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

I did several fairly small projects on the point this year – mostly clearing invading brush and small trees.  I also made steps in the path that goes up the hill from the house.   Mike did a spring mowing under the trees, and in August I pulled a lot of Queen Ann’s Lace in the open areas near the bench.

1/1/2021

1/3/2021  At the beginning of January we had many days of heavy mist which formed into rime ice on every surface.

1/3/2021

1/3/2021

1/3/2021

1/4/2021

1/4/2021

2/27/2021

3/5/2021  I cut and treated brambles and brush that were coming up on the east facing hill.

3/7/2021  Once the snow disappeared I cut and treated small shrubs that were coming up in this part of the open prairie.

3/8/2021  More brush cutting on the east facing slope.

3/14/2021  I cleared a lot of mostly raspberries as well as honeysuckle and buckthorn, but it’s hard to see the difference in photos.

3/22/2021  This is the best ‘after’ photo I have – showing the cleared area in the foreground, and uncut places beyond.

3/22/2021  Looking at Indian Grass Point – and our house – from Pat’s Prairie

3/28/2021  Looking up at the east facing slope from below

4/16/2021  Top of the point after Mike finished the spring mowing

4/26/2021  Downy Serviceberry

4/26/2021  This is the west facing slope just above the house.  It used to be a thicket of mostly huge old honeysuckles and buckthorn.  I finally finished clearing that last fall.  Now it can start to heal.

4/27/2021  These are the ‘steps’ I built into our path up the hill.  They’re just logs held in by stakes, but the stop the dirt from eroding.

5/4/2021

5/10/2021  We call these ‘bonsai oaks’.  We think they’re probably quite old, but the deer nibble them so they never get taller.

5/10/2021  Wood Betony along the path above the house

5/19/2021  Hoary Puccoon near the bench – the beginning of the savanna

5/22/2021  This is the west facing remnant at the top of the hill.  I did some clearing here last fall, and girdled more of the birches.

5/23/2021  West facing slope where the honeysuckle thicket used to be

6/11/2021  This is in one of the sunny remnant prairies at the top of the hill.  It’s one of the few places we have Spreading Dogbane.  When it’s flowering, it’s very attractive to butterflies.  We saw dozens of mostly Great Spangled Fritillaries and Silvery Checkerspots nectaring on the flowers every afternoon for several weeks.

6/14/2021

7/2/2021  Tip of the point with Harebells and Prairie Coreopsis

7/10/2021

7/21/2021

7/21/2021  This is some of the area I cleared of raspberries last spring.

7/30/2021  Canada Hawkweed along the path up the hill

8/9/2021 Along the path at the top of the point after pulling Queen Anne’s Lace

8/9/2021  After pulling Queen Anne’s Lace

8/18/2021

8/18/2021

9/8/2021

11/21/2021  This is one last project I did just before the snow came.  It’s the south end of the west facing part of the point, which I’d never cleared.   It was a difficult place to work on because I had to first make a path down through the woods below it so I could carry away the brush I cut.

12/18/2021  This is the same view, after some clearing work.  It’s not finished – more to do next year.

12/7/2021