Palos Restoration Project - Blog

Paddock Woods September 11, Hidden Pond September 12, 2021

9/16/2021

Paddock Woods Saturday September 11
I missed most of this one due to our nature walk (below), managed to get an hour of dragging in at the end of the day. It was warm by then, and strenuous, moving along the side of a ravine where most of the targets were located. A tip of the cap to the hardy group who worked the entire session. The area opened up nicely, and Doug got in his first licks with the brush-cutter in several months. I think he was happy.

Spears Woods Nature Walk Saturday September 11
We had about a dozen walkers from Palos Park Library on our tour of Spears. If a bit warm for burning brush, it was ideal for an easy stroll through Spears, with a soothing breeze and lots of shade along the trail. The site cooperated, putting on a beautiful show of color featuring vibrant yellows of goldenrod and sawtooth sunflower, the subtler tones of prairie grasses, and an assortment of asters along the way.

Our final walks of the year will be Saturday October 16 at Cap Sauers, meeting at Teason's Woods, and Saturday November 13 at Sagawau ELC. Both start at 10:00 am and will be noted on our calendar and in my weekly email.

Hidden Pond Sunday September 12
On another warm, sunny morning, we focused mostly on seed collection, though Joy was brimming with energy and took down a few weedy trees that infiltrated the prairie. We were within the (small) window when prairie dropseed has not yet dropped its seed, so we collected some of that, along with big bluestem, Indian grass, monarda, wild quinine, and rattlesnake master. We were unable to find any liatris, though it's been there in past years, and no coneflowers to speak of. We'll have another shot in October, when we plan a hybrid workday with some seed collecting and some brush-cutting.

Paw Paw September 4, McClaughrey Springs September 5, 2021

9/9/2021

Paw Paw Woods Saturday September 4
Our first burn pile of the season was located just a few paces from the shore of Maple Lake, where we cleared brush in an area where we thinned trees several years ago. While there were quite a few invasive plants needing removal we also had some pleasant finds like an abundance of Smilax and a small clump of the native Eastern wahoo (gotta love that name!)

McClaughrey Springs Sunday September 5
We had close to a dozen volunteers on Sunday, including Palos first-timer Frank. We worked along a slope rising above Mill Creek, in close proximity to water as on the preceding day. With one chainsaw and one brush-cutter running, and great energy from all the volunteers, we opened up a large space and burned it all on two brush piles.

Willow Springs August 28, Swallow Cliff August 29, 2021

9/2/2021

Willow Springs Woods Saturday August 28
This was a day of light brush-cutting, which was the best we could muster on another warm, humid August morn. The mosquitoes were active as well, forcing frequent applications of repellent. Other than that it was a blast, with frequent mushroom sightings and a trek along a drainage where great blue lobelia was spotted.

One of the picnic shelters hosted a church group, and their songs drifted far enough to enhance our enjoyment of the morning. Far more soothing than the music you usually hear in a picnic grove.

Swallow Cliff South Sunday August 29
When I arrived at Sunday morning the northern sky was overcast, and a trace of a rainbow was nestled between two of the white pines nearby. Then rumbles of thunder sounded, followed by light rain.

Our other volunteers all came from north of 95th Street and experienced heavy rain along the way. Bless 'em, they kept driving, undeterred, and by the time we hit the trail the rain had stopped. Apparently the storm passed just north of us, so we got our time in without further threat.

We collected seed from a couple woodland grasses, Joe Pye Weed, and several other natives that were ripe. Many more weren't ready yet, so we'll return in September for another seed day. We've had significant contract work in two sectors of the south woods that may benefit from some of that seed. Much gratitude to Kris DaPra of VRC for her assist on this day.

Cap Sauers Moraines, August 21, 2021

8/26/2021

Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday August 21
A bit of a twist this time as we worked along the roadside, on McCarthy Road between 104th Avenue and Wolf Road. An explosion of teasel and invasive thistles brought us there. Thanks to the great group of volunteers who endured a warm, sticky morning AND the incessant traffic noise! This group included several first-time Palos volunteers; Chris, Erik, and Claire.

Teasel is quite annoying for several reasons; it grows taller than most of the surrounding vegetation; its flowerhead has that unmistakable, spikey egg shape; they continue to stand erect even after the plant flowers (and dies), often into the next season. The only way to spare viewing them is to chop 'em down.

So that's what we did, filling multiple bags with the fruit of our labor. Driving the same stretch of road yesterday, I was impressed by the absence of teasel flower-heads, at least 'til the edge of our work zone where another patch reared its head. ugh!

Pioneer Woods August 14, Black Partridge Woods August 15, 2021

8/19/2021

Pioneer Woods Saturday August 15
This was another weed hunt, one that I missed due to another obligation. We had a smallish crew that hunted for weeds along the south side of 95th St, east of Crawdad Slough. This is the area, as noted last week, that was recently cleared of invasive brush by contractors with brush-mowers.

Now it's rebounding, with a number of native plants as well as some invasives. Quite amazing to walk through this former thicket and have clear views in all directions.

Black Partridge Woods Sunday August 15
We were another sparse group on Sunday and spent more time looking for the bad guys than actually dealing with them. That, of course, is a good thing. When you can walk a mile or more and only occasionally have to stop and snip seedheads from reed canary grass, efforts of past years must be paying off. It's also a treat to walk with John Marlin; he has a wealth of knowledge and is more than willing to share.

Pioneer Woods August 7, 2021

8/11/2021

Pioneer Woods Saturday August 7
This was the northern end of Pioneer, right behind Crawdad Slough. We roamed the area, recently brush-mowed by contractors, snipping the flower-heads off thistles, primarily the Canada variety. This is an area that, prior to the contract work, was all but impassable due to the density of the honeysuckle thicket. It's a treat to walk through such an area and see native plants dotting the landscape.

Yes, there are lots of invasives too, but that's what brings us there. When those are gone, the natives will have a better chance to thrive. We're returning to this spot Saturday, August 14 to continue our efforts.

Willow Springs Woods July 31, 2021

8/4/2021

Willow Springs Woods Saturday July 31
Weed day at Willow, working in a sector that was brush-mowed by contractors recently and has some opportunistic weeds moving in. Mostly we chased Canada thistle, cutting the heads and bagging them before the remainder of each plant got a dose of herbicide. Then we started finding white sweet clover, which, since we take most of the plant due to its prolific flower production, quickly filled our bags. That's okay, more to haul to the parking lot :-)

We had three first-time Palos volunteers join us, thank you Jeana, Danny and Sylvia. We certainly bagged a lot of weeds, while Darien and Bob cut some straggler trees. It will be a month or so before we switch back to brush-cutting and burning, but Darien seems primed for that day when it comes.

McMahon Woods & Fen July 24, 2021

7/29/2021

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday July 24
Despite the late-July heat wave, we had an even dozen volunteers on the prairie, including first-timer Thomas, along with sister Carolina and mother Melissa who previously joined us at Swallow Cliff. Our target was white sweet clover, always a tough foe. Saturday's work was complicated by several dry days, so many of the plants refused to uproot, forcing us to clip them near the stem.

I felt trapped in a 3 Stooges routine. Hold the clippers in one hand and the next few plants pull up easily. Put the clippers back in pocket, the next one has roots that go to China. Remove clippers from pocket, clip plant, repeat. We made a big compost pile of everything we removed, pictured below.

The high point of the day: Viewing the result of our efforts, a sea of prairie forbs and grasses waving gently in the breeze, unencumbered by those tall intrusive stalks of sweet clover. The prairie was even prettier than I recall from past visits, maybe because we usually come out in early July for sweet clover and this time we waited almost to the end of the month. More time for the wild bergamot, compass plants, two species of coneflowers, rattlesnake master, Culver's root, and all the other native plants to put out flowers.

Palatine Prairie
I visited Palatine Prairie Sunday, helping for a short time clipping teasel flowers. Stewards Cyndi, our former stewardship aide from FPCC, and Brian have a remarkable little piece of land under management, lying on one side along a railroad right-of-way and chock-full of native flowers. Last time out was the day of their spring burn, so I'd never seen it in full glory of the growing season. It did not disappoint.

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.