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Paddock Woods May 22, Swallow Cliff South May 23, 2021

5/27/2021

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Paddock Woods Saturday May 22
We pulled garlic mustard and butterweed inside the trail loop at Paddock, in a spot that is wet in normal years. This is far from a normal year and the ground was uniformly hard and dry. It's quite impressive that so many plants, native and not, are able to grow with such a paucity of moisture.

Butterwwed (Packera glabella) is interesting. It's native to southern Illinois, has moved into the central part of the state and now is appearing in our area. It seems quite opportunistic, quickly forming large patches in disturbed areas. Though said to favor wet to moist ground, this spring's crop is faring despite the current drought. Butterweed may well, with climate change, become part of our normal flora in years to come.

We had three first-time Palos volunteers; thank you Brigida, Julia, and Rhonda for your terrific help.

Swallow Cliff South Sunday May 23
Another Sunday, another garlic mustard hunt. This one went well. We started at our work site of 2018-2020, worked around to the marshy area behind it, and finished in the area where we cleared brush earlier this spring.

Our picking team included five first-time Palos volunteers; Andrea, Mallory, Daniel, Kylin, and Sylvia. All are members of November Project Chicago, fitness enthusiasts who meet for their group workouts at 6:00 am on Friday mornings. That start time is way beyond commendable in my book. They quickly developed an eye for garlic mustard, spotting plants from trail-side with veteran savvy.

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Cap Sauers May 15, Black Partridge May 16, 2021

5/20/2021

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Cap Sauers Saturday May 15
Margaret had an eager crew of volunteers that she turned loose on garlic mustard at Cap, to good effect. So much for the alleged scarcity of garlic mustard in our area. As the rain intensified, they shut down early, but not before gathering copious quantities of the weed.

Nature Walk With a Librarian, McClaughrey Springs Woods, Saturday May 15,
We had another great turnout, 12 walkers, on an overcast morning that saw the first raindrops fall as we took our initial steps. All were great sports, working up that steep hill that looms over Mill Creek and tolerating the light rain that thankfully stayed light most of the way.

We saw a few early spring flowers, like Jack in the Pulpit, still hanging on, recent bloomers like wild hyacinth, and an abundance of wild geranium, delightful in its varying shades of lilac and pink. Stunning! Our final spring walk will come on Thursday June 17, 10:00 am, at Swallow Cliff Woods South. Join us if you can.

Black Partridge Woods Sunday May 16
Another garlic mustard hunt, which didn't get really productive until we worked our way east across the upland, landing in a mix of GM, dames rocket, and bramble. We left the bramble, but it sure complicated getting all the dames rocket.

Special thanks to first-time Palos volunteer Chad, accompanying his son Gus who was a newbie just a week earlier. Also great to see Carrie and Devin back at Black Partridge.


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McClaughrey Springs Woods May 8, 2021

5/12/2021

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McClaughrey Springs Saturday May 8
Saturday was a Chicago River Day, sponsored by Friends of the Chicago River, the organization "working to improve the health of the Chicago River system for the benefit of people, plants, and wildlife". They've partnered with Palos Restoration Project at McClaughrey Springs, obtaining a grant to fund restoration of a bluff area overgrown with maples that crowd out the oaks once populating it. They also provide support and publicity for our restoration days at McClaughrey. We appreciate all they do to advance restoration in Palos!

On Saturday we continued to cut honeysuckle near Mill Creek, in what is likely our last cut-and-burn session 'til fall. We made good progress, knocking down a wall of brush that divided two sections previously cleared by volunteers. Thanks to everyone who participated, with a special shout-out to first-time Palos volunteers Brianna, Andrew, Genesis, Mary and Gus.

Sunday at Hidden Pond
Sunday illustrated the pluses and minuses of waiting to the bitter end to cancel a session due to weather. We've learned the opposite lesson, canceling the night before and seeing a projected storm system miss us by 50-100 miles. This time we knew we'd see some rain and hoped it would subside by 9:00 am.

Nope, the rain continued, coupled with a stiff, cold wind. Mary and I gave it one shot, walking a couple hundred yards and pulling garlic mustard along the way. An exercise in futility; we were quickly soaked and chilled and beat a path back to our vehicles. Biggest regret; having to tell the three volunteers at the meeting place that we were canceling. Thank you Marissa, Neal, and John for showing up - you're obviously tougher than us.

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Spears Woods May 1, McClaughrey Springs May 2, 2021

5/6/2021

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Spears Woods Saturday May 1
We had a terrific group - 20 volunteers - on a  day when high winds and low humidity forced Joe to deviate from his planned cut-and-burn project. He decided on a weed hunt which worked out very well. Carolyn led us to a spot on the north end, bisected by a small creek, that was rife with butterweed and garlic mustard. Along the way we also were able to view a variety of native plants in various stages of growth.

We also viewed a pair of distressing sights; one couple mushroom hunting and two large piles of sod fly-dumped along Old Country Lane. Joe and three others later moved the sod out of the ditch (to the unfettered delight of an equestrian) and reported the dumping to FPCC.

We were blessed with several first-time Palos volunteers; Eileen, Merissa, Ram, Ivy and Greg. Greg is the fourth member of his family to join us on a restoration day. Three of his children, Piotr, Rafal, and Patty have worked with us over the years, and this was dad's first appearance. Super family!

McClaughrey Springs Sunday May 2
Back to cutting and burning on Sunday, with winds ample to keep the fires going but well within safe limits. We had two chainsaws and two brushcutters running, and eventually two herbiciders as well. We cut and burned a mess o' honeysuckle. Huge thanks to first-time Palos volunteer Phil, and to the entire group, for working so well and getting so much accomplished.

Garlic Mustard
Last week I speculated on the limited appearance of garlic mustard in our area. Well, it's starting to show it's nasty little self now. Not in the numbers of the bad years, but it's still too soon to tell if what we're seeing now is this year's crop or just the beginning.

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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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