We were scheduled to work at McMahon Woods last Saturday morning and awoke to rain, with sporadic thunder and lightning in my area as late as 9:30. Though skies cleared later, around 11:00, Chicago weather won another round.
Hidden Pond Woods Sunday September 14
This was a morning of seed collecting and our concerns about dampness from Saturday's rain vanished upon arrival. We had a great group show up, including first-time Palos volunteer Katie, Matt on his second (?) time out, and Emily Russell from Forest Preserves Volunteer Resources.
We started in the woodland, collecting grasses and Joe Pye weed to distribute in our recent woodland clearings, then got to the prairie on its west side. Eventually we made our way to the east side, by Kean Avenue, collecting a variety of native seed species along the way. We saw one species I don't recall seeing there before; now to pull out the 1990s species list to crosscheck.
Little Calumet revisited
Last Friday the kayak and I went to Kickapoo Woods, hoping to explore the Little Calumet River upstream of the boat launch there. We got maybe a quarter mile, just past the Halsted Street bridge, where shallow, rocky water prompted a course reversal.
I ended up paddling downstream, seeing a number of great egrets both on the water and in the air. Maybe a couple great blue herons, harder to spot with their coloring. The poor egret stands out in a woodland, and looks outstanding when taking to the air.
Just like accidentally flushing a white-tailed deer, you feel bad for disturbing them yet watch in awe when they start moving. So beautiful!
Hidden Pond Woods Sunday September 14
This was a morning of seed collecting and our concerns about dampness from Saturday's rain vanished upon arrival. We had a great group show up, including first-time Palos volunteer Katie, Matt on his second (?) time out, and Emily Russell from Forest Preserves Volunteer Resources.
We started in the woodland, collecting grasses and Joe Pye weed to distribute in our recent woodland clearings, then got to the prairie on its west side. Eventually we made our way to the east side, by Kean Avenue, collecting a variety of native seed species along the way. We saw one species I don't recall seeing there before; now to pull out the 1990s species list to crosscheck.
Little Calumet revisited
Last Friday the kayak and I went to Kickapoo Woods, hoping to explore the Little Calumet River upstream of the boat launch there. We got maybe a quarter mile, just past the Halsted Street bridge, where shallow, rocky water prompted a course reversal.
I ended up paddling downstream, seeing a number of great egrets both on the water and in the air. Maybe a couple great blue herons, harder to spot with their coloring. The poor egret stands out in a woodland, and looks outstanding when taking to the air.
Just like accidentally flushing a white-tailed deer, you feel bad for disturbing them yet watch in awe when they start moving. So beautiful!
RSS Feed