Greetings Friends of the Prairie,
The red twig dogwood is now bare, copper leaves clinging to the scattered oaks will hang on until next Spring, and grasses wave in a dozen shades of gold. There is no mistaking late Fall on the Prairie. There is also no mistaking that it is a wetland, a designated Wetland Gem and a Wetland of International Importance. The entire growing season has been wetter than usual with flooding and roads closed more than once. Because of continuous wet conditions, complete trail mowing was accomplished only once all season. We postponed extensive fire break mowing south of 116th Street until after the first hard frost to be sure we did not interfere with seed setting. Unfortunately, heavy rains at the end of October pushed mowing into November. Because of equipment problems, we barely finished the day before last Sunday’s major snow. The plan is for a joint prescribed burn across the state line by next spring. Fingers crossed!
Thanksgiving is two weeks away and we want you all to know how very, very thankful we, the CPPF Board members, are for all of your interest, volunteering, and support throughout the year. Amazingly, you hale from all over the area and the country, sharing the deep belief that this amazing jewel of nature is well worth all our caring. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Annual Newsletter
We anticipate our CPPF annual print newsletter will be in the mail the first week of December. The Prairie News features an update on our mission accomplishments, plans for 2020, donation details, thanks, donor and volunteer listings. Again this year, we are most fortunate to have a dollar-for-dollar matching grant up to $20,000 of donations received from individuals during December and January. If you would like to receive the newsletter but don’t think you are on our mailing list, please send your name and street address to the email below. A link to the Prairie News will also be in the December Monthly Update.
Workdays
Don’t tell the calendar, but winter has definitely arrived. So, do we have workdays in the snow? Definitely we do, with a few caveats: not if it’s too deep, not if it’s below 10 degrees or 10 degrees windchill, not if it’s a whiteout, not if there is lightning. Really though, we seldom cancel workdays.
Don’t the folks in the photo above look happy (see photo)? They were justly proud of their accomplishment. They cut and dabbed and hauled buckthorn for the better part of three hours. For their efforts, they went home that day with a belly full of Pam’s famous chili and the satisfaction of really helping the Prairie.
This Saturday, November 16, the weather forecast is for partly cloudy skies and temperature high of 34 degrees with a 10-15 mph SSE wind. We plan to clear and treat invasive brush in three special areas south of 122nd Street. Best to wear old clothes, sturdy shoes and dress in layers. We supply work gloves, tools, water, instruction and answers to all your questions about the Prairie.
The workday is from 10AM – 1PM. Come for part or all of it.
PLEASE NOTE:
We will meet on 2nd Avenue at 122nd Street
Lunch at the 102nd Street Cottage after the workday for the volunteers!
(Map of the vicinity at www.chiwaukee.org/about/where/)
If you would like to be notified about additional workday opportunities, please email volunteer@chiwaukee.org.
Workday cancellations will be posted on our website and Facebook by 8 AM on scheduled workdays. If you are unsure whether a workday will take place, please use good judgment when deciding whether to attend.
If you have questions, email volunteer@chiwaukee.org or call 773-515-2772.
Thank you for your support,
Chiwaukee Prairie Preservation Fund, Inc.
All photos above by Pam Holy.