An Afternoon at the Prairie Center

Prairie Grasses
Saw Tooth Sunflowers
Milkweed....lots of Milkweed
Had to put in a picture of the river.
Is this a wood duck house?

Just some dried Queen Anne's Lace

Yesterday...after a lot of yardwork, I decided to go to our neighboring Forest Preserve. It isn't your typical preserve...it is a prairie. After going through the entrance you start to meander up a road through the beautiful prairie. There were so many kildeer walking alongside my car as I made the ascent. I saw bluebirds....the only place I can see them around here.The view is breathtaking. Looking down on our little town...the river, a golf course with ponds and very few trees...just wide open spaces filled, right now, with drying prairie plants. I was the only one there. So quiet...all you could hear were birds and insects. I got out of the car and walked quite a while. The day was warm, but not hot. I took some pictures, sat at one of the shelters and just relaxed. I walked along the river, before heading home. The geese were too far off to have their pictures taken, but I heard them. Below is a description of the preserve.

Balisha

Shooting stars, prairie smoke, creamy false indigo and the colorful pasque flower are just a few of the prairie wonders that you can enjoy on a relaxing stroll through the 450-acre prairie. Management and restoration efforts of this prairieland include prescribed burns, removal of invasive species, control of exotic and aggressive brush, seed collection and planting, and rare plant management. These restoration efforts are critically important to protecting the high-quality natural areas and restoring degraded and once-farmed fields back to a healthy and natural prairie state. Restoration efforts justly involve the pulling, mowing, and herbicide spraying of exotic species. In addition, the collecting of seeds from our native prairie plants and planting them in degraded areas is very important.