Blog Posts - Palos Restoration Project

McMahon December 31 2022, Swallow Cliff January 1 2023

1/5/2023

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday December 31
Our Olympic-caliber vine-wrestling team assembled in the parking lot for another round of "hack and stumble". I'm blown away by the energy our volunteers throw into this decidedly challenging task, and each increment we clear is worthy of celebration.

The goal in clearing the brush, and bittersweet vines, is to facilitate tree thinning, which will happen in two days, on January 7. It takes repeated forays to create real change in this piece of land.

Swallow Cliff Woods South Sunday January 1
Despite a damp morning, this went exceedingly well. Joy got the fire going (no surprise there!), Joe cut with the chainsaw, while the rest of us cut and dragged across a sizeable area in the south woods.

One budding thicket of small honeysuckles was trying to establish itself, and we took care of them as well as numerous outliers near the westernmost of two ephemeral ponds inside the south trail loop. Come spring, when I do that loop, it's going to be so much better to NOT see this patch of brush greening up. Awesome!

McMahon December 24, Paddock December 28, 2022

12/29/2022

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday December 24
We had a small group on Christmas Eve, which, I'm certain, had more to do with family commitments than with the high winds and sub-zero wind chills of that frosty morn. Despite numb digits, three hardy souls managed a single brush pile fire and survived to tell the tale.

The picture of that fire, seen below, was provided by volunteer, and cyclist, George, who is not deterred from climbing onto his two-wheeler by mere weather. Tip of the cap to him, and to Kevin and Joe, for their efforts!

Paddock Woods Wednesday December 28
Moderate temps and a south wind blowing smoke over the canal rather than onto Route 83 suggest we somehow regained the favor of the weather deities. It also brought a large group of volunteers to continue our project, clearing red cedar from a prairie patch that managed to establish itself atop a spoil pile from the Cal-Sag channel.

Joy brought her niece, nephew, and coworker to help. Thanks to all for joining us!

Vagaries of Local Weather
The days immediately preceding Christmas were brutal, with high winds and bitter cold. Then came Monday, still quite cold, when we had to cancel our restoration day at Swallow Cliff due to... wait for it...insufficient wind.

By the terms of our burn permit with EPA, we need a minimum five mph wind to burn brush piles, to move the smoke out and keep local skies clear. And without fire we chose to wait a week and try again.

Cap Sauers December 17, Black Partridge December 18, Paddock December 21, 2022

12/22/2022

Cap Sauers Holding Saturday December 17
Super turnout Saturday at Cap, don't have an exact count but we probably came close to filling a sign-in sheet. That included first-time Palos volunteers Dave, Joyce, and Charlie. Much thanks to them, and the rest of the group, as we finished clearing an area that we've worked at for several months now.

Black Partridge Sunday December 18
Sunday morning started quite cold, but it brought the first sunshine we'd seen in quite a few days, a great boost to our spirits. Volunteers getting a fire going quickly made for another boost.

We've cut brush in this spot several times, and this was the day broke through the wall, creating a nice opening to the pasture just west of us. That was the main goal of the work, so it felt good to hit that mark. Newly certified chain sawyer Joe C. got in some swipes with John's saw, and volunteer George rode his bike 28 miles round-trip so he could join us. That's farther than I drove....

Paddock Woods Wednesday December 21
This was a departure from a typical day, at least in terms of target species. We removed eastern redcedar from a small prairie pocket along the Cal-Sag bike path in Palos Park. While native to the U.S., this tree can be quite aggressive and crowd out other natives.

Pluses of redcedar; it burns readily, and many of the day's targets were of a size that could be dragged, and tossed, on the fire in their entirety. That sped our work, as breaking shrubs down at fireside is time-consuming. One or two tried to roll off the fire, prompting Joy to comment on burning tumbleweeds or something to that effect.

In addition to our volunteer group, we had FPCC ecologist Kristin Pink as well as Matt and Erin from Woods 2 Wetlands assisting. We cleared quite a bit in a short time and will be back Wednesday, December 28, moving west on the spoil pile above the bike path.

McMahon December 10, Hidden Pond December 14, 2022

12/14/2022

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday December 10
The preceding Saturday we weren't allowed to burn brush, so we made large piles. This time around there were no restrictions, so volunteers were able to burn all that brush. That made for some big fires, but that's something that's pretty common in winter months.

With two chainsaws running, more brush got cut as the morning wore on, making it quite a productive day and a job well done.

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday December 11
By 8:00 am Sunday a light mist filled the air, not predicted and certainly not welcomed. That was as bad as it got and we were able to proceed, with Jim and Kris getting a fire going while the rest of us cut brush on a rise above the prairie.

We had the trifecta - honeysuckle, buckthorn, and multi-flora rose - cutting quite a bit and expanding the area cleared last month. We'll likely continue in this spot for the next couple months. Thanks to our smallish, energetic group, including first-time Palos volunteer Jim from Morgan Park.

Holiday Lights
Julie and I made our annual trek to Brookfield Zoo for the holiday lights last Saturday, then drove past her father's former home in Tinley Park. Across the street resides one of the largest light displays in our area, three homes decked out most enthusiastically. A short distance away is another home, one of the entrants in Channel 7's Chicago Light Fight this year.

The number of lights on these two properties makes me quite thankful for LED bulbs.

McMahon December 3, McClaughrey December 4, 2022

12/8/2022

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday December 3
High winds overnight forced a no-burn rule Saturday across the county, reminding us how welcome our fires are on cool-to-cold days. Luckily, the strenuous nature of wrestling ever-present bittersweet vines keeps the heart pumping and blood flowing.

We'll be back at McMahon December 10, 24, & 31, lots of chances for those who missed out on this one.

McClaughrey Springs Sunday December 4
The wind subsided and we were able to burn Sunday; Diana brushcut early and Joy had a fire going by the time the rest of the volunteers arrived. Working above a bend at Mill Creek we eventually had two fires and got a decent patch of ground cleared. We were joined by first-time Palos volunteer Domenico; great to have him!

McMahon Woods & Fen November 26, 2022

12/1/2022

McMahon Woods & Fen Saturday November 26
This turned out to be our only restoration day of the weekend, and your roving correspondent missed it 'cause they were... roving. Joe's working at his McMahon project, which has been ongoing for over a year now.

Current efforts are directed at clearing brush, as well as cherry trees and downed trees, to open the area for a winter brush-mowing endeavor. It's a lot of work, but the outcome should be worth the effort.

Last Sunday's restoration day at Swallow Cliff Woods South had to be canceled; the rain, which never amounted to a whole lot, was persistent throughout the morn and precluded any chance of herbiciding what we planned to cut. So we're holding off 'til next date, on Monday, December 26, taking advantage of a long holiday weekend. We have two pockets of brush within the trail loop in the south woods that warrant a volunteer group and a fire.

Fall Burn Season
The continued dry spell has been a boon for burn crews, who have done multiple sites both within and outside our region. Many recent fall burn seasons have been a bust; this one is not, and even the rains we've had only delayed efforts by a couple days or more.

Cap Sauers November 19, Black Partridge November 20, 2022

11/23/2022

Cap Sauers Saturday November 19
This was probably the coldest morning of the season, a time to second-guess how much clothing is needed. It felt wintry at first, though quite fine at the work site, where we eventually had three fires. That, and ample chances to cut and drag voluminous amounts of brush, obviated any possible complaints of feeling chilled.

By the end of the morning volunteers effectively pushed brush back to the drainage that marked the margin between the brushy and more open tracts of land. Looking great!

Black Partridge Sunday November 20
The second cold morning became quite tolerable in a short time - we were in a sheltered spot and totally cozy once we got a fire going. We almost broke through our brushy patch to its west side, an open area that once was pasture for the dairy farm in its previous incarnation.

We had one first-time Palos volunteer, Steward John Marlin's nephew Adam, and a return visit from last week's new kids, George and Janina. It seems like everyone brought their "A" game, and we cut and burned a lot.

Willow Springs November 12, Hidden Pond November 13, 2022

11/17/2022

Willow Springs Woods Saturday November 12
Volunteers returned to the preceding week's work site to have one more crack at multi-flora rose. Courage! It grows tangled with the honeysuckle and separating the two can be an epic struggle.

They were up to the task as they always are. Thorny plants like multi-flora rose and barberry make a strong case (along with flying embers) for wearing eye protection all the time.

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday November 13
We cut honeysuckle on the west border of the prairie, first time there since January. We cleared a big patch, with an energetic group including first-time Palos volunteers Janina and George. Teri Radke from Forest Preserves Volunteer Resources led the activities, assisted by co-worker Emily Russell.

A chilly start gave way to a single hot fire and an impressive pile of hot embers by noon, given the size of the group and the absence of power tools on this day. Great job, everyone!

Willow Springs November 5, McClaughrey Springs November 6, 2022

11/9/2022

Saturday November 5, Willow Springs Woods
We cut brush on a windy, at tiems rainy day, unable to burn due to wind speed exceeding the allowed level on the burn permit. Joe picked a location away from any tall trees for volunteer safety. We cut a lot of honeysuckle and too much multiflora rose (everybody's NOT fave invasive) and stacked it for burning this weekend.

A storm front moved in shortly before quitting time, with some of our group getting to the parking lot just ahead of it, with others, (guess who) not making it and getting a quick soaking.

Saturday November 5, Nature Walk at Sagawau
A quick burst of rain around 9:30 am likely kept a few of our walkers at home, yet we still had a hardy group of six. And the rain stopped by the time we were ready to walk.

Big thanks to naturalist Laura at Sagawau, who was pressed into service at the last minute and shared some great insights on local plants and wildlife. Several evening grosbeaks (an uncommon bird around here, I'm told) chose that morning to pay a visit, bringing a goodly number of birders out. Love their passion! Some of us caught a quick look at the grosbeaks through borrowed binoculars.

We also saw water running through the waterfall - not too common in these droughty times - and a bur oak that is high on Laura's list of favorite trees. Pictured below.

Sunday November 6, McClaughrey Springs Woods
By Sunday morning winds had diminished somewhat, and we were back to our autumn norm, cutting and burning brush. We weren't far from Kean Avenue, on the east side of Mill Creek, clearing above its banks on a small rise. Just like the waterfall above, Mill Creek had a steady flow following rain over the preceding two days.

Our smallish group got a good piece of land cleared of honeysuckle on yet another lovely fall morning.

McMahon October 29, McClaughrey Springs October 30, 2022

11/2/2022

McMahon Woods & Fen October 29, 2022
Volunteers moved east for this day, to the 'sand dune' area. First order of business was cleaning up a lot of ground clutter, logs and brush cut on previous days when we weren't burning. They continued with cutting and hauling more brush to the fire.

It was quite the productive day; thanks to all who helped, including first-time Palos volunteer Al.

Nature Walk at Swallow Cliff, Saturday October 29
This was another Trailblazer walk, led by volunteer Bruce who always keeps things interesting. He's been to all our national parks and shares insights from his travels in ways that relate to local nature. This time we walked the Yellow Trail east through McClaughrey Springs and Paddock before returning to the starting point at Forty Acres Woods.

McClaughrey Springs Woods Sunday October 30
This was another day of cutting brush, a mix of "creeping bittersweet vine and haunting honeysuckle" per Joy's FB account. She also shared a striking picture of a milkweed seed pod, seen below.

The work at McClaughrey is coming along nicely. During the nature walk Bruce recognized volunteer efforts along Mill Creek.