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June 29th, 2023

6/29/2023

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McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday June 24
This was our sole restoration day of the weekend, and it took place under a warm, yet not intolerable sun. Or maybe the break we took under the mulberry tree helped - caution, if you wear tan khakis and sit beneath a mulberry, have the stain remover on hand at home.

Some volunteers clipped the flowers from Canada thistle near 107th Street, some sprrayed weeds in the main prairie farther south, and a couple (Margaret and Carolyn) did both. We collected an impressive haul of booty, several bags full, from a relatively small group.

Many of the Canada thistle plants looked stunted, at least in my opinion. However, they still produced flowers, and in a few instances had already gone to seed. So it was time well spent.

First Kayak Outing of the Season
Last Friday I hauled the little blue boat to Tampier Lake, my go-to spot for solo paddling. It was a trifle breezy, enough for the boat to turn quickly whenever I took the paddle out of the water. Lake level seemed low, and there were more aquatic plants reaching the surface, in the middle of the lake, than I recall in past years.

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Cap Sauers June 17, Swallow Cliff June 17, Black Partridge June 18, 2023

6/22/2023

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Cap Sauers Holding Saturday June 17
Saturday morning efforts centered on cutting the heads off reed canary grass, a very prolific invader in our preserves. We had a willing group, including first-time Palos volunteer Joe. 

In addition to reed canary, thistle was on our watch list. I wasn't able to stay due to the Swallow Cliff walk (below), but was told by other volunteers that neither invasive was found in large numbers, allowing them to cover a large expanse in the three hour session. That's always good news!

Swallow Cliff Woods Nature Walk, Saturday June 17
Thank you Jessica Rock and patrons of Palos Park Library for another enjoyable time. Thanks also to the walkers for indulging me on a detour looking for fire pink that it seemed we weren't going to find. Until we finally did, (breathes sigh of relief).

The next day, at Black Partridge Woods, we stumbled across more fire pink in bloom than I'd ever seen before. Steward John Marlin deserves the credit; he's gone out and collected seed repeatedly, each time sprinkling it in a wider arc, to get a larger patch going. It's working, quite well in fact.

We'll resume nature walks with the library in September, after a short summer break. Looking forward to them already.

Black Partridge Woods Sunday June 18
In addition to the fire pink mentioned above, we saw a variety of other good plants, including purple milkweed, thimbleweed, and wafer ash, the latter one I don't see in other local preserves. Eventually, with the help of first-time Palos volunteer Rafal, we located a considerable number of fading garlic mustard plants to bag, making our morning a hybrid of plant tour and invasive removal.

Black Partridge is always a treat during the growing season, and this day was no exception.

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Willow Springs Woods June 10, 2023

6/15/2023

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Willow Springs Woods Saturday June 10
Our correspondent was unable to attend this one (on assignment elsewhere) so the account, and one picture below, are taken from volunteer Doug Bosco's FB post.

The main targets of the day were the insidious reed canary grass and equally insidious non-native thistles, and their fate was an appropriate, if somewhat medieval, one; beheading. Doug's caption on his post, "Off with their HEADS", only hints at the fervor which volunteers muster up on these hunts.

Unlike those medieval tyrants, we don't leave the severed heads on a pike as a caution to future miscreants. Instead they are either composted on-site or bagged for later disposal elsewhere.
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Paddock Woods June 3, McClaughrey Springs June 4, 2023

6/8/2023

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Paddock Woods Saturday June 3
Back at Paddock for the third time this spring, we continued our foray into the big open woodland lying inside the Yellow Trail loop. It SEEMS that each time we come we push our way farther north and west, though the process is an arduous one.

Along the trail we ran into Bruce and his Trailblazers walk participants, on a hike that took them from Forty Acres Woods, through three adjacent preserves before looping back to their starting point. Nice hiking, lords and ladies!

McClaughrey Springs Woods Sunday June 4
More a Dame's rocket (DM) party than garlic mustard (GM) this time around, with the GM fading fast while DR still held numerous flowers, making it easier to locate, even from a distance. First-time Palos volunteer Sean joined us, along with Marc, Jessica, Jesse, Joan and Jennifer, all Palos first-timers just a week ago.

We initially split into two groups, letting us tackle two infestations simultaneously. After adding substantial loads of weed to compost heaps, we took a break, then descended as a group on one final target area. Bottom line: lots of Dame's rocket out there, not as much as there was upon arrival. Another excellent volunteer effort!
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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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