The Narrows Prairie is a 14 acre field at the northernmost edge of our land.  We planted it with prairie seeds in the winter of 2003/2004, broadcasting the seed by hand.

This is from the summer of 2000 when it was a soybean field.

Here it is in July of 2022

Here are photos and stories from each year documenting things we’ve seen and projects we’ve done:
2023,   2022,   2021,   2020,   2019,   2018,   2017,   2016,   2015,   2014,   2013,   2012,   2011,   2010,   2009,   2008,   2007,   2006,   2005,   2004,   2002 & 2003,   2000

This is an aerial photo showing its location.

The center of this prairie has always had problems with aspen sprouts.   I’ve girdled all the mature aspens along the south side of the prairie, but the north side belongs to our neighbor and there are many mature aspens along that edge.  We keep hoping that the sprouts coming up in the prairie are fewer and smaller every year, but we’re not sure, so we mow them in mid-summer to keep the prairie from turning into an aspen forest.  We try to mow only the areas with sprouts, and leave the aspen-free areas unmowed.   (Patchy management)  This photo shows some of the mowed and unmowed areas in 2022.

This is the best prairie to see migrating monarchs so we’re careful to wait until the migration has passed through before we start to mow.  We wonder if the monarchs stop here because it’s an east-west ridge, so they fly across it as they fly south.  It does have lots of fall flowers that migrating monarchs use for nectar:  Stiff and Showy Goldenrod, Rough Blazing Star and  New England Aster.

Monarchs on Showy Goldenrod

One cool windy September day in 2020 we found numerous small monarch roosts in the trees along the south edge of the prairie.

In June this part of the prairie has a big patch of Wild Lupine mixed with Golden Alexanders.

Here’s the list of seeds I planted, and plants I’ve found growing in the prairie in subsequent years.