Blog Posts - Palos Restoration Project

Pioneer November 2, McClaughrey Springs & Cap Sauers November 3, 2019

11/4/2019

Pioneer Woods Saturday November 2
Tuma Lake, re-opened recently, glistened below as we cleared brush along a ravine up above. Dragging brush up the ravine slope keeps us strong; watching the slope open up and the honeysuckle go to smoke makes us happy. We had a good group and cleared one side of the ravine almost end-to-end. This Saturday Joe plans to return and cut some more.

McClaughrey Springs Woods Sunday November 3
Sunday morning started out chilly, warming considerably as we hacked away at the honeysuckle just a stone's throw from Mill Creek. Some pretty substantial honeysuckle in there too; thanks to Dennis Kankowske for venturing south of I-55 with his chainsaw, a huge help in dealing with the larger miscreants.

We had a great mix of students and regular volunteers. We also had 50% humidity which meant fires that lit up readily, a far cry from one week earlier when wet fuel and high humidity made burning a true challenge.

Cap Sauers Holding Sunday November 3
We kept our momentum going into Sunday afternoon; maybe that's because we had several volunteers who did both sessions, thank you Ahmad, Mira, Kathy and Cyndi. We finished burning some brush left over from previous dates, cut some more, then walked down the trail to a buckthorn-y (is that even a word?) frog pond where Bob plans to cut and burn in December. Save a frog, kill a buckthorn?

Willow Springs October 26, Swallow Cliff October 27, 2019

10/30/2019

Willow Springs Woods Saturday October 26
This was a peak fall colors day and we had a terrific group at Willow, including seven volunteers who were either students at Whitney Young HS or family members, and first-time Palos volunteer Rene from Willow Springs.

With two brush-cutters running and an energetic, hard-working group, we cleared a nice piece of ground adjacent to one area that's already been brushmowed by contractors and another that is scheduled for the same. Great day!

Swallow Cliff Woods South Sunday October 27
Rain from noon Saturday until late evening cast doubt on our ability to cut and burn brush Sunday, so we were fortunate to finally do both. Yes, we had to choose the right spot to work, and yes, the fire took forever to really get cooking, but it got done.

Thanks to several first-time (Walt, Logan, Gary & Damario) and second-time (Ahmad, Mirijana, Ben & Kelly) Palos volunteers as well as a sprinkling of the reliables who come through for us time after time. By mid-morning the sun was shining as we opened up a big swath right in the middle of our work area, ensuring the light reaches the ground on future sunny days.

Many thanks to Ginger for agreeing to lead this one, and to Kathy for staying late and handling all the herbiciding.

Spears Woods Tuesday October 29
Collecting seed on a damp morning at Spears with Joe Neumann, new volunteer Gary, and the Friends of the Forest Preserves Palos crew, we managed to bag some seed despite far-from-optimal conditions.

Cap Sauers October 19, Black Partridge October 20, 2019

10/23/2019

Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday October 19
We had a good group cutting honeysuckle, bittersweet, and multi-flora, including first-time Palos volunteers Andri and Olivia and almost-first-timer Kelley. "twas also good to have Jam and Jan from Palos Park out again.

Fall colors have arrived, with the maples making their usual emphatic statement. Those recent cool nights must be working their magic, bringing us the last hurrah of this year's growing season.

Walk With a Librarian at Little Red Schoolhouse, Saturday October 19
We had a great turnout at Little Red Schoolhouse for our walk and a perfect afternoon to do it! Thanks to naturalist George Klut for taking us around the Black Oak trail, and to Cyndi Duda for her assistance. Thanks also to Jessica Rock and Palos Park Public Library for partnering with us on these walks - yet another way to share our enthusiasm for natural places in Palos!

Black Partridge Woods Sunday October 20
We collected a variety of seeds on another stunning fall afternoon, moving through prairie segments on the south side of Bluff Road, joined by new volunteers Ahmad, Mirjana, and two young gentlemen from Downers Grove South.

Willow Springs Woods October 12, Hidden Pond October 13, 2019

10/13/2019

This week's post is going out a couple days late - I and my far better half spent several days in Nashville celebrating an anniversary.

Autumn at Willow Springs Woods, Saturday October 12
We had 18 walkers on our tour of the preserve, this despite the windy, rather cool morning we were handed. Thanks to all who came, including our volunteers who worked cutting brush and switched roles when the walk began. That includes first-time Palos volunteers Julia and Su, as well as Ben - someone we met just a week ago at Little Red Schoolhouse, who brought his wife, daughter, and chainsaw. Super!

Some good work got done and we got to show the beauty of the site to a group of new people, we always enjoy sharing in this way.

Scouts at Busse Woods Saturday October 12
Rich Welge invited us to Busse Woods for a huge scouting event, with many hundreds of scouts camping overnight and a total of ~ 4,500 people registered. We went to spread the word about restoration in our area; Rich was instrumental in helping connect us with scout leaders from the southern part of the county.

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday October 13
We had a bit of a slow start (and an interesting hike in), but once we got rolling our small group cleared a substantial amount of honeysuckle from a spot near the northwest edge of the prairie. We had no trouble getting and keeping the fire going, with a brisk breeze and decent humidity to help it along. Thanks to Jesse, Joe, Jei, Cyndi and Kathy for their stellar efforts!

Cap Sauers Holding Sunday October 13
Jei, Kathy and Cyndi made their second appearance of the day at Cap Sauers, helping Bob drag and burn a host of cut honeysuckle from a couple months back. The dried fuel burned even quicker than the green stuff we handled in the morning, and another small crew did another outstanding job.

Thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Erin and her son for their help today!

Spears Woods October 5, McClaughrey Springs October 6, 2019

10/9/2019

Spears Woods Saturday October 5
We cut brush along the back side of Boomerang Slough Saturday - when we started the water was not discernible from our vantage point.Honeysuckle, bittersweet, viburnum, multi-flora rose, we had plenty to choose from. Even a balky chainsaw didn't prevent our clearing a decent stretch along the shoreline.

Thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Kenneth, from Whitney Young HS, and dad Scott. Is this the start of another round of Whitney Young bio students? Sure hope so...

McClaughrey Springs Woods Sunday October 6
Our numbers were increased by a couple of scouts with parents as Diana and company cut and burned honeysuckle. While I missed this one - off at Little Red Schoolhouse (see below), this was an absolute perfect day to spend outdoors.

Little Red Schoolhouse Arts & Crafts Fair Sunday October 6
This was the 54th edition of this event We encountered some old friends and supporters and hope we made some new ones. Such a beautiful day!

Big thanks to Dave Branigan, Maureen Neidle, and Kathy Bruch for helping, and to Margaret Tobin for driving over to do the same.

Paddock Woods September 29, 2019

10/3/2019

Paddock Woods Saturday September 29
Ten people in a parking lot, slipping into ponchos and other rain gear; not an auspicious start to a morning in the preserves. Neither is the squishing sound made by boots traversing the grassy stretch immediately west of the lot.

It got better after that. Our work site was a bit above surrounding ground so it wasn't terribly wet. We got a fire started though it took quite a while - think soggy everything - and even longer to get it hot enough to burn all the brush we cut, but we eventually did. One small patch of honeysuckle gone, one small step forward!

We had no choice but to cancel our Sunday session at Swallow Cliff Woods - the rain resumed Saturday night and through much of Sunday morning. On October 27 we'll be back at Swallow Cliff.

Cap Sauers September 21, Black Partridge September 22, 2019

9/26/2019

Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday September 21
Our volunteers cleared and burned a load of invasive brush, including some terrible tangles, at Cap Sauers on a morning that was overcast and humid but cooperated by not raining on them.

I could not attend this one, was told they did some quality work here.

Black Partridge Woods September 22
We expected a deluge; instead saw a light rain that allowed a couple hours of seed collecting. We took Canada rye from the established areas and spread it farther back, where the last major brush removal was done last year.

We also had five first-time Palos volunteers - thank you Julia and Amy, Matt, Brianna and Katie! Great having y'all out with us!

Fungus Time
September rains have been kind to the fungi. See below...

Willow Springs Woods September 14, Palos Picnic September 15, 2019

9/18/2019

Willow Springs Woods Saturday September 14
Doug with a brushcutter, Jim with his chainsaw, the rest of us lopping and bowsawing and dragging brush to the fire! We had another productive morning clearing honeysuckly, bucktorn, and way too much bittersweet. Should I note that ANY bittersweet is way too much?

Lots of good things happening at Willow Springs Woods; next month we're hosting a walk there to show and tell residents the story of restoration in our local preserves.

Palos Picnic Sunday September 15
When the last thing you pack for a picnic is a rain jacket, that's uncertain weather. The threat of rain was soon forgotten, though, as the sun broke through and treated us to a glorious late-summer afternoon.

Great turnout, an abundance of good food, a violinist (thanks, Jei!), even a bubble machine. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who shared a portion of their day with us.

Paddock Woods Tuesday September 17
Collecting seed at Paddock with several volunteers (thanks John, Jim, Dave) and the Palos Conservation Corps, my favorite crew. We found at least two kinds of desmodium, some grasses, and many more. Ten people gathered a considerable amount of seed which will fill in spots recently cleared of invasive brush.

Willow Springs Woods September 7 2019

9/11/2019

Willow Springs Woods Saturday September 7
Brushcutting was the order of the day, with honeysuckle as the primary target. Willow Springs Woods, the beneficiary of contract brush-mowing projects recently, is opening up more and more. It's now possible to cross areas that would have been near-impassable a year ago.

Our workday at McClaughrey Springs on Sunday was canceled due to rain - we're making up for it this week with a variety of activities - see below or go to our 'Schedule' page for details.

Brush-cutting: Saturday September 14 at Willow Springs Woods, 9 a.m. - noon

Brush-cutting and/or seed collecting: Sunday September 15, Hidden Pond Woods, 9 a.m. - noon

Annual Palos Picnic: Sunday September 15, Country Lane Woods, 1-5 p.m. We'll supply the burgers and beverages, guests are asked to bring a dish to share.

Seed collecting: Paddock Woods on Tuesday September 17, 9 a.m. - noon

Nature Walk with Palos Park Public Library- Thursday September 19, Spears Woods, 10 - 11 a.m.

Paddock Woods August 31, Cap Sauers Holding September 1, Spears Woods September 3, 2019

9/5/2019

Paddock Woods Saturday August 31
We cut honeysuckle in an area within the trail loop, finding (and eliminating) a distressingly large thicket of the stuff. Doug went gonzo with the brushcutter while Jim used his chainsaw to good effect.

We saw this dazzling green caterpillar which Dave Branigan identified as a polyphemus moth caterpillar - I have a picture of the moth he will become, taken in Princeton IL a couple years ago, hiding somewhere on my hard drive. Check the caterpillar picture below, he's a beauty!

Cap Sauers Holding Sunday September 1
We had a small crew for this one so Bob decided to collect seed. Mostly bottlebrush grass, the one seed that was consistently ripe and ready. Thanks to first-time Palos volunteers Luke and John for joining us!

Spears Woods Tuesday September 3
Rain put a literal damper on this one, rain that came a couple hours ahead of the forecast I heard. We still went out to the prairie and collected, going after one sedge species which offered some ripe seed heads. I also got to see my first obedient plant blooms of the year, always a treat!

That's the payoff from our regular forays into the preserves - you're never certain what you'll see, only that it will vary by date and by location. Always another surprise!