026 21:05:23 GMThttps://www.restorepalos.com/blog/mcmahon-woods-fen-august-1-2026Saturday April 1, McMahon Woods & Fen
Another weekend that started with buckets of rain (Joe Neumann could well have been humming that) led to a minimal turnout i.e. Joe and Rosie. True warriors! Your correspondent had every intention of going - truly - the sump pump thought otherwise. 
So Joe and Rosie did their best pulling melilotus, an act to be repeated the coming Saturday, probably for the final time this season. If you don't get it now you'll have to wait 'til next July, so come on out!
]]><![CDATA[McMahon Woods & Fen July 25, 2026]]>Thu, 30 Jul 2026 20:10:27 GMThttps://www.restorepalos.com/blog/mcmahon-woods-fen-july-25-2026Saturday July 25, McMahon Woods & Fen
We had another small group of volunteers, back on McMahon Prairie for Melilotus alba/white sweet clover. This is a plant that has a long life cycle; our first visit this year was June 6 and the plants were small, with very few showing flowers and most no more than knee height.

Almost eight weeks have passed since then. While I missed last Saturday, I was pulling sweet clover at the Sundown Meadow prairie two days ago, and the early plants have now shed their leaves, gone from flower to seed and dropped most of that. Some of the sucessor plants are taller than me, with multiple stems that resist pulling, while the smallest, most recent ones are no bigger than our first targets from early June. Truly the gift that keeps on giving.

So we return and get some more of it, probably do the same the following Saturday. While it seems like a drag, visit the site in mid-summer and see all the great natives that are threatened by this ornery invader. Makes it worth the effort.
]]><![CDATA[Cap Sauers Holding July 18, 2026]]>Thu, 23 Jul 2026 15:23:25 GMThttps://www.restorepalos.com/blog/cap-sauers-holding-july-18-2026Cap Sauers Holding Saturday July 18
We had a small group Saturday morning, the day after  48-hour stretch of extremely bad air quality. Saturday was only a wee bit bit cooler than the preceding week. Still, a small turnout which is typical in mid-summer - hats off to those who showed up.

White sweet clover was Margaret's primary target and we're now at the point that it's flowered and dropping seed, so it's necessary to pull and bag, then dump the bag's contents on a compost pile. The persistence of this invasive makes any project a multi-year endeavor and I salute the tenacity of those volunteers (Can't take credit for myself on this one as I was on a site walk elsewhere.)

Our Sunday at Black Partridge was canceled due to a wind shift which pushed air quality back into the danger zone. Wildfire smoke is becoming a regular concern now, one I don't see dissipating any time soon.


]]><![CDATA[McMahon July 11, 2026]]>Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:40:20 GMThttps://www.restorepalos.com/blog/mcmahon-july-11-2026McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday July 11
We were another small group on Saturday - looks like the love of pulling Melilotus alba hasn't reached the general population - yet. I can see it coming.

So we continued to expand the cleared area and continued to build our little compost pile into something more substantial. While Charlie, Rosie, Doug and I pulled, Joe was off with his backpack sprayer, two tanks in the morning and he planned to do a third after lunch. The man is relentless.

Next week we'll be at Cap Sauers, on Saturday July 18 and Black Partridge on Sunday July 19. By the time we get back to McMahon we may be nearing the end of the season, when dropped seed becomes the rule rather than the exception. Almost sad when time comes to close the book on melilotus season.
]]><![CDATA[July 4, 2026]]>Wed, 08 Jul 2026 23:01:04 GMThttps://www.restorepalos.com/blog/july-4-2026Owl Walk at Spears Woods
Last week I went to Spears for my second owl walk of the year. On a hot night we still had 20-25 people, and we outnumbered the owls by 20-25. Still a good walk; Claudia, the leader took us on a loop that landed (by design, it turned out) at the edge of Boomerang Slough as the sun dropped below the  horizon.

At that point we beat a pretty quick retreat, with mosquitoes coming out in full force. Remember the good old days of summer drought? Ha! Can't ever make us happy.
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Kayaking on Tampier Lake
My favorite solo kayak spot is Tampier Lake: big enough to paddle an hour or more without retracing paths, deep enough your paddle isn't dragging or hitting rocks, and never too crowded unless you go on a weekend.

Last Tuesday was fun, with enough wind to stir some small waves and keep things from getting boring. I was testing a hull repair after hitting some rocks in low water on the Des Plaines a few weeks back - stiill getting water so back to the garage for more repairs.

We didn't have any restoration scheduled in Palos last weekend; with the heat and rain that filled much of the week our stewards were prescient.

My town of Palos Heights had its annual parade Fourth of July Saturday. It's always a pleasure to sit with neighbors from a couple doors down and watch the closest thing to a small-town parade that you'll find in an urban megalopolis of six or seven million.

Fire trucks, sirens blaring, Shriners on mini-Model Ts, middle-school and high school bands, local businesses tossing candy to the kids, all good vibes on a day when citizens of a divided nation looked like we were groping for some shred of common ground.

Will we find it? Time will tell.

Away from the petty acts of humans, in natural areas our native plants grow and provide sustenance to the animals that sing and buzz and reproduce and die. We do all of that too and hope it's for a greater purpose.
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