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.