Palos Restoration Project - Blog

Cap Sauers July 17, Black Partridge July 18, 2021

7/22/2021

Cap Sauers Saturday July 17
We had a small group of six and spent our morning dead-heading Canada and bull thistle. Bull thistle, ouch! I'd forgotten how sharp and stiff those thorns are. Nothing short of welding gloves will offer full protection, and we were relieved when the bull thistles were finished and we could switch to the Canada variety.

As is always the case, we encountered a number of native flowers in bloom as we moved through the preserve.

Black Partridge Sunday July 18
We worked on teasel along the south side of Bluff Road, in a series of small fields separated by hedgerows. This, if I recall correctly, was the location of the dairy farm of years gone by. Teasel was not as numerous as a year ago, though it's a bit early and there may be more plants bolting as the summer goes on. So we got whatever we could find, and also pulled a few white sweet clover for good measure.

Thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Steve and Angelica, and to Olga for providing hand-wipes when we took our cookie break. It wasn't a terribly hot day, but the afternoon sun was direct and it felt great to grab some shade and kick back for a spell.

Cranberry Slough July 10,2021

7/15/2021

Cranberry Slough Saturday July 10
We worked at the far south end of Cranberry, in a corner bounded by Old Country Lane and 107th Street. Our main target was Canada thistle, growing in a sector cleared of brush by contractors less than two years ago. Thanks to first-time Palos volunteer Olga, to Darien and Julia, and to the rest of the stalwarts who showed up on a damp day in the midst of mosquito season.

Judicious application of repellent kept the skeeters at bay, and we loaded numerous trash bags with thistle flowers and seed. Joe, Diana, and Carolyn carried backpack sprayers and herbicided behind us as we wiped out the bulk of the biggest thistle patch.

The prairie at McMahon is quite beautiful. with a variety of native flowers in bloom right now. We saw two kinds of coneflowers, two of the Siphium genus (rosinweed and compass plant, with prairie dock present but not bolted yet), Monarda, black-eyed Susans, and much, much more. It's great evidence what can happen with removal of invasive species and careful management.

McMahon Woods July 3, 2021

7/7/2021

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday July 3
After a couple false starts - the first time we got lost at the beginning of the day - we arrived at a big patch of black mustard targeted for removal. They were as large as advertised, some likely 10 ft. or taller. At least they pulled without much struggle, and our group removed the ENTIRE patch before noon. Ann spotted and pulled a patch of mugwort, which gave her a measure pleasure.

What a group it was too! We had 15 volunteers total, very impressive for a holiday weekend. That included first-time Palos volunteers Aneel and Malcolm, the latter of whom proving his path-finding skills on the way out. Much thanks for sharing part of your weekend with Palos Restoration Project.

Spears Woods June 26, 2021

6/30/2021

Spears Woods Saturday June 26
Our sole weekend restoration effort and we managed to get rained on just once, briefly, in the course of three hours. Thank you, first time Palos volunteer Angela, and second-timer Darien, for coming out in these questionable conditions.

We pulled and bagged garlic mustard for most of the morning, and finished by dead-heading Canada thistle, all within a short distance of the parking lot.

Fungus Time
Recent moisture is spurring the growth of mushrooms, which were in short supply through much of spring. Check the 'elegant stinkhorn' below; I truly did not know what this was until I looked it up. Most cool.

Positive Graffiti
Understanding that I don't endorse graffiti, it still was somewhat refreshing, on a recent nature walk, to encounter graffiti with a positive message. Some of it might've been poached from Hallmark Cards, but it was still better than the norm. One quote came from Eleanor Roosevelt, with the following from Edith Wharton:
"Set wide the window, let me drink the day".

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.