Palos Restoration Project - Blog

June 24th, 2021

6/24/2021

Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday June 19
Your correspondent was absent due to a family event, but was able to piece together the story of a reed canary grass hunt at Cap. Thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Paul and Aidan for joining our group for the morning.

It was a warm day, an old-fashioned hunt wherein we clipped and bagged the flowering heads of the plant. I talked a bit about reed canary in a recent blog post, and suspect it is equally as tenacious as it was then.

Black Partridge Woods Sunday June 20
This day was equally warm, and though we were in a very shaded section of woodland, we also had no detectable breeze. So, yes, it was a Cinnabon day (warm & sticky).

We had three first-time Palos volunteers; thank you Darien, Eric, and Lucas for great help and interesting conversation. We found and bagged a lot of garlic mustard and butterweed, some of the latter growing in the muddy center of the creek bed.

When I left Black Partridge I went for a short kayak spin on Tampier Lake. Raindrops soon after I got in the water, with some impressive clouds overhead, ensured that it was a short spin. We've had day after day of fascinating cloud formations recentlyn and I never tire of them. Several pictures below are testimony to this.

Willow Springs Woods/Katydid June 12, 2021

6/17/2021

Willow Springs/Katydid Slough Saturday June 12
This was our sole session of the weekend, and one that I missed due to another commitment. It was also quite the sunny, steamy morning; credit to all who attended. I included one picture below, from Doug Bosco's FB post of that day. Our smallish crew went out to remove the flowering heads of reed canary grass, a hugely troublesome invasive plant that is very adaptable.

From a USDA publication, my italics to indicate the variety of habitats where this grass is found: "Reed canary grass can grow on dry soils in upland habitats and in the partial shade of oak woodlands, but does best on fertile, moist organic soils in full sun. This species can invade most types of wetlands, including marshes, wet prairies, sedge meadows, fens, stream banks, ditches and seasonally wet areas; it also grows in disturbed areas such as bergs and spoil-piles."

Holy cripes, it grows most everywhere! Did I mention adaptable?. Here's more on RCG (Reed canary grass)

Nature Walk With a Librarian, Thursday June 17
This was the third of our Spring walks, and we had a great, fun group of 14. It was a dream morning, sunny but we were shaded, not too warm. We walked the loop trail at the south woods, over bone-dry trails, and stopped to read - this was a true surprise - positive, inspirational graffiti at the stone CCC shelter on the south side of the loop. I plan to go back and retrieve/share some of this graffiti.

Spears Woods June 5, McClaughrey Springs June 6, 2021

6/10/2021

Spears Woods Saturday June 5
Saturday we walked south from the Spears lot, pulling garlic mustard and butterweed along the way. You can readily see the changes in seasons, as both those weeds are dropping flowers and going to seed, the invasive thistles (Canada and bull primarily) are growing bigger and preparing to flower. Ha! Guaranteed we'll have something to do next time out.

That's why we kid about 'job security for volunteers'. It truly is a thing...

McClaughrey Springs Woods Sunday June 6
I only was able to make the final hour of this one, a weed walk through the woodlands west of Mill Creek. There was still some garlic mustard to be had, and a considerable amount of Dame's rocket and butterweed as well.

We were working along a little drainage, and each time you were tempted to think "got it all", you needed only look left, right, or farther down the way to be disabused of that notion. See 'job security for volunteers' in the entry above.

Pioneer Woods May 29, 2021

6/3/2021

Pioneer Woods Saturday May 29
We had another good group, a dozen volunteers or more, including first-time Palos volunteers David and Maribel. The day was focused primarily on butterweed which was growing in several large clusters adjacent to the woodland. This stuff is persistent and spreads quickly; what remains to be seen if whether our pulling prevents further spread.

We're in full summer mode now, going after weeds whether by pulling or dead-heading. There's quite an assortment out there - I saw thistles, teasel, and wild parsnip on a recent prairie walk. That's ok, will keep me out of the gin mills and their modern equivalent, the weed shops.

Paddock Woods May 22, Swallow Cliff South May 23, 2021

5/27/2021

Paddock Woods Saturday May 22
We pulled garlic mustard and butterweed inside the trail loop at Paddock, in a spot that is wet in normal years. This is far from a normal year and the ground was uniformly hard and dry. It's quite impressive that so many plants, native and not, are able to grow with such a paucity of moisture.

Butterwwed (Packera glabella) is interesting. It's native to southern Illinois, has moved into the central part of the state and now is appearing in our area. It seems quite opportunistic, quickly forming large patches in disturbed areas. Though said to favor wet to moist ground, this spring's crop is faring despite the current drought. Butterweed may well, with climate change, become part of our normal flora in years to come.

We had three first-time Palos volunteers; thank you Brigida, Julia, and Rhonda for your terrific help.

Swallow Cliff South Sunday May 23
Another Sunday, another garlic mustard hunt. This one went well. We started at our work site of 2018-2020, worked around to the marshy area behind it, and finished in the area where we cleared brush earlier this spring.

Our picking team included five first-time Palos volunteers; Andrea, Mallory, Daniel, Kylin, and Sylvia. All are members of November Project Chicago, fitness enthusiasts who meet for their group workouts at 6:00 am on Friday mornings. That start time is way beyond commendable in my book. They quickly developed an eye for garlic mustard, spotting plants from trail-side with veteran savvy.

Cap Sauers May 15, Black Partridge May 16, 2021

5/20/2021

Cap Sauers Saturday May 15
Margaret had an eager crew of volunteers that she turned loose on garlic mustard at Cap, to good effect. So much for the alleged scarcity of garlic mustard in our area. As the rain intensified, they shut down early, but not before gathering copious quantities of the weed.

Nature Walk With a Librarian, McClaughrey Springs Woods, Saturday May 15,
We had another great turnout, 12 walkers, on an overcast morning that saw the first raindrops fall as we took our initial steps. All were great sports, working up that steep hill that looms over Mill Creek and tolerating the light rain that thankfully stayed light most of the way.

We saw a few early spring flowers, like Jack in the Pulpit, still hanging on, recent bloomers like wild hyacinth, and an abundance of wild geranium, delightful in its varying shades of lilac and pink. Stunning! Our final spring walk will come on Thursday June 17, 10:00 am, at Swallow Cliff Woods South. Join us if you can.

Black Partridge Woods Sunday May 16
Another garlic mustard hunt, which didn't get really productive until we worked our way east across the upland, landing in a mix of GM, dames rocket, and bramble. We left the bramble, but it sure complicated getting all the dames rocket.

Special thanks to first-time Palos volunteer Chad, accompanying his son Gus who was a newbie just a week earlier. Also great to see Carrie and Devin back at Black Partridge.

McClaughrey Springs Woods May 8, 2021

5/12/2021

McClaughrey Springs Saturday May 8
Saturday was a Chicago River Day, sponsored by Friends of the Chicago River, the organization "working to improve the health of the Chicago River system for the benefit of people, plants, and wildlife". They've partnered with Palos Restoration Project at McClaughrey Springs, obtaining a grant to fund restoration of a bluff area overgrown with maples that crowd out the oaks once populating it. They also provide support and publicity for our restoration days at McClaughrey. We appreciate all they do to advance restoration in Palos!

On Saturday we continued to cut honeysuckle near Mill Creek, in what is likely our last cut-and-burn session 'til fall. We made good progress, knocking down a wall of brush that divided two sections previously cleared by volunteers. Thanks to everyone who participated, with a special shout-out to first-time Palos volunteers Brianna, Andrew, Genesis, Mary and Gus.

Sunday at Hidden Pond
Sunday illustrated the pluses and minuses of waiting to the bitter end to cancel a session due to weather. We've learned the opposite lesson, canceling the night before and seeing a projected storm system miss us by 50-100 miles. This time we knew we'd see some rain and hoped it would subside by 9:00 am.

Nope, the rain continued, coupled with a stiff, cold wind. Mary and I gave it one shot, walking a couple hundred yards and pulling garlic mustard along the way. An exercise in futility; we were quickly soaked and chilled and beat a path back to our vehicles. Biggest regret; having to tell the three volunteers at the meeting place that we were canceling. Thank you Marissa, Neal, and John for showing up - you're obviously tougher than us.

Spears Woods May 1, McClaughrey Springs May 2, 2021

5/6/2021

Spears Woods Saturday May 1
We had a terrific group - 20 volunteers - on a day when high winds and low humidity forced Joe to deviate from his planned cut-and-burn project. He decided on a weed hunt which worked out very well. Carolyn led us to a spot on the north end, bisected by a small creek, that was rife with butterweed and garlic mustard. Along the way we also were able to view a variety of native plants in various stages of growth.

We also viewed a pair of distressing sights; one couple mushroom hunting and two large piles of sod fly-dumped along Old Country Lane. Joe and three others later moved the sod out of the ditch (to the unfettered delight of an equestrian) and reported the dumping to FPCC.

We were blessed with several first-time Palos volunteers; Eileen, Merissa, Ram, Ivy and Greg. Greg is the fourth member of his family to join us on a restoration day. Three of his children, Piotr, Rafal, and Patty have worked with us over the years, and this was dad's first appearance. Super family!

McClaughrey Springs Sunday May 2
Back to cutting and burning on Sunday, with winds ample to keep the fires going but well within safe limits. We had two chainsaws and two brushcutters running, and eventually two herbiciders as well. We cut and burned a mess o' honeysuckle. Huge thanks to first-time Palos volunteer Phil, and to the entire group, for working so well and getting so much accomplished.

Garlic Mustard
Last week I speculated on the limited appearance of garlic mustard in our area. Well, it's starting to show it's nasty little self now. Not in the numbers of the bad years, but it's still too soon to tell if what we're seeing now is this year's crop or just the beginning.

Paddock Woods April 24, Swallow Cliff South April 25, 2021

4/29/2021

Paddock Woods Saturday April 24
We had a big group at Paddock, including three chainsaws and two brush-cutters, removing honeysuckle along the eastern edge of the Yellow Trail. That meant lots to do for the haulers, who were up to the task. Thanks to first-time Palos volunteer Connie for joining us, and to all our new friends and old friends who participated.

Swallow Cliff South Sunday April 25
We hosted 10 Scouts and leaders from BSA Troop 14, La Grange, IL. They were great, some going after the biggest honeysuckles in sight with bowsaw and tenacity! And our regular volunteers had already cut and dragged a mess o' brush in the brief time it took to do an orientation with the Scouts.We cleared brush farther up the hill from our site of a month ago.

Swallow Cliff is a stream of walkers and runners on a weekend morning, giving us numerous, positive interactions with passes-by as we worked. It's great to have that visibility and to share our message that restoration matters.

Where Has All the GM Gone?
Maybe I'm speaking too soon. Maybe I'll regret these words, but I'm certainly not alone in noticing the relative scarcity of garlic mustard this spring. We planned to pull it at Swallow Cliff last week, switched to brush-cutting because we couldn't find enough plants. Diana is doing the same at McClaughrey this weekend, possibly next Saturday as well.

This is an extremely tough, resilient plant. It grows in sunlight and in shade, can self-pollinate, and is a prolific seed producer. It requires continued attention to keep it under control. One steward speculated that the drought we're presently in may inhibit its growth. We like to think that our labor of past years plays a part, but nobody I know is ready to drop their guard. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

Cap Sauers April 17, Black Partridge April 18, 2021

4/21/2021

Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday April 17
Margaret took our group back where she worked a month ago, clearing honeysuckle, rose, and bittersweet along the green trail, within sight of Bergman Slough. The bittersweet was especially testy, as it generally is. It ties everything together and complicates getting it to the fire. This section has opened up and really looks good!

Thanks to all who attended, including first- time Palos volunteers Jim and Greg, and the first reported Palos sighting of Yukon Bob, believed native to the Des Plaines Valley hence a bit out of normal range.

Paddock Woods - Nature Walk With a Librarian Saturday April 17
Great morning for walking and viewing spring wildflowers! This was our first spring walk with Jessica Rock of Palos Park Public Library and a fun group of 16 library. We walked the Yellow Trail and never got too far in either direction, just far enough to enjoy a diverse variety of spring blooms. Some, like the woodland phlox, seemed a bit early this year. All were welcome, with their delicate beauty and splash of colors.

Black Partridge Woods Sunday April 18
Sunday was our first garlic mustard assault of the season, joined by first-time Palos volunteers Bernie, Mo, Jack, and Sean. It was successful on at least two counts.

First, we were able to locate and carry out a substantial amount of the weed, which was tough to spot because many hadn't put up a flower yet. Good eyes, volunteers. Second, we had to cover quite a stretch of turf to find them, evidence that past assaults are reducing the population.

We also came upon numerous spring ephemerals, for which Black Partridge is well-known.