McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday August 13
Originally slotted for Cranberry Slough, we instead ended up at McMahon for one last shot at white sweetclover.
By now many of the plants are dropping seed; see the picture below of what must be thousands of tiny seeds at the bottom of a collapsible yard waste bag. As I pushed the plants into the bag I could hear the sound of the seeds hitting its bottom - it sounded rather like rainfall.
It can take years to see what impact our efforts had - so many variables go into plant growth - that we can only hope the population is reduced over time.
Best part of the day was the richness of plants on the prairie. Saw my first cardinal flower and obedient plant of the season that morning, evidence how deep we are into summer. Each week brings something new.
Black Partridge Woods Sunday August 14
Sunday was a pleasant change of pace. Instead of chasing weeds, we spent the afternoon collecting seed and touring the nature preserve side of the site. We'll have a couple more sessions of seed collecting coming up, at Swallow Cliff August 28 and Hidden Pond September 11.
Cool day, somewhat overcast, so weather was no concern at all. Saw my first great blue lobelia of the season, just a day after its red cousin noted above. While many of the seeds are not ready yet, we got some grasses and a small amount of a couple forbs.
Originally slotted for Cranberry Slough, we instead ended up at McMahon for one last shot at white sweetclover.
By now many of the plants are dropping seed; see the picture below of what must be thousands of tiny seeds at the bottom of a collapsible yard waste bag. As I pushed the plants into the bag I could hear the sound of the seeds hitting its bottom - it sounded rather like rainfall.
It can take years to see what impact our efforts had - so many variables go into plant growth - that we can only hope the population is reduced over time.
Best part of the day was the richness of plants on the prairie. Saw my first cardinal flower and obedient plant of the season that morning, evidence how deep we are into summer. Each week brings something new.
Black Partridge Woods Sunday August 14
Sunday was a pleasant change of pace. Instead of chasing weeds, we spent the afternoon collecting seed and touring the nature preserve side of the site. We'll have a couple more sessions of seed collecting coming up, at Swallow Cliff August 28 and Hidden Pond September 11.
Cool day, somewhat overcast, so weather was no concern at all. Saw my first great blue lobelia of the season, just a day after its red cousin noted above. While many of the seeds are not ready yet, we got some grasses and a small amount of a couple forbs.
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