Palos Restoration Project - Blog

Paw Paw Woods April 10, Hidden Pond April 11, 2021

4/14/2021

Paw Paw Woods Saturday April 10
A cool overcast morning with forecast of rain kept our numbers down to eight or nine volunteers. We got lucky; other than short spells of drizzle we had no rain to speak of until 1:00 pm. The day's second challenge was burning wet fuel in a high-humidity environment, which we got done (sans propane tank) albeit a bit slower than the norm.

We gathered and burned large amounts of cut logs and branches, while Kevin used the chainsaw to thin more trees. We hit it hard and had a good time.

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday April 11
Another day, more dampness. Burning was an in-the-field decision made possible by a halt in the sporadic drizzle earlier in the morning. Part of our volunteer group cleaned up a mess of litter along Kean (including 100-200 deflated balloons. Really?) before jumping in to cut and burn honeysuckle.

Thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Mari and Dave, also to Jesse Jr. By quitting time we had pushed through a line of brush to connect our smaller section with the prairie edge to its north. Well done!

Spears Woods April 3, McClaughrey Springs April 4, 2021

4/7/2021

Spears Woods Saturday April 3
We burned three log piles on a warm, breezy day, a two-water pack, two flapper kind of day. Sure, the fires were easy to start; we had to stay on our toes to make sure they stayed contained. We did and they did.

Thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Greg and Sheahan and to everyone who hauled wood and loaded the fires, as well as our crack fire suppression team. We worked the east side of Old Country Lane, across from a recently brush mowed section that was a prime "Before" example when showing volunteers the positive impact of restoration.

McClaughrey Springs Sunday April 4
We had at least a dozen volunteers at McClaughrey on Sunday morning, pushing back the honeysuckle line along Mill Creek, moving toward Route 83. At least two of those volunteers, Shannon and Dave, were first-timers in Palos. This is another area that's really opening up nicely.

In addition to our group, this site benefits from volunteers coming from both Shedd Aquarium and Curie High School.

Pelicans in Palos
Last week we had several reports of pelicans (see them in the slide show below), at Long John and Saganashkee Slough. In past years they've also visited Maple Lake. I don't know how far they've come, or where they're headed, but it's sure fun having 'em around for a short spell.

Paddock Woods March 27, Swallow Cliff March 28, 2021

4/1/2021

Paddock Woods Saturday March 27
We had an active Saturday, with two brush-cutters and one chainsaw running and a busy team of volunteers collecting and burning the brush. we worked along the Yellow Trail's eastern edge, immediately across from the tract that had a prescribed burn five days prior. Curiously, we spotted smoke coming from some snag that stayed lit since Monday, even with at least one rainfall in the interim.

Thanks to first-time Palos volunteer Neal, who doubled up at Swallow Cliff the following day. Awesome! In several weeks we'll see this stretch transform into a haven of native wildflowers.

Swallow Cliff Woods Sunday March 28
Another super team of volunteers on this day, 18 strong and they very strong, clearing a hillside of honeysuckle along the spur trail that takes you from Swallow Cliff South to the stairs. On a quite windy day we located our single brush pile where the gusts overhead couldn't reach all the way to the ground. That's the blessing of Swallow Cliff's topography, there's always shelter from the elements somewhere nearby.

Profound thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Cathy, Joseph and Maggie, and to all the volunteers who worked so well and made that hillside look so open and pretty.

Spring Wildflowers
Our spring flowers are right on schedule; hepatica are ready, as are bloodroot and spring beauties to name a few. Each week will bring new sights, so it's a terrific time for a walk in the woods. Yesterday and today being quite cool, don't expect many open blooms. By Saturday it's gonna be much better!

Five Days, Four Sites: March 19-23, 2021

3/24/2021

McClaughrey Springs Friday March 19
Diana had about a dozen volunteers for her Friday afternoon session, cutting brush farther along the east side of Mill Creek from our last workday there. At least two, Anna and Cassie, were first-time Palos volunteers.

Paw Paw Woods Saturday March 20
This was a cleanup day, finishing burning logs and branches left from an earlier thinning day. Much thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Kyle and Christian from Oak Lawn HS for their help.

It was quite a contrast to that prior workday, when we waded through knee-deep snow and slid like Drake. Left foot up, right foot slide... The dry ground and leaf litter also made fire containment important, and we had to intervene several times with flappers and water to maintain control. Joe prudently chose to limit the number of fires due to ground conditions.

Black Partridge Woods Sunday March 21
We had a big group, including nine (9!) first-time Palos volunteers. Thank you Thea, Brendan, Kearney, Jeff, Judy, Ronah, Rosemarie, Reese, and Nicole.

We worked on the south side of Bluff Road, once was a dairy farm, tackling honeysuckles of varied sizes. Too dry to burn, so we stacked it all for another day.

Paddock Woods Tuesday March 23
We were back in Paddock for cleanup work the day after prescribed burning inside the trail loop. It was an ethereal landscape, black char in every direction. Six volunteers managed four fires and the lack of ground fuel made fire containment easy.

We'll be back at Paddock this Saturday, for brush-cutting not far from this day's work site. In a few weeks the land will be bursting with spring wildflowers and our first walk of the season with Palos Park Public Library will take place here on Saturday April 17.

Cap Sauers March 13, Hidden Pond March 14, 2021

3/18/2021

Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday March 13
This was our last tree-thinning day of the season with Atrium Landscape sawyers. Thank you Kathy Bruch for your generosity in providing this resource, they really make an impact at our sites!

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday March 14
We had another great group of volunteers helping clear brush moving west from Kean Avenue toward the drainage ditch that bisects the preserve. First-time Palos volunteer, Chris, and 11 others clearly brought their A-games. Conservation Corps recently cleared a big stretch of brush along Kean and we expanded on their work.

Covid-19 one year later
One year ago today I worked with a group of volunteers at Zoo Woods. Covid-19 was all over the news by then.
We were both cautious and nervous that day, and our anxiety level soared when we encountered a gentleman we didn't know in the stone shelter where we ate our lunch. It got worse when he coughed. Later that afternoon John Plunkett, who leads those workdays, emailed the group saying he was putting them on hiatus due to the unfolding crisis.

Two days later the governor announced a stay-at-home order, non-essential business closures, and other mitigations. Three months would pass before we resumed any kind of group activities in the preserves, and those were of necessity quite limited.

We seem to be in a much better place today, with cases falling and vaccine rates rising. (Julie and I got our second shot last Monday.) We continue to ask volunteers to wear masks and practice social distancing, and eagerly anticipate some future date when that's no longer necessary and we can share snacks and drinks without any concern.

We're not there yet and appreciate the continuerd cooperation of our volunteers in helping keep all of us safe. Thank you, tahnk you, a hundred times thank you!

Pioneer Woods March 6, McClaughrey Springs & Cap Sauers Holding March 7, 2021

3/11/2021

Pioneer Woods Saturday March 6
Saturday morning we were 18 strong (plus three chainsaws) working along Crooked Creek in Pioneer Woods.That included three first-time Palos volunteers: Kerry, Joanne, and John. Thanks to all who came, for all they did.

We loaded and burned several large brush piles in what is the next-to-last tree thinning day of the season. Builds strong bodies!

Sunlight breaking through the treetops and snow lingering on north-facing surfaces made a lovely series of contrasts.

McClaughrey Springs Woods Sunday March 7
Another super turnout of 18 volunteers! This time there were five, by my count, working in Palos for the first time. Thank you Emily, Melissa, Jake, Ben, and Clara, and the rest of our hard-working team of the day.

Mill Creek was the backdrop as we cleared honeysuckle along its east bank. We had two fires, one down low, the other on higher ground, and kept them loaded all morning. Joy sent before-and-after pics which depict the extent of our clearing; they can be seen in the slideshow below.

Cap Sauers Holding Sunday March 7
First Sunday of the month we typically double up, morning and afternoon. We returned to a spot at Cap Sauers where we cut large amounts of honeysuckle last fall on a day when we could not burn, so our focus was on dragging it all to the fire. Nine volunteers in all, including first-timers in Palos Meimei, Peihong, and Mengqi, set about doing that with impressive results. Thanks again to everyone who attended, here and at our preceding sessions.

Usually when we host as many as 45 people on a single weekend it's due to a large school or other group. This time it was a lot of individual choices to 'come out to the woods', and we appreciate each of those choices.

Cap Sauers Moraines February 27, 2021

3/4/2021

Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday February 27
We had a super group of volunteers, 18 strong plus three chain sawyers from Atrium Landscape. This included first-time Palos volunteers Donna, Maribel and Christopher. The snow melted down to a manageable depth, enabling lots of cutting, lots of hauling, and several big, hot fires.

Paw Paw Woods Tuesday March 2
Joe also had a workday on Tuesday; I was not able to attend and don't have any pictures or account of this one.

Recent weather, of course, has been insane, allowing cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and bike riding within the space of five days. On Tuesday we heard sandhill cranes flying over Sundown Meadow, the first I've heard this season.

Willow Springs/Katydid February 20, 2021

2/24/2021

Willow Springs Woods/Katydid Saturday February 20
We came to Katydid several days after the latest of our recent snowfalls, and hiked in through deep, light powder. It certainly slowed us down - two fires when we normally might have five or more, but ya gotta play the hand you get.

Luckily, we had a large, hardy group of volunteers who were unfazed by the conditions. We dragged logs on the sled, hauled them by hand, and finally, by day's end, had beaten the snow flat in close proximity to the fires.

Next week we'll be out twice, at Cap Sauers Moraines on Saturday and Paw Paw Woods on Tuesday March 2.

February 18th, 2021

2/18/2021

Paw Paw Woods Saturday February 13
This was our second visit to Paw Paw in two weekends; this time around we had chain sawyers from Atrium Landscape to keep us hopping. We also had help from two first-time Palos volunteers, Joy and John, as well as Tom the almost-newbie, having been out at some past date(s). Great to have them too; we needed their unflagging energy to get all the cut stuff through the deep snow and onto our fires.

It was an interesting process, with some slipping and sliding and my gait resembling that of an intoxicated man. This weekend, with fresh layers of snow, ought to be equally interesting, though the occasional sun and (slightly) warmer temps ought to allow some settling and compression of snow making it more navigable. We'll see.

The weather has been both challenging and memorable. I was fortunate to go walking Monday eve when snowfall was intensifying, and had the local streets and area around Lake Katherine almost to myself. It was stunning, even with visibility down to a couple hundred yards at best. I returned from a strenuous hour-and-a-half feeling invigorated. Lovely!

Paw Paw Woods February 6, 2021

2/11/2021

Saturday February 6, Paw Paw Woods
It was scheduled to be one of our Atrium Landscape days but the crew was forced to cancel, putting all the pressure on Kevin, the only certified and suited-up chain sawyer present. He did fine, cutting enough to keep the rest of us busy dragging and burning.

It was a pretty day, with deep snow that we started out wading through and eventually tramped down to a hard pack around our single fire. Early on there weren't many trail users, though a few came along before quitting time. Maybe it was the cold; under ten degrees at the start, maybe 12-15 at quitting time. With little wind and lots to do you don't really notice the cold, especially once the fire starts cooking. I believe we numbered nine, some of the usual suspects plus our friend Marc whom we hadn't seen in a little bit.

We'll be back at Paw Paw on February 13, this time with the Atrium crew expected. Ought to be a good time!

Diana canceled her scheduled workday at McClaughrey on Sunday Feb. 7 due to cold temps, and Bob Arentz never scheduled one at Cap Sauers that afternoon for the same reason.