Palos Restoration Project - Blog

Willow Springs Woods May 7, 2022

5/12/2022

Willow Springs Woods Saturday May 7
This was our only restoration day and it was a big one - by my count we had 33 volunteers on the site. Sixteen came from Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum's TEENS program. Teenagers Exploring and Explaining Nature and Science is an out-of school time program for Chicago high school students to explore nature in the city, learn about college and career paths in natural science fields, and participate in hands-on scientific environmental investigations.

Their curiosity was off the charts. They spotted frogs, a salamander, and fungi; one guy found an antler, and after lunch they did an exploring walk which is a stock part of their visits. They're always a pleasure to host.

We worked on cleaning an area where we did tree-thinning in February, lopping and burning branches while Jim and Kevin bucked the logs. Another treat was help from Ken Schroeder, someone I hadn't seen much of lately. He looks great and simply does not age.

McMahon April 30, McClaughrey Springs May 1, 2022

5/4/2022

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday April 30
Yet another day of morning rains with threats of more, so our numbers were a bit lower than usual. We still punched a nice hole in a brushy, vine-infested mess right above one of numerous drainages at the site. Just one fire, a rarity for our Saturday sessions, but it was very well fed.

McClaughrey Springs Sunday May 1
Sunday the rain had pretty much passed through the area, and we had a bigger turnout. That included first-time Palos volunteers Marcos and Alondra, Mike, Mickey, Matteo and Jenny, Amir and Alexander. Yes, it's quite exciting to have eight new people show up on one day.

We had three fires and cleared a big section north of the Yellow Trail just off Kean Ave. See Joy Vrchota's before & after pics in the slideshow below. We also got to see how the woods are (finally) greening up despite our cold, gray spring. Even the garlic mustard was putting up flowers by last weekend, a reminder of what's to come..

McMahon April 23, Swallow Cliff April 24, 2022

4/28/2022

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday April 23
This was our Earth Day weekend, and what better place to start than McMahon, which contains a good portion of the globe's total supply of Asian bittersweet (I may exaggerate a little). Jim and Kevin dove in with chainsaws, Doug with the brush-cutter, and Darien worked on a fire. The rest of us started hacking with hand tools and pulling brush to the fire.

It remains a slow slog, but we are undeniably pushing that wall back. Having said that, if a genie granted me three wishes, one would probably relate to the bittersweet vine at McMahon. World peace, cessation of hunger, and get rid of those ###%#$ vines. hmmm

Swallow Cliff Woods South Sunday April 24
Went to bed Saturday night with our Sunday restoration day in doubt due to the rainy forecast. Awoke Sunday morning with the same uncertainty. Radar showed several bands of rain passing through during our three-hour window. Kathy and Carolyn were game for giving it a try, so we did, and it turned out great!

Despite the rain, everyone who signed up showed up, including first-time Palos volunteer Abby. The rain was mostly a drizzle until well past 11:30, and when it started to pick up, we grabbed our tools and headed for the parking lot. Since we weren't burning it was that easy to get out.

An overcast sky couldn't keep it from being a lovely day. There's a long, narrow ephemeral pond just south of our work site, and chorus frogs residing there gave us a full-throated serenade throughout the morning. I occasionally heard a woodpecker working nearby as well.

The volunteers were great, as they always are, and we cleared honeysuckle encroaching into a lovely quality area in the South woods. We also have our jumping-off point when we return for the next round of brush-cutting, come autumn.

Cap Sauers Holding April 16, 2022

4/21/2022

Cap Sauers Holding Saturday April 16
Making memories at Cap Sauers: Not fond memories this time, just a little thicket of multi-flora rose, wound around some fallen limbs, that put up a tremendous fight before finally succumbing to the lopper. I walked away with just one small face wound. Around the site, other volunteers were engaged in similar struggles, cutting rose and honeysuckle and loading it onto one of our two fires.

Yet another cool morning, though it came with enough sun to coax blooms out of a few spring beauties. Days from now they'll probably number in the thousands, yet it's still exciting to see the first bloom of the season from each of the species. That's been the story of spring thus far.

Thanks to all who attended, including first-time Palos volunteer Mike.

McMahon Woods April 9, Hidden Pond April 10, 2022

4/14/2022

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday April 9
Back to McMahon for the second week in a row, burning two large fires that we continued to load right up to the moment we walked out. Kevin, the sole chainsawyer on this day, was a terror, downing trees AND bucking up logs already on the ground. He really, really went at it with a vengeance, as did Doug on the brush-cutter.

Passing by McMahon several days ago, I saw what looked like an attempt to bring prescribed fire into the line of brush. I'll have to get over there soon to have a look. I know at least one crew was burning last Tuesday.

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday April 10
We tackled more big honeysuckles near the drainage ditch at Kean Avenue on Sunday. This included some high stumps left last time, as well as new ones like a monstrous, multi-stemmed atrocity that was enough to make its own brushpile.

Thanks to all the volunteers for their super energy, including first-time Palos volunteer Mike C. Mary Busch brought a couple 36" bowsaws, which we used as two-person saws. That seemed to help on the larger targets; one of the pictures below shows it in use.

McMahon Woods April 2, McClaughrey Springs April 3, 2022

4/7/2022

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday April 2
This was our first Saturday back at McMahon since the brush mowing project, though we had a couple late-winter Wednesdays slipped in. The prairie was burned a couple weeks ago and is much more accessible now that so much brush has been removed. It really looks great!

Of course, there's still abundant honeysuckle and bittersweet in our work area. It's tedious stuff and I'm amazed, time after time, at the energy volunteers bring to bear against it. They are true warriors.

McClaughrey Springs Woods Sunday April 3
We had another big group out Sunday, including first-time Palos volunteer Matt and almost first-timer Andrea. We cleared brush above the bank of Mill Creek, within sight of yet another recently brush-mowed piece of land. This reaches north to Route 83, which is much closer than it seemed before the work was done.

We had one gas brush-cutter going, with everyone else wielding loppers and bowsaws. Two fires burned hot throughout the morning, which started out a bit chilly but was downright pleasant by noon. Much thanks to all who attended our weekend restoration days.

Paddock Woods March 26, Swallow Cliff March 26 & 27, 2022

3/30/2022

Paddock Woods Saturday March 26
I missed this one due to involvement at Swallow Cliff - the photos are from Doug Bosco's FB post and the account from a couple of people who attended. I'm told it was a good day, with brush clearing and tree thinning the two main activities. And of course there was fire.

It certainly was a cold day, quite a jolt after the warm spell several days back. Snow on the ground and puddles icing over told a story no one really wanted to hear. Just the same, in a few short weeks Paddock (and all our sites) will be popping with spring ephemerals.

Swallow Cliff Woods Saturday March 26
This was a special afternoon date with seventh and eighth-graders (and parents) from Our Lady of the Woods in Orland Park. They were so impressive! Novices all, they quickly took to the bowsaws and loppers and began tackling honeysuckle in the south woods.

We finished a corner by the junction of two trails, an area I thought might take two days to complete. Not with this energetic bunch! Thanks to Kim and Al from Our Lady of the Woods for coming up with the idea, to Sydney from FOTFP for organizing, and to Carolyn, Joy and Kathy (the dream team) for helping lead.

Swallow Cliff Woods Sunday March 27
Back for our regular Sunday session, we went north along the tan trail spur a couple hundred yards and finished ANOTHER big chunk of turf. I believe Joy measured it at > two acres. The honeysuckle were mostly bigger ones and quite scattered; when I stopped by the following day I realized just how far we dragged to get to the brush pile.

We had another big group of volunteers, including first-time Palos volunteers Carrie and Sauter, as well as Diana, a passerby who stopped by to check out the fire and stayed for the duration, hauling brush.

Note: Two days later, a crew from Forest Preserves of Cook County did a prescribed burn in both areas that we worked over the weekend, as well as a couple other nearby tracts. That's the cherry on the sundae!

Black Partridge Woods March 20, 2022

3/23/2022

Black Partridge Woods Sunday March 20
Saturday's rain led to cancellation of our restoration day at Cap Sauers, so Sunday was our sole opportunity of the week. We had eight volunteers, including first-time Palos people Joe, Felix, and Margaret, as well as Debbie who doubled up at Kloempken Prairie in the morning and Partridge in the afternoon.

We each got a good upper-body workout as our targets, a thicket of honeysuckle, were quite robust. Most of the stems were beyond lopper size, with some too big to reasonably cut with bowsaws. For those we'll have to come back with a chainsaw or two.

Sunday, first day of spring, was picture-perfect, with blue skies, a light breeze, and shirt-sleeve temperatures.

Road Trip - Whistler Woods
As I mentioned above, we canceled our Saturday at Cap Sauers due to rain, so I trekked over to Whistler Woods in Riverdale. This place fascinates me; it's 137 acres of woodland and prairie tucked between the Little Calumet River and a steel company in a region - Calumet - with a long history of industry.

It's also the southern terminus of the Major Taylor Trail, named for an African-American cycling champion who competed from 1896-1910. One year he won 42 of the 57 races he entered in Europe. As an occasional cyclist, I was intrigued and am more impressed the more I learn.

Friends of the Chicago River has more information on Whistler Woods right here.

Spears Woods March 12, Hidden Pond March 13, 2022

3/17/2022

Spears Woods Saturday March 12
This was our last day of the season with Atrium Landscape, and it was another day of reluctant fires. Propane and the leafblower are often outmatched by wet, green fuel, which can take hours to fully ignite. That's why firewood is cured, though we don't have that luxury. Still, our persistent volunteers stayed with it and had several more fires going, eventually.

The work site is a nice, generally flat stretch not far from Boomerang Slough and situated near some low areas with ephemeral ponds. The tree thinning done here will bring more light in and should have a positive effect at ground level. Looking forward to the growing season here and other places recently cleaned up.

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday March 13
Back to last month's work site, we continued to remove honeysuckle from both sides of the drainage ditch that bisects the prairie from Kean Ave. on the east to 87th Street on the north. A big thank you to first-time Palos volunteer Debbie and the rest of our morning team.

It was a Jekyll-Hyde morning, with a stiff, nippy wind greeting us at the start and moderating to somewhat balmy by noon. Numerous garments were shed along the way. We had a single fire, dragged or tossed numerous honeysuckles across the ditch, and were able, by day's end, to enjoy an unobstructed view into the open woodland lying to our west. Super day!

Pioneer Woods March 5, McMahon Woods March 9, 2022

3/10/2022

Pioneer Woods Saturday March 5
This was a big group of volunteers, including first-timer Dominik, augmented by a crew of eight from Atrium Landscape. We worked above Crooked Creek in a fairly densely wooded stretch, thinning trees and burning eight? brush piles. The fires were reluctant ones; although the wind was brisk, higher ground around us kept it from reaching ground level.

As a result, the fires took substantial coaxing (and a bit of leafblower magic) to keep them hot, and Joe baby-sat well into the afternoon as he so often does.

McMahon Woods & Fen Wednesday March 9
We were again small in numbers for our Wednesday outing, but able to do a huge hunk of cleanup in what's been our second home since October 2021. Brisk winds, sunny skies, and tolerable temps made it a good day.

First-time Palos volunteer Sylvia came a long distance to join us; we appreciate both her travels and her energy. We also were joined by Matt and Erin from Woods To Wetlands. We burned three big piles of brush and expect to return, probably soon, for more of the same.