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Spears Woods May 26, Swallow Cliff May 27, 2018

5/31/2018

Spears Woods Saturday May 26
We had about a dozen who came to Spears on Saturday of a hot, humid weekend. Thanks to all, including first-time Palos volunteer Ameila, and thanks to steward Joe Neumann for keeping us in the shade.

We carried some garlic mustard out but it wasn't a lot, sparking hope that years of repeated hunts across the preserves are showing resullts. Really, the best thing about these hunts is encountering natives like the green dragon pictured below.

Swallow Cliff Woods South, Sunday May 27
Another hot day, another low-key, informative walk through one of our sites. Great to work with Carmen for the first time in Palos, also first-time volunteers Debbie and Luciana. We got to see a lot of plants and tour a part of the site we normally don't reach on our Sunday mornings here. Beautiful!

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Cap Sauers May 19, Black Partridge May 20, 2018

5/23/2018

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Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday May 19, Black Partridge Sunday May 20
Two days of wandering stunning landscapes, looking for garlic mustard plants conspicuous, in most cases, by their absence. That, of course, is good news. It's also good to cover far more ground than you would on a brush-cutting day, seeing a variety of plants emerging, in bloom, and fading.

We truly have some wondrous places in Palos and are blessed to be able to and experience them.. We also are blessed with individuals who possess a wealth of knowledge and the willingness to share.

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Paddock Woods

5/14/2018

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Paddock Woods Saturday May 12
Were we looking for garlic mustard? Guess so...
Did we find it? Yes we did.

It wasn't in huge amounts, just enough to suggest we have some more pullin' to do. Some areas were fairly sparse, which was comforting. One newly recovering section, cleared of brush maybe 18 months ago with the help of Moraine Valley Community College staff, was pretty thick with the weed. The other side of the trail, subject of contractor work maybe two years ago, also had some targets for our clutching little hands.

The amazing part - not so amazing if you subscribe to my belief about Joe Neumann and the weather - is the thunder and heavy rain around 8 am, which cleared just before 9, then returned around 1:30 pm, just when we were wrapping up. How does he do that?

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday May 13
Mothers Day was also supposed to be rainy and turned out much better than the forecast. We walked through the south woods and pulled a fair number of plants, took and break and headed toward the prairie. I had to leave at that point so I'm not sure how much was found in that section of the woods, but I returned later in the day and found a lonely couple of shooting stars farther out on the prairie. Lovely!

One note: the newly emerging garlic mustard plants, closer to the ground, force you to bend much farther. Not cool at all...

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McClaughrey May 5 & 6, Cap Sauers May 6, 2018

5/9/2018

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McClaughrey Springs Saturday May 5
Saturday we had a group from the TEENS program at Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum as well as new volunteer Elizabeth who also came to McClaughrey and Cap Sauers on Sunday. In addition we had a group of our stalwart volunteers.

Our students spent the first half of their time pulling garlic mustard near Mill Creek. After break we split up, with several continuing to pull while others grabbed tools and helped cut and burn honeysuckle with the core group.

McClaughrey Springs Sunday May 6
We must have done a good job pulling garlic mustard Saturday, because Sunday Diana said they were having trouble locating plants. Improvisation is key; she gave a short tour to the new volunteers while several others stayed behind cutting and burning brush again.

Happy that everyone got to the site okay despite closure of Route 83 for the annual Southwest Half Marathon.

Cap Sauers Sunday May 6
Thanks to Kris DaPra of FPCC who led this session when steward Bob Arentz could not. More good news here: she led a group of a half dozen who found only a very small number of garlic mustard plants at the site.

We're not sure if the scarcity of the weed is a good sign or if it's merely coming later than normal due to the snows and cold through much of April. Joe Neumann speculates that perhaps the late emergence gave our natives a better chance to compete with the interlopers. Over the next several weeks we'll see.

However the garlic mustard saga plays out, it's been a joy walking the trails and viewing all the spring wildflowers as they take turns blooming.

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Willow Springs Woods April 28, 2018

5/3/2018

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Special thanks to Sheri Moor, Margaret Tobin, and Elsa Anderson for tending to our table at the Oak Lawn Earth Day event last Saturday April 28, spreading the gospel of restoration iin the forest preserves.

Another special thanks to Kathy and Dave Branigan for doing the same kind of evangelizing at the Lake Katherine Nature and Arts Festival on the same day.

Each contact that we make, each person we engage, helps inform the public about the incredible resource we have in our local preserves, and the need for public support to keep our efforts going and growing.

Willow Springs Woods Saturday April 28
Joe had a large and active group helping clear brush at Willow Springs, including the Evergreen Park High School Science Club who join us regularly.

They worked near the ruins of an old farmhouse (?), a hint of the history of the land before it became a preserve. Much invasive brush got cut and burned, great job by all who attended!

Brush-cutting season is winding down - with spring flowers popping and birds nesting, the focus soon shifts to our stalwart foe, garlic mustard. Too soon to tell how big a year THAT devil will have, stay tuned...

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Spears Woods May 26, Swallow Cliff May 27, 2018

Cap Sauers May 19, Black Partridge May 20, 2018

Paddock Woods

McClaughrey May 5 & 6, Cap Sauers May 6, 2018

Willow Springs Woods April 28, 2018

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