Cap Sauers Holding Saturday September 21
On a warm day, in the midst of a dry spell, Margaret chose seed collection rather than cut-and-burn brush for her day's activity. I was out of town and missed this one, but someone who attended told me they focused on woodland seed, grasses and some forbs. At the time all of Cook County was in moderate drought status, making her decision to eschew burning a wise one. Now we've improved to "abnormally dry", though the northwest portion of the county is still rated "moderate drought".
Spears Woods Saturday September 28
We finally got rain here, as well as some hearty winds the previous day that shook loose a lot of branches in the woods as well as the neighborhoods. Initially arriving at the site, Joe chose to cancel, then reversed course after a pair of sawyers arrived, one who'd come a distance. He moved the work location east about a quarter mile, cutting and dropping invasive brush near the trail junction that leads to Boomerang Slough. The rain stopped somewhere around mid-morning and they were able to get some good cutting done by noon.
Spears Woods Library Walk Saturday September 28
We also had a walk with Palos Park Library at the same location, running from 11:00 am to a little past noon. With a nice turnout, we walked the loop taking us past Boomerang Slough to Old Country Lane, then north to 87th Street and back to the parking lot. It was a great opportunity to revisit all the formerly brushed-in areas that have been cleared in the last few years by combined effort of contractors, Conservation Corps, FP staff and volunteers. Because it takes a village.
Swallow Cliff/Cherry Hill Sunday September 29
Seed collecting at the Cherry Hill prairie was the final activity of our busy weekend. We had another great group, including first-time Palos volunteers Cole, Liam, and Yohei. While some species weren't ready yet, and the Silphiums didn't really show any harvestable seed, we did well with coneflowers, white and purple prairie clovers, some rattlesnake master, and a number of others. The seed we collected will be processed then redistributed on the prairie, going into the areas currently dominated by tall grasses to get more diversity there.
On a warm day, in the midst of a dry spell, Margaret chose seed collection rather than cut-and-burn brush for her day's activity. I was out of town and missed this one, but someone who attended told me they focused on woodland seed, grasses and some forbs. At the time all of Cook County was in moderate drought status, making her decision to eschew burning a wise one. Now we've improved to "abnormally dry", though the northwest portion of the county is still rated "moderate drought".
Spears Woods Saturday September 28
We finally got rain here, as well as some hearty winds the previous day that shook loose a lot of branches in the woods as well as the neighborhoods. Initially arriving at the site, Joe chose to cancel, then reversed course after a pair of sawyers arrived, one who'd come a distance. He moved the work location east about a quarter mile, cutting and dropping invasive brush near the trail junction that leads to Boomerang Slough. The rain stopped somewhere around mid-morning and they were able to get some good cutting done by noon.
Spears Woods Library Walk Saturday September 28
We also had a walk with Palos Park Library at the same location, running from 11:00 am to a little past noon. With a nice turnout, we walked the loop taking us past Boomerang Slough to Old Country Lane, then north to 87th Street and back to the parking lot. It was a great opportunity to revisit all the formerly brushed-in areas that have been cleared in the last few years by combined effort of contractors, Conservation Corps, FP staff and volunteers. Because it takes a village.
Swallow Cliff/Cherry Hill Sunday September 29
Seed collecting at the Cherry Hill prairie was the final activity of our busy weekend. We had another great group, including first-time Palos volunteers Cole, Liam, and Yohei. While some species weren't ready yet, and the Silphiums didn't really show any harvestable seed, we did well with coneflowers, white and purple prairie clovers, some rattlesnake master, and a number of others. The seed we collected will be processed then redistributed on the prairie, going into the areas currently dominated by tall grasses to get more diversity there.
RSS Feed