November weather has been mostly cool and dry – perfect for outside projects.  But winter arrived in the last few days with strong winds and snow, so it looks like our fall projects are finished for this season. 

The prairies are getting their winter colors.

 

Hidden Oaks Savanna

 

The southeast facing side of Hidden Oaks Point – with aspen sprouts creeping in

 

Afternoon sun through the leaves

 

The last butterfly of the season – an Eastern Comma.  It’s headed into shelter for the winter – tucked in a brush pile or inside a crack in wood or bark.

 

There have been flocks of Eastern Bluebirds migrating through, heading toward warmer weather and more bugs.

 

Northern migrants have arrived to spend the winter.  American Tree Sparrows…

 

…and Golden Eagles.

 

A Northern Shrike – the first one we’ve seen for more than a year.

 

Our most exciting bird visitor has been an immature Red-headed Woodpecker that’s been here for the last few weeks.  We first saw it on November 4 and it was still here on November 28.  The red feathers on its head are just starting to come in.

 

Our fall project turned into several different large projects.

Mike spent a few weeks cutting and treating honeysuckle bushes and buckthorn along the western side of 3 Finger Valley.  This part of the valley had large honeysuckles growing all along the edge.   Honeysuckle leaves stay green late into the fall, so it’s a good time to find and cut them.

 

This shows a jungle of honeysuckle and prickly ash that had grown up in the middle of one of the valley fingers.  It took Mike several days to cut and remove this one tangle.

 

Another part of the project was clearing a section of Hidden Oaks Point.  We cleared the southeast facing side over several years – from about 2015 to 2017.  But we’d never tackled the southwest facing side.

This shows the way that side has changed since 2002.   For a long time it was thick woods – oaks mixed with Box Elder, Prickly Ash, and sumac, with invasive honeysuckle and buckthorn filling in between the trees.   This month we cut and treated the invasives, and cleared out the smaller trees.  Mike cleared the huge sumac grove that was covering the end of the point.  There’s still more opening up to do, but it will have to wait until next year.

 

A closer view, showing just the part we worked on this fall.  Now the honeysuckle and the giant sumac ‘trees’ are gone.

 

An even closer look…. a group of Wild Plums was struggling to survive among all the invasives.

 

I took this photo part way through the project.  When we arrived each morning, the hillside was still in shadow.  But as we worked, the sun rose above the far side of the valley and shone through the trees.

 

Aurora and stars – November 12

 

This opossum was nosing around in the path just in front of us.  I was so intent that it didn’t notice us until we were very close – then it quickly scrambled up a tree near the path.

 

One of the Red Squirrels in Walnut Woods – working on a walnut.

 

Knife Edge Prairie

 

Afternoon sun on the Knife Edge Point

 

After the snow….our huge Black Oak on Indian Grass Point

 

Indian Grass Point

 

Pine Point and the creek

 

In spite of winter’s arrival, we found one small sign of spring – a few early flowers on a willow.

 

A winter sunrise