I missed this one due to involvement at Swallow Cliff - the photos are from Doug Bosco's FB post and the account from a couple of people who attended. I'm told it was a good day, with brush clearing and tree thinning the two main activities. And of course there was fire.
It certainly was a cold day, quite a jolt after the warm spell several days back. Snow on the ground and puddles icing over told a story no one really wanted to hear. Just the same, in a few short weeks Paddock (and all our sites) will be popping with spring ephemerals.
Swallow Cliff Woods Saturday March 26
This was a special afternoon date with seventh and eighth-graders (and parents) from Our Lady of the Woods in Orland Park. They were so impressive! Novices all, they quickly took to the bowsaws and loppers and began tackling honeysuckle in the south woods.
We finished a corner by the junction of two trails, an area I thought might take two days to complete. Not with this energetic bunch! Thanks to Kim and Al from Our Lady of the Woods for coming up with the idea, to Sydney from FOTFP for organizing, and to Carolyn, Joy and Kathy (the dream team) for helping lead.
Swallow Cliff Woods Sunday March 27
Back for our regular Sunday session, we went north along the tan trail spur a couple hundred yards and finished ANOTHER big chunk of turf. I believe Joy measured it at > two acres. The honeysuckle were mostly bigger ones and quite scattered; when I stopped by the following day I realized just how far we dragged to get to the brush pile.
We had another big group of volunteers, including first-time Palos volunteers Carrie and Sauter, as well as Diana, a passerby who stopped by to check out the fire and stayed for the duration, hauling brush.
Note: Two days later, a crew from Forest Preserves of Cook County did a prescribed burn in both areas that we worked over the weekend, as well as a couple other nearby tracts. That's the cherry on the sundae!