Palos Restoration Project
  • Home
  • About
  • Schedule
  • Maps
  • Volunteer
  • Blog
  • Contact

Paddock Woods March 26, Swallow Cliff March 26 & 27, 2022

3/30/2022

0 Comments

 
Paddock Woods Saturday March 26
I missed this one due to involvement at Swallow Cliff - the photos are from Doug Bosco's FB post and the account from a couple of people who attended. I'm told it was a good day, with brush clearing and tree thinning the two main activities. And of course there was fire.

It certainly was a cold day, quite a jolt after the warm spell several days back. Snow on the ground and puddles icing over told a story no one really wanted to hear. Just the same, in a few short weeks Paddock (and all our sites) will be popping with spring ephemerals. 

Swallow Cliff Woods Saturday March 26
This was a special afternoon date with seventh and eighth-graders (and parents) from Our Lady of the Woods in Orland Park. They were so impressive! Novices all, they quickly took to the bowsaws and loppers and began tackling honeysuckle in the south woods.

We finished a corner by the junction of two trails, an area I thought might take two days to complete. Not with this energetic bunch! Thanks to Kim and Al from Our Lady of the Woods for coming up with the idea, to Sydney from FOTFP for organizing, and to Carolyn, Joy and Kathy (the dream team) for helping lead.

Swallow Cliff Woods Sunday March 27
Back for our regular Sunday session, we went north along the tan trail spur a couple hundred yards and finished ANOTHER big chunk of turf. I believe Joy measured it at > two acres. The honeysuckle were mostly bigger ones and quite scattered; when I stopped by the following day I realized just how far we dragged to get to the brush pile.

We had another big group of volunteers, including first-time Palos volunteers Carrie and Sauter, as well as Diana, a passerby who stopped by to check out the fire and stayed for the duration, hauling brush.

Note: Two days later, a crew from Forest Preserves of Cook County did a prescribed burn in both areas that we worked over the weekend, as well as a couple other nearby tracts. That's the cherry on the sundae!

​
0 Comments

Black Partridge Woods March 20, 2022

3/23/2022

0 Comments

 
Black Partridge Woods Sunday March 20
Saturday's rain led to cancellation of our restoration day at Cap Sauers, so Sunday was our sole opportunity of the week. We had eight volunteers, including first-time Palos people Joe, Felix, and Margaret, as well as Debbie who doubled up at Kloempken Prairie in the morning and Partridge in the afternoon.

We each got a good upper-body workout as our targets, a thicket of honeysuckle, were quite robust. Most of the stems were beyond lopper size, with some too big to reasonably cut with bowsaws. For those we'll have to come back with a chainsaw or two.

Sunday, first day of spring, was picture-perfect, with blue skies, a light breeze, and shirt-sleeve temperatures.

Road Trip - Whistler Woods
As I mentioned above, we canceled our Saturday at Cap Sauers due to rain, so I trekked over to Whistler Woods in Riverdale. This place fascinates me; it's 137 acres of woodland and prairie tucked between the Little Calumet River and a steel company in a region - Calumet - with a long history of industry.

It's also the southern terminus of the Major Taylor Trail, named for an African-American cycling champion who competed from 1896-1910. One year he won 42 of the 57 races he entered in Europe. As an occasional cyclist, I was intrigued and am more impressed the more I learn.

Friends of the Chicago River has more information on Whistler Woods right here.

0 Comments

Spears Woods March 12, Hidden Pond March 13, 2022

3/17/2022

0 Comments

 
Spears Woods Saturday March 12
This was our last day of the season with Atrium Landscape, and it was another day of reluctant fires. Propane and the leafblower are often outmatched by wet, green fuel, which can take hours to fully ignite. That's why firewood is cured, though we don't have that luxury. Still, our persistent volunteers stayed with it and had several more fires going, eventually.

The work site is a nice, generally flat stretch not far from Boomerang Slough and situated near some low areas with ephemeral ponds. The tree thinning done here will bring more light in and should have a positive effect at ground level. Looking forward to the growing season here and other places recently cleaned up.

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday March 13
Back to last month's work site, we continued to remove honeysuckle from both sides of the drainage ditch that bisects the prairie from Kean Ave. on the east to 87th Street on the north.
A big thank you to first-time Palos volunteer Debbie and the rest of our morning team.

It was a Jekyll-Hyde morning, with a stiff, nippy wind greeting us at the start and moderating to somewhat balmy by noon. Numerous garments were shed along the way. We had a single fire, dragged or tossed numerous honeysuckles across the ditch, and were able, by day's end, to enjoy an unobstructed view into the open woodland lying to our west. Super day!
0 Comments

Pioneer Woods March 5, McMahon Woods March 9, 2022

3/10/2022

0 Comments

 
Pioneer Woods Saturday March 5
This was a big group of volunteers, including first-timer Dominik, augmented by a crew of eight from Atrium Landscape. We worked above Crooked Creek in a fairly densely wooded stretch, thinning trees and burning eight? brush piles. The fires were reluctant ones; although the wind was brisk, higher ground around us kept it from reaching ground level.

As a result, the fires took substantial coaxing (and a bit of leafblower magic) to keep them hot, and Joe baby-sat well into the afternoon as he so often does.

McMahon Woods & Fen Wednesday March 9
We were again small in numbers for our Wednesday outing, but able to do a huge hunk of cleanup in what's been our second home since October 2021. Brisk winds, sunny skies, and tolerable temps made it a good day.

First-time Palos volunteer Sylvia came a long distance to join us; we appreciate both her travels and her energy. We also were joined by Matt and Erin from Woods To Wetlands. We burned three big piles of brush and expect to return, probably soon, for more of the same.
0 Comments

Spears Woods February 26, Swallow Cliff February 27, McMahon March 2, 2022

3/3/2022

0 Comments

 
Spears Woods Saturday February 26
We had a big group at Spears Saturday; Atruim sawyers and haulers; a large contingent of regular volunteers; and seven Whitney Young HS students. Our walk in was tricky, with a thin layer of snow over a sheet of ice. Once we got going, though, the early morning cold was quickly forgotten.

The chain-sawyers cut while everyone else hauled and burned. Seven or eight big fires dotted the landscape, and a large swath was opened to more sunlight for the coming spring.

Swallow Cliff Woods Sunday February 27
We had 10 volunteers Sunday morning. They included Palos first-timers Mike, a regular at Zoo Woods and other Salt Creek sites; Wade, with past experience clearing brush farther south; and Adarsh, who was hiking the trail, stopped to chat, and decided to join us. Don't you love when that happens? I surely do.

We cleared honeysuckle on a slope above the ravine pictured below, working north and west where we'll soon reach an area already cleared by contractors. It's amazing how the combined effort of Conservation Corps, contractors, and volunteers are creating so much open woodland throughout Palos.

McMahon Woods Wednesday March 2
This was another combined effort, with another great crew from Atrium Landscape, Matt and Erin from Woods to Wetlands, and a small group of volunteers, including John Poole whom we hadn't seen for a spell. Several more fires, lots of sunshine, and a stream of sandhill cranes passing overhead were among the day's highlights.

0 Comments

    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.

    Archives

    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly