Another Year Comes to a Close

January is just around the corner now.

A blanket of snow covers the ground, insulating the earth during the cold of winter.

Nuthatches, juncos and chickadees are now regulars at the birdfeeders, keeping up their energy for the cold months ahead.

Resolutions are being made. Year end donations are being given. Holiday decorations are coming down.

It is a time when many of us reflect on the year just past -- and marvel at how much faster this year passed than years prior to this one. "Where did the time go?" "What did I accomplish this year?" are some of the laments heard.

Some reflection is good - lessons learned, friendships renewed, pounds lost. Too much reflecting can become dangerous -- dwelling on worries and regrets, all those "what ifs" and "if onlys" that we carry around with us.

As one thinks back on events passed, remember to keep an eye to the future - to the times ahead. Rather than worrying about the friends you didn't contact this year, resolve to make contact in 2011. Instead of beating oneself up for mistakes made this year, give yourself a break, and resolve to do better next year -- you can't change the past, but you can sure do something about tomorrow!

Wishing you all peace and happiness in the new year!

The Reason for the Season

Today, December 21, 2010, is the official Winter Solstice - the day when the gradual shortening of days turns into a gradual lengthening of days - until

the Summer Solstice in late June.

The official moment when the switch occurs is about 11:30 pm today - well, 11:30 pm in England, so that would be about 5:30 pm here!

The Solstice has had significance to people dating back to early days, as evidenced by ancient structures such as Stonehenge in England which was built in such a way as to allow precise alignment of the sun on Summer and Winter Solstice days, and other significant astronomical events.

The date of December 25th was designated as the official date of Winter Solstice on the first Julian Calendar produced in 45 BC - the Julian Calendar (named for the Emperor Julius Caesar), was still in wide use across the globe until the 20th Century. (Today, the Gregorian Calendar is used -- the difference, and the reason for the change will have to be the subject of a future post!)

This time of year has been important to many people for a long, long time, and is still important today to peoples in Iran (Persian), Guatemala (Mayan), India (Hindu), Ireland (Celtic), Sweden (Norse). East Asian peoples saw this as a time of growing positive energy as the amount of daylight grew. Ancient Japanese custom taught that the Winter Solstice was the time when the Sun Goddess emerged from a cave to return sunlight to the world.

Even the traditional evergreen trees and boughs can be traced to early pagan practices that saw the evergreens as a symbols of eternal life since they did not die like other plants during the winter.

So, as we decorate our homes with trees and gifts, we continue traditions that have been handed down by many peoples for many, many generations!

Slow Down! Take a Cue from Nature

As I look around this time of year - leaves off the trees, flowers now brown, insects and other small creatures hidden away - I can't help but think of the wisdom of Nature.

Months ago, ss the amount of daylight was shrinking and temperatures started to decline, plants and animals were heeding these signals and starting to store energy for the coming winter.

Deciduous trees and bushes like oaks and maples literally shut down for the season. Sap no long flows, and without leaves, photosynthesis - that energy producing machine - ceases. Perennial plants like coneflowers and hostas die back to the ground after storing as much energy in their roots as they can. Frogs find a mucky spot where they nestle in for the winter, their vital signs dropping to near zero as they enter a state of suspended animation.

When the snow and ice and freezing temperatures arrive, they are ready. And rather than fight back against the weather with shovels and salt and four-wheel drive, they wait. They wait patiently while the amount of daylight grows longer and the temperatures climb ever so slowly.

The plants and animals are ready for winter. Are you?

The amount of daylight will continue to shrink for another two weeks, only to reverse the pattern December 22nd. So, there is still time to ready oneself for winter. Perhaps take a lesson from Nature, and relax for a time rather than fighting against the inevitable?

Embrace the next snow by choosign to stay home that day rather than cursing the inconvenience of the weather and tackling the roads. Build a snow-person, or take a walk with a camera and see the patterns and shapes that the blanket of snow creates.

Don't fight the first ice storm. Make a cup of hot cocoa and do the crossword puzzle in the paper, or pull out that book that sits on the shelf still unread!

And when the temperature drops, find a loved one to snuggle with, rather than turning up the thermostat. Enjoy those quiet moments that winter brings. Celebrate them!

Nature understands that this is a time to slow down and conserve one's energy - to recharge for the times ahead. Winter is Nature's gift, and for that I am truly grateful.

The restorative force of fire

It seems counter-intuitive, doesn't it? Using fire as a tool to improve the condition of natural areas.

Yet, through millenia of struggle between plants, animals, and the natural forces of wind, snow and fire, a system developed in this area where the trees that were best able to withstand the effects of fire came to dominate much of the landscape. And along with those trees came the plant, animal, bird & insect species that were most compatible with those trees.

Yes, I'm talking about our oaks.

Like sentinels, the bur oaks stretched their branches out across the prairie, catching the maximum amount of sunlight - growing broader than they were tall.

And the fires made that all possible.

McHenry County sits at the line between two ecoregional zones - the Grand Prairie and the Prairie-Forest Border. To the south, east and west of this area there once stretched a vast grassland where the buffalo roamed and fires once swept for miles and miles before hitting a natural barrier like a river.

To the north and west was once the prairie-forest border region where the prairie gave way to trees, but the trees did not form actual forests. Instead, the trees - often oaks - were widely dispersed, or found in clusters where they were sheltered from the prairie fires that came from the south and west. This is where the oak savannas were created, and where a unique system of insects and plants emerged that is now one of the most endangered natural communities on the plant.

In the absence of fire, today's oaks are crowded out by fast-growing, shade tolerant species like maples, buckthorn and honeysuckle.

So as odd as it seems, we try to burn the woods when conditions permit, as it is the easiest way to keep them in a healthy condition that supports a greater diversity of plant & animal species!

Why we plant oaks

The facts can seem overwhelming:

- Nearly 90% of the oak woods that were here in 1837 are gone.

- At the rate things are going, the remaining oaks could be dead in 20 years.

- It takes twenty years for an oak tree planted today to produce its first acorns.

- The remaining oaks are not reproducing either due to:
* improper management of the understory (e.g. allowing species like buckthorn to grow un-checked, or keeping a manicured lawn under the trees),

* effects of animals (e.g. deer browsing young trees, field mice eating acorns), or

* the effects of invasive species on the soil chemistry and the unique web of life needed by an oak's root system.

Yep, it is tough being an oak tree in McHenry County today.

And that's why we plant oaks whenever we can. On 10/10/10, that meant planting 100 oaks around McHenry County with the help of nearly 100 local residents. Those 100 trees will not replace the woods that are at risk today, but by working with local residents to plant trees today, we are teaching a next generation to take ownership for the future of these trees.

Since 2007, TLC has worked with nearly 1,000 local residents of all ages to plant over 1,000 oak trees. Those people can visit the trees they planted, and know that they are part of something bigger - something hopeful - something positive for the future.

It is too easy to get lost in the facts, and to feel overwhelmed, wondering "what can I do? It's hopeless! I can't change things!" But the fact is that every one of us has the ability to do something. Even just one thing, and that WILL make a difference.

Plant an oak. Clear some buckthorn from underneath an oak. Gather acorns in the fall and deliver them to TLC. Support organizations like TLC who are working to save the remaining oak woods, and to help ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to experience the magic and wonder of these magnificent trees -- just as we do today!

The fact is that there is time. These trees are still with us today - they have lasted long enough for us to learn what they need, and to take action.

Sharing Seed/Building Community

It is amazing how the simple act of collecting seed from someone's natural area can create a lasting bond - a bond that transcends friendship and crosses generations.

The seed donor points out the plants ripe for harvest, warning the collector away from the species that aren't native -- or are just too pushy(1) for a new planting.

The donor urges the collector to take more - there is plenty here, don't be timid - and even gathers seed that he places in the visitor's bag at the end of the outing. This act of generosity is moving in an unexpected way. Somehow, they are more than seeds now, for they represent hours of labor and a commitment to managing this natural area with fire and mowing and weed-pulling.

And the act of sharing seed passes not only the plant species from one place to another, but also the lessons of restoration from one person to the next, helping to ensure that the art and science of natural area management will spread throughout McHenry County along with the seeds...

The annual Seed Sharing Day in Alden Township took place on October 16th this year, bringing seed seekers together with seed sharers. As in years past, the 2010 event was a magical time when private landowners opened their properties to friends and strangers (with a stranger being a friend you don't know yet).

The event is a type of swap meet where those who have seed to contribute bring it along, and those who are seeking seed - either to enhance an existing project, or to seed a new area - are able to "shop" the seed table for species that will make their mix "just right".

Everyone brings along something to eat as well, which encourages people to stop long enough to have a bowl of chili or a few homemade cookies before heading home. And as they eat, they talk and share their experiences, lessons learned - good and bad. And the community grows stronger...

(1) Species like Indian grass and Big blue stem tend to top that list, as they grow well and spread quickly, making it difficult to establish other, less assertive, species!

*Thanks to Cheyenne Raduha for the photos.

What is Scenic about Fleming Road?

If you've driven on Fleming Road, you have probably thought "This is pretty" or words to that effect. But why do people react that way to some drives and not others?

The hills. The trees. The curves in the road. Trees close to the road. Trees overhanging the road way -- a canopy effect. It all contributes to a scenic driving experience.

A "peaceful and comforting ride" is how one friend describes her trip down Fleming. Another told me that when she is all stressed out, as soon as she turns onto Fleming, the stress melts away - it has that effect on her.

But there is a plan afoot to "improve" the road -- to make it safer -- by enlarging the shoulders to at least 4 feet, and by cutting some of the hills down. The work would also include a change in how water runoff is handled.

Currently, runoff goes wherever it can since there are not consistent swales along both sides of the road. That may sound bad, but actually, it seems to work okay. The runoff flows into the existing low spots along the roadsides and slowly infiltrates into the ground, or is absorbed by plant roots. Modern engineering "standards" say that proper road design means that one must build either large swales or curbs and absorption wells to handle the runoff.

And all that engineering comes at a price - it means widening the road way by nearly 30 feet, from the existing 22 feet of pavement, to at least 30 feet of pavement and up to another 28 feet of ditches. I'm sorry, but how is that an improvement? An improvement in what way?

Isn't it possible that the road way is okay the way it is? That it may not be perfect for everyone, but that in the grand scheme of things, it is a pretty darn good road, and any effort to bring it up to current engineering standards will not only reduce its beauty, but maybe even make it a more dangerous route for drivers?

Consider that the character of the roadway causes drivers to slow down - they slow down because the roadway is narrow, there are trees near the road, the curves and hills mean one cannot see much of the road ahead.

And that's okay.

Based on historic accident records, it appears that the current configuration of the road (with vegetation close to the pavement, hills that make it hard to see what's ahead, and lots of curves) is at least part of why accident rates are low.

Between 2005-2009 there were 38 accidents on Fleming Road. 32% (12) were collisions with deer; nearly all (87%+) of the accidents took place at one of the three intersections (Bull Valley Road, Country Club Road or Route 120). Drivers involved in the accidents were most likely to say that they didn't see the stop sign. 79% of the accidents were when the pavement was dry, and over half occurred during the day. There were no fatalities, one serious injury and six minor injuries.

The highway engineers who are studying Fleming Road right now say that there is only one spot along the road where visibility is a problem for people entering the road, and that is at Hidden Lane looking south. The solution, they said, would be to move a utility pole and trim some bushes. What that tells me is that the curves aren't causing a problem from a road design standpoint, neither is the vegetation close to the road.

So, maybe the buckthorn needs to be trimmed back here and there, but that's okay -- for many reasons. Apply a little Garlon 4 to the cut limbs, and help take care of them permanently!

Native Americans and the Land

Did you know that native people, for perhaps thousands of years before Europeans arrived on this continent, managed the land to make it more conducive to hunting? They lit fires to keep the brush down in the woods, and to keep the landscape around their encampments open for visibility, and safe from wildfires.

This painting by Frederic Remington, noted painter of the American west in the 1800s, shows Native people watching a grass fire that they set. This would be an image that Remington actually witnessed -- he wasn't one for painting from his imagination -- he liked to depict real people and real situations that he witnessed first hand. Kind of like an early newspaper photographer, but with a canvas and paint brushes.

An early settler's journal describes this place we live in today as looking like "apple orchards planted by the hand of God for the pleasure of man." The oak woods that early settlers found were open, easy to walk or ride a horse through. Today, one might say they were "park like."

This open and inviting scene was part natural (through spread of wildfires), but also partly human-made, through the use of controlled fires by Native peoples.

After European settlement of the region, wildfires were eliminated as were human-made fires. This permitted brush and less hardy trees (like maples and ash) to grow unhindered by fire.

The lesson I wanted to pass along is this thing we call "ecological fire" is not exactly new, and the landscape that our forefathers and mothers inherited when they moved to McHenry County was hardly untouched by human hands.

So, once again, the old becomes new, as we relearn the ways that many generations of Native people took for granted. Careful management of the land was good for game, safety and ultimately survival of those peoples.

Relearning these ancient lessons of how to tend the land in ways that promote sustainability for us and for nature can only benefit every member of the community.

Another Reason to Buy Local Food!

As if we needed another reason to purchase our food from local sources, along comes the Great American Egg Recall of 2010!

Billions of eggs potentially tainted with Salmonella bacteria, and thousands of people sick as a result.

The photos of the factory egg "farms" are too awful for me to include here -- chickens packed in cages, stacked on top of one another in conditions that should be criminal. And why? Because Americans want cheap eggs. Lots of cheap eggs. At the rate of 150 (or more) eggs per person, per year, that adds up to nearly 50 billions eggs a year - and that's just the ones folks buy in cartons -- add in all the eggs that are used as an ingredient in the foods we buy, and we are looking at closer to 75 billion eggs consumed each year in the US!

At a price of about $1.00 per dozen, we are talking about at least $4 billion in egg sales each year.

There is an alternative, you know. Yep, more folks could buy their eggs from local farmers.

My husband and I pay $2.50 a dozen for eggs from a family near Harvard, IL. The eggs are fresh, delicious, and safe. The chickens that lay the eggs seem to live happy lives -- at least they appear content running around in the farmyard when I go there to pick up the eggs. And a bonus is that the yolks are a gorgeous shade of deep yellow, not the insipid pale yellow of factory eggs.

The family raises the chickens to sell them as, well, chickens, later after they are good and fat. But the chickens have this pesky habit of laying eggs until they are sent off to be butchered, so the family also collects and sells the eggs.

Fresh eggs have an advantage that factory eggs lack -- they haven't been washed, so they still have the "bloom" intact on the surface of the egg shell. This "bloom" protects the otherwise porous surface of the egg, preventing bacteria from entering the egg.

As a result, fresh eggs can be stored at room temperature, and in Europe, that is how they are sold and kept.

Factory eggs in the US are washed after being collected to remove any surface dirt and bacteria -- which is actually part of the reason for the Great Egg Recall of 2010 -- even trace amounts of bacteria can entered the washed eggs, and once inside, salmonella does not take much time to multiply into enough bacteria cells to make someone sick.

So, remember that next time you buy eggs at the grocery store. Ask around, I bet you can find a local farm that sells fresh eggs -- and I bet you'll agree that they are worth every penny!

What's a Scenic Road?

It may be safe to say that "scenic" is in the eye of the beholder. One person's scenic drive may be tedious to another who just wants to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, and is annoyed by the hills, slower speed limits, curves and trees close to the road.

I love driving through the county's gently rolling farm fields, but know people who think this area is too flat and the farm fields are b o r i n g.

Whether one likes scenic vistas of farmfields, or curvy, hilly routes that cross through examples of the county's glacial remants (moraines, kettles, kames and outwash plains), there are many scenic driving experiences to be had in McHenry County.

For example, I think most any road through Bull Valley is scenic, with their windey turns and hills, plus the trees overhanging the road and the farm fields stretching across the rolling hills.

O'Brien Road (that turns into Vander Karr Road as one heads east) is one of my favorites. It crosses through farm fields, past conservation land, and over the Nippersink Creek in the north part of the county between Alden and Richmond.

Thayer Road is another of my faves, going from Alden Road in the west to Greenwood Road in the east, passing farm fields, oak woods, and crossing at least one branch of the Nippersink Creek. I find the vistas across farm fields along Thayer amazing. The view is fairly flat and most trees are in the distance, so they don't block the view. I'd like to explore some of the isolated woodlands out there sometime -- they seem so remote and mysterious!

In the middle part of the county, there is Collins Road running west from Woodstock across the flat, outwash plain that sits between the Woodstock and Marengo moraines. The road starts out straight and level, with beautiful views of an agricultural landscape. As Collins hits the Marengo Ridge glacial moraine, the character of the road is transformed into a hilly, wooded route - the vistas are gone, and trees are the norm.

Then there is Fleming Road, a 2 1/2 mile route that runs from Country Club Road at its south end northwest to Route 120 east of Woodstock. In that short stretch of road, one passes visible examples of the county's "swell and swale" glacial terrain, complete with kettles and hills that were left behind when the Wisconsin glacier retreated 12,000 years ago. Additionally, the road passes through perhaps the largest concentration of remnant oak woods in the county.

Scenic may be in the eyes of the beholder, but I'm sure glad for the scenery around McHenry County that I get to behold!

The Dog Days of Summer!

I thought a nice winter landscape shot would help me keep my cool while writing about the heat!

I heard someone refer to the "Dog Days" of summer, which got me wondering about where that term came from.

First off, the dog days are generally considered the hottest, most humid days of summer that run sometime between early July and mid-September. But, why are dogs taking the heat for this unpleasant time of year?

After doing some research, it looks like the term originally had nothing to do with the furry, friendly critters known as "man's best friend." Rather, the term arose in reference to the "dog star" in the constellation "Canis Major" (Big Dog).

The Romans called the hottest days of summer dies canicularis, Latin for "dog days." They associated the heat with the "dog star" Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky which happens to be found in the Canis Major (big dog) constellation. They even sacrificed a dog each year at the beginning of the dog days to try and appease Sirius.

The Greeks were in on the dog days too, as were the ancient Egyptians who associated the seasonal flooding of the Nile with the appearance of Sirius in the early morning sky just prior to sunrise.

In modern times, folks have associated the term "dog days" with a sluggish stock market, calling poorly performing stocks "dogs." The terms "dog tired" and "dogging it" may have come from the lethargy that many people feel during the hottest, most humid days of the year, even though the originial "dog days" name had nothing to do with an actual dog!

So, another 90+ day today, and it's expected to be at least that hot on Friday. And temps are staying in the mid-upper 70s at night, which means there is no relief from the heat and humidity.

Things may cool to the upper 80s by Saturday when a storm system will move through the area. Starting Saturday night, the evening temperatures should be in the mid 60s, which should help cool things off.

In the meantime, be sure to leave plenty of water out for the dogs to drink - it'll help them get through the dog days!

Water is Life

I heard a talk about Water this morning by Reverend Budd Friend-Jones of the First Congregational Church of Crystal Lake. He spoke of the spiritual aspects of water - the life force that all religions somehow honor through their creation stories and important rituals.

Our bodies are about 70% water, as is the planet. Where there is no water, there is no life, for all life on our planet evolved in a water world.

Reverend Friend-Jones suggested that when we look into water, we see ourselves - not just our reflections, but our deeper selves as a people. What does our relationship with water say about us? What kind of people would treat the source of all life on the planet as a waste product or a garbage can?

Call me a savage, but I don't think you need modern religion to be moved by that idea!

Consider the Lakota word for water, "mee-nee." The literal translation of "mee-nee" is "my spiritual quality of life." The Lakota regarded water as the life source, and felt they had been entrusted to care for this Sacred Resource by the Creator!

Oil Spill Thoughts

It’s an old adage: oil & water don’t mix. And there have been a lot of examples in recent months that demonstrate the truth of those words. Off the top of my head, I can think of an oil spill into a creek in Utah, an oil pipeline spewing heavy crude into a bay in China, and, of course, the mega-spill in the Gulf of Mexico (link to a time-lapsed video from NASA).

From a technical standpoint, oil and water don’t mix for the simple reason that both oil and water molecules have a stronger affinity for their own kind than for the other. Also, oil is less dense than water, so it tends to float on the surface of the water. Unless it’s cold and heavy, like some of the oil that spewed into the Gulf of Mexico a mile below the surface. Then, the oil may find itself in a limbo somewhere between the sea surface and the seafloor. It still does not mix with the water, but it doesn’t rise to the surface, so it is hard to find and nearly impossible to clean up.

I’ve been trying to come up with a good local analogy to put the Gulf oil disaster into local terms. The website www.ifitwasmyhome.com shows the extent of the oil superimposed upon any geographic region on the planet. So, for scale, imagine placing Woodstock at the center. The oil slick would extend north to south from Milwaukee to Kankakee and east to west from central Iowa across Lake Michigan to the state of Michigan.

Another way to think about the Gulf spill: What if tar balls (globs of thick oil) started washing up on Main Beach in Crystal Lake? What if one of the Wonder Lake Water ski team members wiped out, and emerged from the water covered in thick oil? Or what if boating on the Chain of Lakes had to be cancelled because the Fire Department was burning the surface to reduce the amount of oil floating there? Local residents would be outraged, that’s what.

Sure, the ocean is very large, and by comparison, the amount of oil released may be small, but any amount is too much when it washes up on a community’s beach, fouls one’s oyster beds, or ruins a family’s livelihood or even someone’s summer vacation.

Fortunately for local residents, the chance of a disaster involving an oil well or pipeline leak is very small. But the risk isn’t zero, as there are oil pipelines that cross McHenry County. The concern in this area could be that an underground pipeline developed a leak and oil seeped into an underground aquifer, rather than oil spewing into a lake or wetland. In this scenario, the leak might go unnoticed for many months or even years until oil turned up in an unsuspecting neighbor’s well water.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling for a removal of the pipelines, nor do I think a local disaster of this nature is anything but a theoretical possibility. After all, I drive a car that is fueled by gasoline, which is in turn produced from oil like that which flows through the pipelines that pass through our area.

My point is simply that there are existing threats to our precious groundwater – the lifeblood of our community. The water that all residents need to live comes from the underground reservoirs of sand a gravel that were left by the glaciers over 12,000 years ago! Whether the threat is pollution or overuse, the security of local water supplies should matter to all residents. For what is a house worth if there is no water to flush the toilets, or if the well water is fouled?

The Heat of Summer

For the month of July, the average high temperature in Chicago is 83.5. So far this year (2010), the average high temp in July is closer to 87. The average last summer was about 80 degrees - one of the coolest July's on record, and certainly part of the reason this month has felt so darn hot!

Last year, I didn't put the air conditioner on once all summer. But last night I slept with the A/C on all night! The combination of heat and humidity was more than I could stand, but 76 degrees sure hit the spot! I think 2005 was the last summer that seemed this hot.

If there is anything to this Global Warming/Climate Change thing (and I believe there is), then these hot summers will become more frequent. That's the point of the two maps at the top of the page - the one on the right shows average temperatures for the eastern US today, and the one on the left shows what they could be in 2050. The take home message is that average temps are predicted to be much higher almost everywhere.

So, our area would be more like southern Missouri? And Northern Wisconsin would be like Central Illinois? And Florida would be mostly under water? Cripes! So in another 40 years, all those Midwestern snowbirds will just stay right here? Sounds like Sun City will need to expand!

Are the bats trying to tell us something?

I read an article about bats in the most recent University of Vermont alumnae magazine today. It made me want to cry.

Bats are dying due to a little-understood disorder called "White nose syndrome." The disorder causes the bats to wake frequently throughout their winter hibernation, and since they are hungry when they wake, they fly off in search of insects - their primary source of food. The problem is that in the winter, there are no insects, so the bats expend valuable energy in futile searches before returning to their winter slumbers. By the time they wake in the spring, the bats are so emaciated, that they are susceptible to other illnesses that healthy bats can easily fight off. So, the bats die from a variety of things, so it has been hard to pin-point the exact cause of the syndrome.

Researchers at the University of Vermont have been studying the bats in Vermont, trying to determine what is causing this disorder to decimate the bat populations across the country in a very short time period. Consider: the disorder was first identified in eastern New York state in 2006, and since that time has killed millions of bats in the Northeast US, rapidly spreading down the east coast, and towards the Midwest.

There have been articles in the local paper recently about the discovery of rabid bats in McHenry County, warning people to avoid coming into contact with bats in the event the bats are rabid. So, there may be those who think that bats are dangerous to people, so who cares if bats die?

Well, maybe we should care if all the bats die.

As one of the researchers comments in the article: the bats could be the canaries in the coal mine, perhaps giving us a warning about the general degredation of the environment that we all depend upon for life. Consider that frogs and toads are dying off at an alarming rate across the globe due to a fungus. And Colony Collapse Disorder is affecting bee populations across the US. With no known cause, the loss of bee populations has the potential to destroy the country's agriculture system, as bees are the primary pollinators for many crops!

Do we really want to take the chance that these dramatic die-offs of three unrelated groups of organisims are just a weird coincidence? Or are we prepared to heed the warnings and start making changes to clean up and improve the environment that we all depend upon for survival?

After all, the coal miners couldn't see or smell the invisible gas that killed the canary, but they knew enough to heed the warning that the dead bird gave them. Unlike the coal miners, we can't just move out of the mine into the clean air. We are living in the mine. Will we take the steps necessary to clean the air, water and soil around us before it's too late?

Where does the time go?

It's July 1st. How did half the year get by me already?

When in grade school, summers seemed long & luxurious. Lots of time to do all the things that I wanted, plus extra things that were not on my personal to do list (like paint the laundry room in the basement). I had what seemed an infinite time to read, visit friends, go to camp, ride bikes, climb trees, build forts, etc, etc.

Now everything seems to be a blur. Is it just that time moves more quickly, or do I move more slowly?

There is a theory that each year of one's life passes more quickly than the previous because it represents a smaller percentage of one's total life. [My initial reaction to that was "hunh?"]

The math experts explain it this way: When you are 10 years old, one year of your life is 10% of your lifespan. But, when you are 50 years old, one year is just 2% of your lifespan, so it seems to go by a lot faster. In other words, it's all relative.

Which brings me to Albert Einstein's Big Idea: Time is Relative. He hypothesized that time moved slower or faster depending upon the speed that one thing moves in relation to another. He was able to prove mathematically that as one approaches the speed of light time passes much more slowly than it does for those of us stuck at human speed.

This helps me understand why time moves so slowly for young kids -- they have a lot of energy, and move a lot more quickly than adults! So, seems to me the message is that if we want to slow things down, we need to speed ourselves up!

There are Fungus Among Us!

This is a blusher mushroom found June 24, 2010 in some woods north of Harvard. I'd never seen one of these in person -- only in photos.


It's a type of Amanita, which are usually poisonous, but this a non-deadly variety! While many mushrooms are quite safe (and good) to eat, there are quite a few that are either deadly poisonous resulting in near instant death, mildly toxic (causing gastric distress), and/or containing slow-acting toxins that may take several days to affect your vital organs and kill you.


So, it's never a good idea to eat a found mushroom unless you are absolutely sure you know what it is. But, just touching a poisonous mushroom won't kill anyone, so collecting them for identification is quite safe.

I was able to identify the blusher by looking at a combination of characteristics: cap color, presence of a "veil," stem size, shape & color, gill color, spore color and the location where the mushroom was found (in this case, on the ground in some oak woods). In this case, white spores and flesh bruising red were two of the keys. Another key was that the blusher is commonly found in oak woods.


If you look closely at the photo with the cut stem pieces turning red, you can see white spore prints on the piece of paper. Spore color is one of the key pieces of information needed to identify a mushroom, so I always try to get a spore print by separating the cap from the stem and placing it on a piece of white paper under a glass overnight. This increases the humidity around the mushroom which helps to release the spores.


Something else I learned about Amanitas today: there is a mold that attacks them and turns them into gnarly, solid things, as seen in the picture to the left. I cut the mushroom thing in half lengthwise, and was surprised to find that the stem and cap flesh seemed to be fused, and while there was a cap-like piece at the top of the mushroom, but there were no gills, and the exterior was covered in a hard crust.


I would never have guessed that there was a mold that attacked fungi! That's one of the things that keeps me interested in identifying mushrooms - there is always a new variety that I have never seen before, either because I'm in a different type of habitat, or its a different time of year.

Killing Gypsy Moths

Well, it is gypsy moth season! The caterpillars have emerged and are now quite large. Soon they will pupate, and in August emerge as moths.

There are lots of references on the Internet that explain the lifecycle, spread and management of these invaders.

I can sum up the primary management objective in one word: kill.

Kill by squishing them or dropping the caterpillars into a bucket of soap water. Power spray them out of the trees - even the big caterpillars seem pretty fragile. Wrap your trees with fabric (something inexpensive like burlap works just fine).

The fabric works like this: the caterpillars feed at night, and then climb down the tree during the day to get out of the sun - and presumably hide from predators like birds. At night, when they climb back up the tree to feed, some will get caught in the fabric. Others will use the fabric as a resting place where they are hidden from predators. When checking the fabric in the morning, it will be easy to kill the caterpillars.

The next phase when it is going to be relatively easy to kill them is when they turn into moths. And they actually make it easy for us! The female gypsy moths are nearly white, and they don't fly. So, they are easy to spot, and kill. The males are brown and do fly, so are not easy to catch or see, and harder to identify as a gypsy moth versus some other native moth.

The gypsy moths are not native to North America, but they have been in our country since the late 1800s!

I went to college in the early 1980's in Massachusetts, and the gypsy moths had taken over the woods! I recall being in campus in June for orientation, and they were everywhere. In fact, they were so dense that you could hear them eating, and their droppings (called frass) sounded like a light rain! Despite the heavy infestation, the trees have survived. And so they will here, especially with a little help from us!

What is wind?

It's a windy day today! The leaves in the trees are in constant motion, creating that wonderful rustling sound.

What is wind? We can't see it. It doesn't have a smell of its own or a color or substance. But, man is it powerful when it wants to be!

Technically, wind is caused by differences in air pressure - the greater the difference in pressure from one area to another, the stronger the wind. So, you might have heard the weather reporter talk about a "front" coming through -- that is typically a high or low pressure system, and a front is inevitably accompanied by wind as the pressure changes from low to high or high to low.

I used to joke that wind came to Illinois from Kansas (because the area between here and there is so flat...) That isn't technically accurate, but it is true that weather systems generally move from west to east, so by watching the weather in Kansas we might get a hint at what to expect here in a couple of days.

There is something called the Beaufort Scale that sorts wind into categories based on the speed. For instance, wind that is 1-2 miles per hour is called "light air." One might see smoke move in the direction of the wind, but otherwise there isn't much to make one aware of light air!

A little further up the scale, a "gentle breeze" is defined as 8-12 mph wind, which results in leaves and twigs being in constant motion. I'm guessing that today is probably a "gentle breeze" kind of day, although it might have gusts that would be considered a "strong breeze" (25-31 mph) which is strong enough to move large branches. Certainly we are getting gusts that would be considered a "fresh breeze" of 19-24 mph where small trees sway!

The top of the scale is 75+ mph, or hurricane force winds which cause severe and extensive damage. I suppose around here we might call those "tornado" force winds. Although, a tornado might only fall into the category of a "whole gale" or "strong gale" with winds of 55-63 mph and 47-54 mph respectively. That's still a lot of force for something invisible!

Unctuous Matters

So, you're asking yourself: "what does the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico have to do with The Land Conservancy?"

Well, nothing -- and everything.

People in McHenry County drive cars which run on gasoline which is collected from places like the Gulf of Mexico, by companies like BP...

People in McHenry County buy things at the store - things that are often shipped hundreds, if not thousands of miles to arrive here. And during the shipping of those items, fuel is used by the trains, ships, trucks, etc that are used for transport. The more miles something is shipped, the more fuel must be used.

So, the oil spill in the Gulf is about us too.

While our wildlife, wetlands, natural lands and waters may not be clogged with oil, that is just the luck of geography keeping us clean. It is a fact that the choices we make every day at the store, in the car, even around the home contribute to this national addiction to oil. Every plastic container, toy or nick-nack is made with oil. And that apple from New Zealand is brought to your table because of the oil used to ship it to McHenry County.

But, what can we do? It is pretty overwhelming, isn't it?

1. Reduce the number of miles you drive. Car pool if you can. Combine errands into fewer trips.
2. Buy & Eat locally grown food. I've read that over 10% of all US oil consumption is tied just to transportation of food. So, the fewer miles food travels to get from the farm to your table, the less fuel consumed. period.
3. Open the windows and turn off the Air Conditioning.
4. Replace the gas-powered mower with an electric (or rotary) mower.
5. If buying a new car, choose one that gets better gas mileage than the old car. If you can, opt for a gas-electric hybrid (or, soon, an all electric model!).
6. Convince a friend to make some changes too.

It may seem overwhelming, but in the long run, we can make a difference through the choices we make about how much energy we use each day. And while that won't clean up the Gulf of Mexico, it sure might help prevent a future disaster.

Turtle Crossing!

I'm thinking about getting some turtle crossing signs to put up along Dean Street, asking people to slow down and yield to these little fellas!

Last week we saw a painted turtle that had been run over right in the middle of the road. And yesterday, I saw a very large snapping turtle that had just made it (safely) across the road.

There are wetlands in the back of properties on the east side of Dean Street, and in the front of properties on the west side of the road.

Most turtles live in wetlands, but they lay their eggs in nearby upland areas. I suspect the snapper was scouting out a nesting spot where it is high and dry near our office, but actually lives in one of the wetlands across the street.

No one explains to the turtles that they need to stay away from roads because of the cars. I would imagine that for them, the road is just a really smooth and easy strip of land to cross while they are scouting for a good spot to lay their eggs.

The next challenge comes when the baby turtles (about the size of a half-dollar) hatch from the eggs, and then through some homing instinct, head off to find their mothers. These little guys are easy prey for many animals and birds. And if they have to cross a road, they are obviously very vulnerable to being squished -- let's face it, they are really small (so not very visible) and they are really slow (because their legs are so tiny!).

So, I'm thinking some well-placed turtle crossing signs are in order to warn folks to be on the look-out!

Fleming Road situation

I've been thinking a lot about Fleming Road (runs from Route 120 to Country Club, about 2 miles). If you haven't driven it, it is worth the drive. Truly one of the most scenic roads in the county. Hilly, wooded, gentle curves, the whole bit.

A friend calls it "tummy tickle" road because of the hills - a name that started when his kids were little and they liked the roller-coaster effect of driving along Fleming!

BUT, it is technically a county highway that is considered by them to be the route from Route 120 to Route 14 by way of Country Club Road and Ridgefield Road.

Over the years, some folks have used Fleming as a cut-through for just that purpose - to get from west Crystal Lake to points north like Wonder Lake. And folks who are "cutting through" are often looking to get from point A to point B a bit faster than it would take to go around on the main roads. And that means they want to go as fast as possible.

Well, Fleming just isn't that kind of road!

Fleming is more of a "Sunday Driver" road - you know, the kind where folks drive slowly, looking at the scenery, and enjoying the rural, pastoral landscape along the road.

Well, now the road may be threatened because some feel it needs some "improvements." And those "improvements" are likely to mean the road will be less hilly, wider, and with trees set back farther from the pavement. All of that translates into "less scenic" if you ask me.

Now, here's what I don't understand. Why can't they just replace the pavement and do the work within the existing right of way? Why can't they keep the road largely the same as it is today, and enforce the speed limits, rather than changing the road to make it more of a speedway for those folks who want to shave a few seconds off their trip from Crystal Lake to Wonder Lake?

Why?

Help those Migratory Birds

That's an Indigo Bunting, one of the showy Spring Migratory Birds that one might see in McHenry County these days. The shock of blue looks out of place in most any location!

Numerous warblers are travelling through the area this time of year, on the way from their winter homes to their summer places up north. I have to confess, that unless a warbler stops at the bird feeder long enough for me to get a good look at all of its markings, I cannot tell them apart (most are just small, yellowish birds to me...) Some of the names I hear others call out include: Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, and Yellow-throated warbler. [Note: They are not bright yellow like the goldfinch.]

Keeping water and birdseed available at least through May will help the migrants (and will keep the resident birds happy as well!)

Yonder Prairie Nature Preserve Dedication

Yonder Prairie is Illinois' latest Nature Preserve, and that's a beautiful thing!

Here's a picture of the McHenry County contingent that was in attendance at the 205th meeting of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission in Cypress, Illinois on May 4th when the formal dedication was made. Shown are Lisa Haderlein with husband Tom Cubr, Steve & Caron Wenzel, and John Nelson (the one in the tie). Tom, Lisa & Caron are sporting TLC's Yonder Prairie Nature Preserve t-shirts!

John lives in Woodstock and works for the Nature Preserve Commission. He worked with TLC to complete the dedication documents, and gave an excellent presentation to the Commission highlighting the ecological merits of the site. Thanks John.

As we learned at the meeting, there are now 351 Nature Preserves in Illinois (technically, I think Yonder is the 349th). These sites represent some of the most unique and precious pieces of the state's natural history. While many sites are on public land, a growing number of sites are located on private property -- as is the case with Yonder.

The Nature Preserves system was designed to help landowner preserve properties across the state that provide habitat for threatened and endangered species, and also have prime example of natural habitats that were once abundant in the state.

At Yonder Prairie, two features qualified the site for Nature Preserve status: documentation of Blanding's Turtles from the site, and the presence of a Grade B wet prairie.

Note: As of last month, we also confirmed that a Sandhill Crane is nesting at the site! We were able to confirm this when a crane aggressively guarded a portion of the property while we were conducting an ecological burn. Don't worry, we steered clear of the crane! But we did put him on the t-shirt!

Happy Arbor Day!

Arbor Day is not like other holidays. Each of those reposes on the past while Arbor Day proposes for the future. J. Sterling Morton

Arbor Day was started in Nebraska in 1872, when J. Sterling Morton, president of the State Agriculture Board, was successful in getting the state legislature to declare April 10th Arbor Day, a day where Nebraskans were encouraged to plant trees. It is estimated that one million trees were planted on that first Arbor Day!

Morton became passionate about planting trees after moving to Nebraska in 1854 -- a state that did not have a lot of trees! By 1885, the state made Arbor Day an official holiday to be held on April 22nd, J. Sterling Morton's birthday. Today, all 50 states celebrate Arbor Day, as do many countries around the world.

In Illinois, Arbor Day is held the last Friday in April every year, placing the holiday on April 30th this year. Illinois was the 8th state to make Arbor Day a state holiday in 1949.

The celebration has expanded from the planting of trees to include education about the need to care for trees throughout the year. The holiday has long appealed to educators who recognized the learning opportunity that the occassion provided for students of all ages.

As awareness of the impact of carbon dioxide levels on the global climate grows, the role of tree planting seems to become more vital. Why? Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Trees store carbon in their roots and their wood.

In addition to all the other wonderful things trees do for us - clean the air, increase property values, reduce stormwater runoff, provide natural beauty, give shade on a hot summer day, provide a strong branch for a child's swing, etc, etc - trees are also an important part of sequestering carbon. Sequestering carbon and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change.

So plant a tree already!!

Support TLC in April!

Just a reminder that there are only a few days left in the month of April, which means just a few more days to support TLC & the environment!

If you haven't ordered your oak yet, you have until Friday! Red, bur & swamp white varieties ranging from two foot ($20) to five foot ($75). And 30% of the sale price supports TLC's 3rd Generation Oak Fund to help ensure that oaks will be an important part of the McHenry County landscape FOREVER!

Summer's coming, and that rainbarrel full of clean, free water will be so good for the garden, but you have to order yours by Friday to get the great price of $65 for a 55-60 gallon rainbarrel! Tumbling composters are also available for just $130.

Pick up for the trees, rainbarrels & composters is May 14-15 at Hennen Conservation Area, 4622 Dean Street, Woodstock.

And, you have until Friday to eat at Duke's Ale House, who will donate 5% to TLC if you bring a coupon with you (or ask your server for one at the Restaurant).

2030 Land Use Plan Vote Tuesday

Tuesday night at 7pm, the McHenry County Board will meet to vote on the proposed 2030 Land Use Plan that has been 3 years in the making.

In the last few days, several people have asked me my opinion on the plan. Let me sum it up this way:

I think the plan should show all undeveloped and unincorporated areas west of Route 47 as farmland or environmental resources. I have several reasons for favoring this approach:

1. It puts the County clearly in the position of supporting farmland and groundwater protection - resources that will benefit all county residents.

2. It sends a message to municipalities that the County is going to stop approving developments in the unincorporated areas of the County - this type of development is more expensive to all county residents (more expensive for the schools, more expensive for emergency responders, more expensive to maintain the extra roads, etc etc).

3. It puts the County in the best possible position to start working collaboratively with municipalities on Intergovernmental matters such as groundwater protection, fuding for road maintenance, and even future growth boundaries to ensure the land and water resources available are used in a sustainable way that benefits all residents -- today and in the future.

I believe recent news articles support this approach:

• Agritourism grows in County (without farmland, we have no agritourism, and it is big business!)


• Fire Destroys home in unincorporated area north of Crystal Lake (because the home was in an unincorporated area without fire hydrants, tankers full of water had to be brought in by departments from McHenry and Lake county communities to fight the fire)


• Industrial Solvent present in local water supplies (article is archived since it's from December 2009) - notices were sent out to residents in Crystal Lake and Fox River Grove letting them know that levels of Trichloroethylene (TCE) in the local water supplies are at half the legal limit.

Think about it, as currently drafted, the plan purports to encourage future development to occur in or adjacent to existing municipalities -- a style of development known as "compact and contiguous." Yet, the plan shows vast areas of unincorporated land as being developed for commercial, industrial or residential uses in the future, BUT it has NO requirement that the development occur only through municipal annexation.

What this means is that a developer can use the plan to gain approval of a project that is NOT compact or contiguous, but is consistent with the plan map. And there isn't much the county board can do to stop them if the project is consistent with the map.

Take a look at the map, especially the area by Marengo and Union. The purple areas are proposed Commercial/Office/Research/Industrial areas and the yellow parts are planned for rural residential development. Thousands of acres of each use on land that is currently farmed. Thousands of acres underlain with groundwater that is highly vulnerable to pollution.

I repeat: I think the plan should show all undeveloped and unincorporated areas west of Route 47 as farmland or environmental resources. Someone suggested to me that this would be the absence of a plan, but I strongly disagree with that notion.

To plan for farmland and enviornmental resources in the unincorporated areas does nothing to stop municipalities from annexing land for development.

The best way to make it clear that the County is serious about wanting future development to occur in municipalities, to protect precious groundwater resources and to ensure there is a thriving agricultural industry in the county in the future, is to have a County Land Use Plan (aka a plan for future development in unincorporated areas) that reflects what the County Board would actually approve in the unincorporated areas.

The next question is "What can we do?" The short answer is to call your county board members and tell them what you think before they vote Tuesday night.

Spring Ephemerals are Up!

Dutchman's Britches (Dicentra cucullaria) is one of my favorite spring flowers! The blooms look like tiny pantaloons (thus the name - which is also spelled Breeches).

This picture was taken April 9, 2010 at Wonder Lake Sedge Meadow - a TLC easement in, you guessed it, Wonder Lake! In addition to the sedge meadow on the 28 acre site, there is also an oak savanna in the upland buffer - that's where the Britches were growing!

This plant is one of the first native flowers to bloom each spring. Typically, we might expect to see them around April 24th, but this year everything is early! VERY early!

Bloodroot, another early Spring flower, has already come and gone in some local woodlands. Normally, it is still around in early May! The bluebells - which can almost always be counted on to brighten Mother's Day - are coming up already, and will probably have already passed by the time Mom's Day comes along a month from today (May 9th!).

Chorus frogs have been calling since late March, and the Spring Peepers (another species of frog) are already busy.

Bluebirds are nesting - I had one report of someone seeing a bluebird egg laid in one of their bluebird boxes on March 31st -- that's early! Very early!!

Even the bad guys like buckthorn and honeysuckle are going strong. In previous years, the earliest I noticed buckthorn in our local woods was April 12th. This year it was clearly greening up on April 1st (a really cruel April Fool's Joke!).

I'm having a hard time not thinking that this is another sign of Global Warming/Climate Change at work. The experts say that we will see more extremes in weather as the Global Warming process accelerates.

It's kind of a big deal when things start sprouting and blooming out of sync from their usual time of year. Insects pollinate flowers, but if the flower blooms before the insects emerge -- or if the insects come and go before their flowers bloom -- the flowers don't get pollinated. No pollination, no flowers in the future.

One oddball year here or there is okay, but if it becomes a trend, it could spell trouble!

County 2030 Plan Final Stretch

I try to be an optimist, but sometimes it's really hard to keep my spirits up...

Take the McHenry County 2030 Land Use Plan as an example. The County Board held a series of Public Open House meetings last month that were very well attended. They received over 300 comments in some written form - emails, letters, notes about the maps, even handwritten comments.

But then the Planning & Development Committee - with scant discussion of the comments - voted to send the plan to the full County Board for a vote at its April 20th meeting. They made some changes to the map to reduce the amount of residential sprawl shown (although they decided to maintain the plan for residential development on top of two of the largest remaining oak woodlands in the county, despite TLC's request to amend that portion of the map). However, they kept all of the thousands of acres of commercial/office/industrial land around Marengo, despite three important facts:

1. the areas planned for this type of use are some of the most sensitive groundwater recharge areas in the entire county -- and everyone in the county is dependent upon groundwater for their daily water use (even elected officials).

2. many of the areas so planned are prime agricultural lands - some of the best farmland in the US, and even the world.

3. the agricultural industry is the second largest economic force in McHenry County. And consider that for every person who works on a farm, there are something like 20 people who have jobs because of those farms. Yep, think of the people who clean and process the seed, who manufacture and sell farm chemicals, who manufacture and sell farm equipment, who process the end products from the crops raised on the farms, etc, etc.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I for one like the idea of my food being raised in the USA, rather than imported from former South American grasslands or the Ukraine (two other prime agricultural regions based on climate & soils). And it kind of honks me off when our elected officials create a farmland preservation commission on the one hand, and then push a policy document aimed at further damaging an already threatened local industry.

That's two handful's of rich, black, humus-y soil in the picture on the left. And that is the reason for this area being such a primo spot for growing crops of all sort. The soil combined with a favorable climate where it rains regularly during the growing season. There may come a day on this planet when wars will be waged over resources like this.

Oh wait, that is already happening in Africa... But it would never come to that here, would it???

April is TLC month at Duke's Ale House!

Just a quick reminder that for the entire month of April, 5% of purchases made at Duke's Ale House in Crystal Lake will be donated to The Land Conservancy of McHenry County! Just bring along a TLC coupon that you can print from our website, and present it to your server to help them keep track!

Additionally, Duke's mixologist created a special drink for the month of April called the Hairy Aster - named after a native plant (Aster pilosus). each martini-style drink sold during April will result in $1 being donated to TLC to support our land preservation mission!

Duke's Ale House has gained a reputation for their menu selections made from locally raised products including honey, beef, herbs and vegetables! They also host the monthly Green Drinks group where people gather on the first Wednesday of every month from 5-7pm to network with other people who are interested in the environment! Hope to see you there on April 7th!

Fleming Road Plans

We've had quite a few calls from TLC members asking about the County's plans for rebuilding Fleming Road in Bull Valley.

It is a short stretch of road that runs less than 3 miles between Country Club Road on the south and Route 120 on the north. I drove the road this morning after reading today's article in the Northwest Herald. The article reports on the Open House that the County's Highway Department had Tuesday night to begin discussing the proposed road repairs with members of the community.

It appears that the County is taking pains to avoid the debacle that occurred last year when the plans for widening Alden Road were announced!

Fleming is already designated a scenic road by the county, and the 5 minute drive along the road - even on an overcast day like today - makes the reason clear. The road is narrow, hilly, and many areas are lined with oak woods. The character of the road is decidedly rural in character, which should prompt drivers to slow down - which is one key to safety!

Road construction is a frustrating endeavor (in my opinion). People like their cars, and don't like to drive on roads with potholes or washboard conditions. Many people also like to push the speed limits, and seem unfazed by poor visibility or poor road conditions. Highway engineers are often motivated by safety when they propose widening road, removing hills and curves, and cutting down trees.

But, that is why it is so important that residents get involved in the process early, and stay involved, because the safety of those few reckless maroons who want to shave a few seconds off their drive should not dictate the design of any road.

The expressed goal of the county is to improve the roadway while preserving the scenic character of the route. We'll be watching the project as it moves forward, as this road - that runs through the center of the largest concentration of oak woodlands in the county - and the residents who live along it, should continue as a scenic road.

Horse Fair Springs Fen update!

That's skunk cabbage poking up through the snow on the first day of Spring (March 20th) at Spring Grove's Horse Fair Spring Fen! The little creek was thick with those early-rising, prehistoric-looking plants that are a sure sign of a natural, high quality wetland.

Kudos to Linda Balek for exploring this forgotten corner of the Village last year and finding this hidden gem! March 20th was the second Volunteer Work Party at the property, and what a Party it was. Just five of us made a big dent in the invasive brush, two with chain saws and three hauling & stacking the cut wood!

Who knew it would snow on that first Spring morning! But a few flakes didn't stop the volunteers, just as they didn't stop the skunk cabbage from poking up after its long winter nap.

The pictures on the right and left show the area before and during clearing -- lots of brush is visible. The picture on the right shows Ted Thornton & Rich Paull wrestling with a box elder that has been cut, but won't fall because its upper branches are hung up by grape vines. Snags like that have can't be left to fall later -- they could hurt someone if they fell unexpectedly.

The final picture is of the same area after the clearing is complete. The dark spot in the middle appears to be a wet area that will probably be thick with skunk cabbage next time we're out there!!