This was a Chicago River Day, sponsored by Friends of the Chicago River and attended by a big group from Southwest Interfaith Team. They've worked with us us before and are a great group of people. Some helped cut brush with our core of volunteers, while others split into two groups pulling garlic mustard. I believe we had 41 volunteers in all.
Much garlic mustard to pull, more than I've seen here in recent years. Maybe the wet spring spurred its growth. We filled numerous bags which were composted on a log pile by Mill Creek. The brush-cutting group had two fires on the opposite side of the creek. Midway through the morning our Congresswoman, Marie Newman, stopped for a visit. Volunteers seemed to appreciate her words of support for our activities. I did.
Black Partridge Woods Sunday May 15
Our smaller Sunday group focused on garlic mustard, starting along the creek and eventually moving into the upland. We found a considerable amount, though not as thick as at McClaughrey the previous day.
What we also experienced was the fantastic mix of spring wildflowers Black Partridge is known for. It was almost an embarrassment of riches! Shooting stars on the slopes, big clusters of wild ginger and colonies of mayapples down below, wild geraniums and woodland phlox all over, with wild hyacinth, baneberry, and starry Solomon's seal just starting to bloom. Amazing place.
Little Red Schoolhouse Lunar Eclipse Watch Sunday May 15
This didn't look promising due to rain and cloud cover, but the persistent viewers who showed up were rewarded, each time clouds parted, with a glimpse of the night skies. After two sessions of garlic mustard in two days, it was a great way to finish the weekend! Thanks to Deborah at Little Red for hosting the event (and for the appropriate snacks, moon pies!), to Sophia at LRS also.