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

3/24/2021

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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.

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Cap Sauers March 13, Hidden Pond March 14, 2021

3/18/2021

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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!

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

3/11/2021

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 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.

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Cap Sauers Moraines February 27, 2021

3/4/2021

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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.

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    Author

    I'm Jan Pietrzak with the Palos Restoration Project. This blog and website were created for your information and enjoyment.

    I hope you'll be encouraged and inspired to volunteer at any of the numerous forest preserves in our area.

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