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Spears Woods February 24, Swallow Cliff February 25 2018

2/28/2018

Spears Woods Saturday February 24
Joe chose to work at the far south end of Spears, across 95th Street from Buttonbush Slough. It's a neat little area I'd never been to before, with wooded hills rising out of wetlands. It was also another late one, with fires burning well into the afternoon.

We have one more Saturday remaining in our winter tree-thinning schedule, so it's time to thank Kathy Bruch, again, for her donation of the Atrium Landscape crew to this effort. It's all the evidence one needs of Kathy's generosity as well as her commitment to the Palos preserves.

Swallow Cliff South Sunday February 25
We came to Swallow Cliff this morning intending to cut and burn brush. Soggy ground prompted a change in plans; a shrub ID walk led by Ken Schaefer, recently retired from Oakton Community College.

Our thanks to Ken for freely sharing his knowledge of shrubs, trees, and other things green. Thanks also to Raquel Garcia-Alvarez for coming up with this 'plan B' and to Diana Krug for adding her insights (and photo). Good to see Diana and Margaret Tobin at Swallow Cliff on a Sunday morning.

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Black Partridge Woods February 17, Swallow Cliff February 18, 2018

2/21/2018

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Black Partridge Woods February 17
Last year we thinned trees atop the hill above the parking lot. Come spring, steward John Marlin saw an abundance of wild hyacinth in that area, plants he hedn't seen before.

Saturday we worked just north of that location, with the sawyers thinning maples on both sides of the ravine. Just like last year, our brush pile was in the actual parking lot. We rolled, hauled, or slid the logs to the fire.

We were lucky the ground was still frozen so we could work on the slopes without damaging the soil. We were lucky that ample snow remained so we could use a sled to haul logs. (When I say we I mostly mean Doug Bosco, who worked like a man possessed pulling load after load to the fire).

If that run of luck continues, this spring we'll witness the emergence of more surprises, more good native plants where we just finished working.

Swallow Cliff Woods February 18
Three weeks ago we cleared and stacked a huge amount of honeysuckle after shutting our fire down early. Sunday, with a smaller group, we managed to burn all of that plus more! Our thanks to the crew from FPCC Resource Management (Nick, Ryan, Brendan, and Henry) as well as volunteers Emma, Jake, Jean and Dave for hittin' it hard and doing a great job.

The corridor we cleared, from the yellow trail down to the marsh, is now plainly visible. On subsequent volunteer days (the next one this Sunday February 25 at 9 am) we'll continue to expand it.

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Winter Fun in Palos, February 9 - 14, 2018

2/14/2018

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Cranberry Slough Saturday February 10
Every few years we get a big snow event on or around one of Joe's workdays. What to do? If the parking lot is cleared (thank you, FPCC Maintenance crew) then it's easy - we go.

Three sleds loaded with equipment, three sled-pullers breaking trail for the rest of the team. It was a somewhat arduous walk to the work site, and it was sometimes challenging hauling through the snow, but it didn't stop us from burning three large piles within a shout of the multi-use trail. Our thanks to Lucy from Brookfield Woods, first-time Palos volunteer.

Much of my time in the past week was spent trekking around the Swallow Cliff/McClaughrey Springs area, my favorite of all our preserves and the closest to home. Snowshoes, X-C skis, plain old hiking boots, all brought bliss to my snow-loving soul. Most of the pictures below came from those treks.

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McClaughrey Springs February 3, Cap Sauers February 4, 2018

2/7/2018

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McClaughrey Springs Woods Saturday February 3
Our thanks to first-time volunteer Al and to Piotr and Rafal, brothers from Oak Lawn who join us periodically. We were along both sides of the connector trail that comes out of Forty Acres Woods, thinning trees and burning six brush piles.

The topography here is as spectacular as anywhere in Palos and stands in sharp contrast to most of Illinois. It's no wonder hikers and sightseers from all around the county come here to visit.

Saturday was the last day on the Friends of the Forest Preserves Palos crew for Greg Russ. Greg started volunteering with us last year and began work with the FOTFP crew last fall. He found a position in bird rehabilitation in northern Wisconsin. We wish him success and fulfillment in his new endeavor!

Cap Sauers Holding Sunday February 4
Light snow falling in the afternoon made Cap even prettier, and it surely didn't stop Patrick's bowsaw assault on honeysuckle. Up on the hillside, above the trail and wetland, we had a terrific view of the landscape in three directions (we're working on opening up the view in the fourth).

We were few in number, probably more due to weather and road conditions than to some football game rumored to occur later in the day. We still got a lot of brush cleared and had a good fire to take the edge off the chill.

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Paw Paw January 27, Swallow Cliff January 28, 2017

2/1/2018

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Paw Paw Woods Saturday January 27
Since we were thinning on the sides of a ravine, Joe located his brush piles at the bottom of that ravine. Later in the day, viewed from the south, the multiple brush piles appeared to merge into one continuous line. Very cool.

We accomplished much on this Saturday. The sunlight reaching the slopes as a result of our efforts will, we hope, encourage growth of native plants and prevent erosion. The wonderfully sculpted landscape is one of the features making our Palos preserves so special, and we strive to protect those features.

Swallow Cliff Sunday January 28
Bowsaw warriors with a small side of mushroom madness: we had 16 volunteers and they all brought their "A" game. When we started at this site less than a year ago, one of our goals was to reach the marsh at the bottom of the hill. A long-term goal at the time, but one that looked more achievable as the months passed.

Getting there still meant tackling some prodigious honeysuckles, and our group was up to the challenge. To paraphrase an old song lyric 'they cut and they burned, and they burned and they cut', and eventually broke through. No champagne toasts, a good feeling just the same. Thanks to first-timers Ed, Jing, Eddie, Gian Luca, and Leo, almost-newbies Laurel and Brendan, and to everyone else who participated.

We also encountered some lovely fungi, pictured below.

Super Blue Blood Moon January 30
Many years ago a close friend went to Hawaii and camped on a lava field in hopes of seeing a total solar eclipse. Heavy cloud cover effectively obscured his view of the sun.

I traveled just five miles to Saganashkee Slough for Wednesday morning's lunar eclipse and had a clear view of the moon until it was roughly half-covered by earth's shadow. That's when clouds got in the way and I had just a couple glimpses of the 'blood' moon before sunrise drew near and the show was over.

Complaining? Oh no! Fortunate to be there, to be a breathing, sentient being on that day.

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Spears Woods February 24, Swallow Cliff February 25 2018

Black Partridge Woods February 17, Swallow Cliff February 18, 2018

Winter Fun in Palos, February 9 - 14, 2018

McClaughrey Springs February 3, Cap Sauers February 4, 2018

Paw Paw January 27, Swallow Cliff January 28, 2017

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