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McMahon September 23, Swallow Cliff September 24, 2023

9/28/2023

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday September 23
Back to the land of bittersweet and honeysuckle entanglements, our group of volunteers hacked, slashed and dragged brush to a solitary fire near the margin of woodland and grassland. Shout-out to first-time Palos volunteer Barb (actually her second time out but our correspondent was absent on her first visit).

We continue to battle this messy mix of brush, each visit showing incremental progress but never enough to fully satisfy.

Swallow Cliff Woods Sunday September 24
We collected seed at the Cherry Hills Woods prairie on Sunday morning, blessed by dry conditions and multiple species of ripe seed. Thanks to first-time Palos volunteer Sheila (she's actually a veteran at Sagawau and Little Red Schoolhouse, while this was her initial appearance at one of our sites).

We did very well; I had a short list of plants we hoped to collect, and we exceeded this. Special thanks also to Joe Connolly for his many insights on our target plants. We did quite well and encountered some interesting natives along the way, a couple which I hadn't seen there before.

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Cap Sauers September 16, 2023

9/21/2023

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Cap Sauers Holding Saturday September 16
This turned out to be our only session of the weekend, cutting brush, mostly honeysuckle, along the multi-use trail at Cap. We worked both sides of a little creek that drains the higher ground, with fires on both sides.

One side for chainsaws, one for hand tools plus Doug's brushcutter. We were joined by first-time Palos volunteer Elijah (thank you!), Emily Russell from FPCC, and about ten others. Many of the honeysuckle were fairly robust, making it a good intro to fall bow-sawing and waking a few dormant muscles.

Rain got the best of us on Sunday, when we planned to cut brush at Black Partridge. It lasted much of the day, though by evening the sky cleared nicely. We know we're always susceptible to the caprices of weather, and still pout whenever this happens.

Palos Night Sky Picnic Friday September 15
This was co-hosted by Forest Preserves of Cook County (and Mary Busch!) and the excellent people at Sag Moraine Native Plant Society, and took place at Pioneer Woods. Attendance was amazing; with a long stretch of the parking lot filled with cars.

Aside from several speakers, the event offered live music until after sunset. Astronomers from Chicago Astronomical Society and Naperville Astronomical Association set up telescopes, allowing visitors to view objects of interest in the night sky while sharing their expertise.

This was great fun, leaving me hoping for an encore presentation.

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Paw Paw September 9, Hidden Pond September 10, 2023

9/14/2023

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Paw Paw Woods Saturday September 9
This was our first brush-pile burn of the season, a return to the north shore of Maple Lake where we periodically remove brush and thin small trees. Jim D. took on the burn boss role and got a fire going quickly, and we hacked away at honeysuckles, dogwood, and anything else Joe put the figurative crosshairs on.

We were in fairly close quarters, so it was good that we were a small group for this one. A light breeze barely stirred the waters on Maple Lake, making it an idyllic setting. As we removed the non-native, troublesome plants we uncovered a variety of natives, further incentivizing us in our task.

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday September 10
Off to the Hidden Pond prairie to collect native seed, with special thanks to Kris DaPra for leading on another beautiful, late-summer morning. While some species were not yet ripe, we managed to garner quite a few others, including monarda, prairie dock, Culver's root, and others.

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McMahon Woods & Fen September 2, 2023

9/7/2023

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McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday September 2
We returned to a scrubby area that was brush-mowed last year, hand-cutting resprouts and larger, well-established invasives, primarily honeysuckle and Asian bittersweet. We did not burn on this day due to heat, low humidity and high fire risk.

It was quite messy in there, with countless small bittersweet vines that seemed to vanish the instant you clipped them. They probably will be best dealt with, later, with herbicide, after the herbaceous plants growing around them die back for winter.

Meanwhile, the procession of late-summer plants rolls on in the higher-quality areas, with asters now joining the goldenrods in bloom and other treats, like bottle gentian, popping up. See the pictures below for more.

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McMahon September 23, Swallow Cliff September 24, 2023

Cap Sauers September 16, 2023

Paw Paw September 9, Hidden Pond September 10, 2023

McMahon Woods & Fen September 2, 2023

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