Blog Posts - Palos Restoration Project

February 04th, 2021

2/4/2021

Saturday January 30, Cranberry Slough Nature Preserve
We had another busy Saturday, with chain sawyers from Atrium Landscape thinning tress and the rest of us burning. The fuel burned much better than the soft, wet stuff of the preceding week, and the fires got seriously hot in a hurry. Snow didn't begin falling until the afternoon, a blessing for us in getting our work done.

I was gratified to see many people hiking the preserve throughout the morning, as well as the occasional cross-country skier. I'm surprised, though, we don't see more skiers, wondering if X-C skiing is becoming a lost art. I also wonder whether the paucity of snowfall in recent years has something to do with this.

In my recent ski treks at Swallow Cliff I seldom see another skier, and finding a set of usable tracks is also not that common.

McClaughrey Springs Woods January 23, 2021

1/27/2021

McClaughrey Springs Saturday January 23
This was our only workday of the weekend, a busy, productive one. Chain sawyers from Atrium Landscape provided the cutting, and our volunteers dragged and burned. I counted at least six big brush piles burning by 1:00 p.m., and there might have been more with a small group staying well into the afternoon.

Thinning basswood was one focus of the day. Basswood; it's soft, making it easy to lop thicker branches, making you think you're stronger than you actually are. Doesn't burn readily, though. Maybe it's high moisture content, but it sure takes a while to get it going. Give me catalpa any day!

Ski Palos
First time this season we've had enough snow for X-C skiing. While the trails at Sagawau are open, I've typically go to Swallow Cliff, or Spears/Country Lane Woods to get my fix. I also have Lake Katherine which is closest. Loving it!

January 21st, 2021

1/21/2021

Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday January 16
Saturday was our return to group restoration activities, and we jumped in at Cap Sauers, working near the trail and Ford Road, within sight of Bergman Slough. Yes, we also renewed our acquaintance with multi-flora rose, one of several invasive plants thriving in the brushy little section Margaret selected.

So we cut and we burned, and we burned and we cut (starting to sound like Jim Stafford here...) It was a good day back.

Black Partridge Woods Sunday January 17
Sunday we returned to the site of last winter's two "Heart Your Park" workdays, funded by a Citgo grant. It didn't feel like almost a year has passed - the second session was just two weeks before our March Covid shutdown. But it was, and much of our effort this time was directed at cleaning and burning brush left behind at the end of that day. Our li'l team of seven also got more honeysuckle cleared before departure time.

Saturday and Sunday both saw snow and sleet overnight, so the fires were slow to start. But with patience (and a stack of newspaper) we eventually prevailed.

Thanks to all the volunteers joining our first efforts of 2021!

Palos Play Dates January 14, 2021

1/13/2021

Going Back Soon
Forest Preserves of Cook County has given us the green light to resume group restoration activities again, starting Saturday January 16. So by this time next week I'll have some work to report on.

We'll still have restrictions; limit of ten people, mask wearing required, social distancing as well. But we're already doing all that in everyday life, so it's no problem. It will feel good to get outside and begin cutting and burning things again. woof woof!

Palos Play Dates January 7, 2021

1/7/2021

Photos below are from Hidden Pond, Arrowhead Lake,
Old Plank Road Nature Preserve, and Swallow Cliff Woods,
December 31 2020 - January 6, 2021.

Happy New Year 2021 from PRP

12/31/2020

Palos Restoration Project wishes all our volunteers and friends a safe and happy 2021! Though we've been apart for most of the year, we appreciate the well-wishes and words of support we continue to receive. We expect, with vaccines and time, to move slowly toward something more 'normal', however you define that.

First Snow of the Season
Tuesday afternoon the snow began and my heart leapt! After spending much of the weekend indoors (we had a natural gas leak and no heat from noon Saturday 'til late Monday morning) it was time to hit the pavement. After dinner I walked for an hour or more, enjoying the solitude of a beautiful winter evening.

December 24, 2020: Happy Holidays!

12/24/2020

Restoration Pause Continues
Volunteer activities remain on hold, awaiting improvement in our state's Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations. Right now the pause is effective until January 9, 2021. We expect to hear, prior to that date, whether it will continue farther into the new year.

What we do now will influence what we're able to do later. We're not out of the woods yet with the coronavirus and don't expect to reach that point until mid-2021 at the earliest. Please be careful and protect yourselves; we want to see you all next year!

I included a few pictures of local homes decorated for the holidays. Most were seen on our walks around the 'hood, with a couple of the more elaborate (i.e. crazy) ones places we've seen in the past.

I'll close with this haiku, author unknown to me, that I put in our weekly email a few weeks back. Happy holidays to all!

We isolate now
so when we gather again
no one is missing

Palos Play Dates December 17: Field Trip to Palatine Prairie

12/17/2020

With our restoration days suspended due to Covid-19 cases spiking, we've had the last few weekends off. Last Sunday, a few Palos volunteers drove to Palatine to cut and burn brush at Palatine Prairie.

This site is part of the Park District of Palatine and is managed by Cyndi Duda and her guy Brian. It's a nice little piece of land, nestled between Metra tracks and a big sledding hill, with a paved trail bordering one side. Cyndi, our stewardship aide from FPCC until her retirement earlier this year, still comes to Palos regularly to volunteer with us, so it felt good to return the favor.

This is a remnant prairie; from her description I want to get back during the growing season to check it out. Most of our time was spent doing cleanup and burning some cut logs near a frog pond on one end, though we finished by clipping buckthorn and honeysuckle farther in.

Most of the pictures are from that morning, plus a couple more sunrise pictures from Arrowhead Lake in Palos Heights, one of my nearby refuges for a quick nature fix.

Palos Play Dates December 10, 2020

12/9/2020

No restoration work to report on this week as we remain on hold due to Covid-19 in Illinois. We learned yesterday that the suspension of volunteer activities will last at least through December 22. I'll be very surprised if it's not extended beyond that date; it's going to take some time to get new Covid cases and hospitalizations down to a manageable number here and across the country.

This is where we're at right now. As I mentioned last week, Forest Preserves and contractor crews continue to do prescribed burns in the preserves. Thus far the weather has been kind, with no sticking snow and only a small amount of rain. I walked through Swallow Cliff last weekend, a couple days after the south woods was burned. It looked like they got good coverage. Every baby honeysuckle or buckthorn that succumbs to fire is one we don't have to cut the next year of the year after. Burn away!

December 3, 2020 - Still on Holiday

12/3/2020

We didn't have a blog post last week: there was nothing to report due to our hiatus from restoration work. That suspension of work started November 15, effective to December 15. We expect to learn prior to that date whether it will be extended or expire. With the rise in Covid cases in recent weeks, my uninformed guess is that we'll be extended.

In March, when our work was placed on hold the first time, we were at the start of the growing season. It was easy to walk the trails each week and capture photos of plants as they emerged and bloomed. That, and the occasional guerilla garlic mustard assault, was a big piece of outdoor play back then.

This fall it's been afternoon walks, sometimes evening walks. The Cal-Sag trail is a good escape. I've ridden it on my bike numerous times, but I see more when I walk a new section. Recently I stumbled upon the inlet to the canal from Stony Creek, saw small trees planted when the fish ladder was put in at Mill Creek, later caged to protect them from deer rub.

Other close-by locations are Lake Katherine and Arrowhead Lake, both in Palos Heights. They help keep me connected to the outdoors which is essential in these times.