[To see photos and stories of this prairie in other years, go to the links on the main Indian Grass Point page.]

5/20/2006  The path up to the point that starts behind the house is very steep, climbing through woods that is mostly overgrown prairie hillside with a grove of young Black Oaks near the top.  I’ve been clearing it working down from the top, and up from the bottom – but there’s a lot more to do.  This is along the path near the bottom – Blue-eyed Grass.

Ragwort Opening

5/27/2006

6/17/2006  The girdled aspens are dying, so there’s more light getting in, and the brush is starting to get thicker.

8/1/2006  This is a path we made up to the prairie along the east-facing slope.  We used it for a few years and then abandoned it.

10/6/2006  The prairie has gone back to looking the way it did before the burn.

10/7/2006  We’re mowing once a year or so in the savanna area, trying to enlarge it a bit each time.

10/7/2006  This year’s project was to do some more clearing on top of the point.  Our goal was to open it up enough that we could connect it with the west-facing remnant opening.  We’ve never given a name to this remnant – it’s a small one, surrounded by birches and brush, on the western slope of the point, just below the savanna opening.

10/14/2006  Mowing closer – the prairie opening is just on the other side of the oaks.

10/14/2006   Now there’s a wide connection to the prairie opening.  We left a pile of cut birch logs.

10/22/2006  More mowing around the bigger trees, to open up more of the edges of the prairie.

10/22/2006

10/29/2006  Looking from the savanna into the west-facing prairie opening

10/29/2006   There are still lots of places with brush that should be cleared out.

10/29/2006  More brush and small trees

11/5/2006  The prairie point

11/5/2006  Looking into the savanna after all our clearing work