[To see photos and stories of this prairie in other years, go to the links on the main Indian Grass Point page.]
1/8/2009 I’ve been trying to see if we can see the cleared areas from a distance. This view is from the Frog Pond. The area I’ve been clearing, on the southwest slope, is looking a little more open.
1/8/2009 This is the point seen from Pat’s Prairie – looking north at the prairie point. The whole hillside should be savanna with prairie at the top – I’ve got a long way to go before it will look like that!
2/9/2009 The prairie, with the one Hill’s Oak at the north end.
2/15/2009 The southwest slope – pretty open in the middle, but there’s still a thicket of prickly ash on the right, and prickly ash and dogwood on the left.
2/16/2009 This is what the thickets look like before they’re cleared – with prairie plants growing under the brush.
2/16/2009 And this is after clearing. This is part of the western slope – steeper than it looks.
2/17/2009 A larger view of the same slope – mostly cleared in the foreground.
4/7/2009 I’ve also started working on the eastern slope. It’s very brushy, with prickly ash, raspberries, and small birches. But there are a few big old oaks, and lots of prairie species growing under the brush. This photo shows a little of the cleared area, looking back to an old oak in the midst of a thicket of brush that needs to be cleared.
5/2/2009 The south-west slope
7/18/2009 Prairie Coreopsis on the point
8/15/2009 White Goldenrod
10/4/2009 View from the point
10/25/2009 The east facing slope – still lots of prickly ash, but I’ve girdled some of the birches, and prairie plants are showing up under the brush.
11/4/2009 the savanna area on top
11/10/2009 Prairie grasses on the south-west slope
11/10/2009
11/15/2009 More of the savanna area
11/18/2009 The east facing slope – much more open now.
11/18/2009 Another view of the east-facing slope, going up to the point on the left.
12/1/2009 The south-west slope is getting a lot more open.