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Willow Springs - Katydid Slough December 26, 2015

12/30/2015

Back to Katydid, resuming our assault on the infinite tangle of honeysuckle, barberry, and bittersweet. We got the fires cooking before the rain stepped up and worked 'til half past soggy.

Rick Davis and Kevin Wolz, formerly of Stagg High, were in town for the holidays and came to help. Good to work with them again! They are two of the most motivated student/volunteer/interns we've seen.

Our afternoon Swallow Cliff workday was cancelled due to rain; we have another Swallow Cliff session on Saturday, January 29 at 1:00 pm, meeting at the Cherry Hill Woods lot.

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Cap Sauers 12-19, Black Partridge 12-20-2015

12/23/2015

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Bergman Slough From Ford Road

Another weekend with two productive sessions.

Cap Sauers December 19

Some of the thickets of brush 'round here are nearly impassable. We knocked down one such area Saturday, clearing viburnum and honeysuckle with the help of two brush-cutters and one chainsaw. Cut a lot, burned a lot, ate peppermint Joe-Joes (a budding Palos holiday tradition?), and walked away anticipating the next round.

Black Partridge December 20

Starting 10-15 yards north of a previously cleared area, we worked our way back towards it. By 3 p.m. we had broken through, thanks largely to the efforts of new volunteer Craig, on the left side of the last photo below. Another in a string of productive days.

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Hidden Pond December 12, 2015

12/17/2015

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We had a fantastic turnout, 20 people, intending to cut and burn on a brush-infested rise north of the prairie. But the best-laid plans....

Before we got the fire going, we were shut down by the most benign weather condition imaginable; not enough wind. Just outside the Windy City?

It made sense; FPCC's EPA permit requires minimum 5 mph winds in order to burn. Wind speed below that threshold means limited smoke dispersal and the risk of attracting the wrong kind of attention from neighbors. So the no-burn call went out across the county.

Disappointed? Sure, but you roll with the punches. Diana cut brush on the prairie and several volunteers began scattering seed. We had an abundance of it, collected at Hidden Pond for later distribution. Some of the volunteers went home smelling like mint. And many, many bags of seed found a home on the prairie.

Thanks to Jane and John Balaban for coming out, to new volunteer McFadden from Chicago Ornithological Society (see the COS website for information on a native shrub project they support at LaBagh Woods), to everyone who showed up. We owe y'all one roaring fire.

Hidden Pond Prairie 12-12-2015

Cookie Time!

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One Weekend, Three Places

12/9/2015

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Wonderful days to be outside! Roughly 45 volunteers spread across the three workdays speak to the allure of the outdoors on a mild December weekend.

Saturday December 5, Willow Springs Woods

Ten students and two leaders from Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum worked with us on this morning, first negotiating a long, tough walk over hills and across ravines, toting tools, lunch, and cooking equipment. No trails, no problem.

We had two big brushpiles burning and cleared a large patch within sight of Fairmount Cemetery, letting much more sunlight reach the ground.

Nature Museum TEENS at Willow Springs Woods

Sunday December 6 (morning), McClaughry Springs Woods

We took another shot at the honeysuckle along Mill Creek, this time working north of the multi-use trail. Each month it gets pushed back more - one day I will post a picture of Mill Creek with both banks in this stretch free of invasives. But not yet....

Sunday December 6 (afternoon) Cap Sauers Holding

Working along the Visitation Trail, cutting and burning more honeysuckle. This is another area that's shaping up well after repeated forays into the brush. Thanks to new volunteers Christine, Jos, and Trillia for their enthusiastic help.

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Katydid Slough November 28, 2015

12/2/2015

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Haven't seen a lot of barberry lately, until this day.

Forgot how much of the stuff grows over by Katydid prairie. Thickets of it, mixed with bittersweet vines holding it in place even after it was cut.

One might think that barberry mixed with bittersweet sounds like some refreshing, fruit-based concoction, a drink or dessert, perhaps. One might be wrong. It's a hideous tangled mess, one that looks much better on a fire than in its natural state.

We had two brush-cutters and one chainsaw running throughout the morning which left us with much to add to the fire. We also had three new volunteers - Jeremie, Alex and Annemarie, who dug in and did an excellent job.

Thanks always to our core group - you know who you are - without you very little happens in Palos.

The first picture below was taken in July on a thistle hunt. The second, taken nearby on November 28, shows the landscape shortly after a controlled burn by a Forest Preserves crew.

Floating Heads at Katydid Prairie

Katydid Post-Burn

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Willow Springs - Katydid Slough December 26, 2015

Cap Sauers 12-19, Black Partridge 12-20-2015

Hidden Pond December 12, 2015

One Weekend, Three Places

Katydid Slough November 28, 2015

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