“It is a prairie’s gentle deceit that you think you see everything there is in a sweeping glance, when in fact you see very little at all, even if you spend a lifetime looking.”—Scott Weidensaul
******
So many prairies. So little time.
That’s my thought as we pull up to Harlem Hills Prairie Nature Preserve in Loves Park, IL, on the outskirts of Rockford in Winnebago County. I’ve wanted to come here for years. Today is finally the day. It’s tough to locate it on a map, but we find directions online and follow the appropriately-named “Flora Drive” through a subdivision. And….there it is.
We pull onto the grass along the road and Jeff finds an opening in the fence. Hikers are welcome, the sign says, but we are the only humans braving the chilly wind and looming rain.
This is one of Illinois last gravel prairie remnants, dedicated in 1973. I feel a little solemn, hiking here, knowing so many of these prairies have been destroyed.
If you’ve followed Tuesdays in the Tallgrass for a while, you’ll remember we lost Bell Bowl Prairie, another of our last remaining gravel prairies, just a hop-skip-and-a-jump away at the Chicago-Rockford International Airport, where the prairie was bulldozed to make way for a road. Yes, you heard that right. To walk the more than 90 acres here at Harlem Hills is to grieve anew for the loss of these precious remnants like Bell Bowl in our “Prairie State.”
Illinois DNR tells us that there are threatened and endangered plants at Harlem Hills, and many beautiful and diverse prairie wildflowers. They include downy painted cup, Hill’s thistle, pink milkwort, and the prairie buttercup. We’re too late in the season for these wildflowers, but we do see some old favorites. Pale purple coneflower gone to seed.
Prairie bush clover.
Had we visited in spring, we’d likely have seen pasque flowers, a favorite wildflower of mine that we’re working to re-establish on the prairie where I’m a steward. But there are plenty of other wonderful wildflowers and native plants gone to seed here to keep us intrigued for hours, if we had that much time. Thimbleweed.
Silky aster.
What an incredible prairie, full of diversity and sweeping vistas.
A storm rolls in and it’s time to go.
We’ll be back in the spring for the pasque flowers.
******
From Harlem Hills Prairie, we turn our car north to Madison, WI, where crowds are headed to a University of Wisconsin-Madison. Turns out there is a home football game the next day. Fortunately, when we turn into the very small parking lot for Greene Prairie, there’s only one other vehicle. The gate is partially open.
Let’s go! The sky begins to drizzle on and off as we follow the trail through the Grady Tract, a beautiful oak savanna preserve…
…with wildflowers…
…and more autumn wildflowers….
…and more wildflowers…
…and prairie grasses.
But our destination is at the end of the trail.
Ah, Greene Prairie. How striking you are!
The 50-acre Greene Prairie, which Henry Greene began planting in 1943, is thought to be the second-oldest institutionally planted tallgrass prairie in the world. Most of the trails into the prairie are still closed, as they were when I visited here alone one spring, years ago.
From the trail overlooking the tallgrass, the sweeps of autumn color hint at the diversity within.
We’re sharing the trails with four other hikers.
They don’t seem worried about us; I imagine they see plenty of hikers and joggers. They seem happy about the plentiful acorns marbling the trails and making treacherous footing for us humans.
It’s tough to get lost here, as the sound of cars on the Beltline Highway helps orient us back to the parking lot. Rain has begun again. But we have one more stop to make today. Jeff and I hop in the car, cross the highway, and find our way to the entrance of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum, where our third prairie is waiting.
******
Planted in 1936, Curtis Prairie is thought to be the oldest restored-planted tallgrass prairie in the world, sometimes called the “Birthplace of Restoration Ecology.”
Not surprisingly, Aldo Leopold (author of A Sand County Almanac), who taught at University of Wisconsin from 1933-48, gets credit for the idea to establish prairie in what was an old horse field.
Jeff and have visited Curtis Prairie several times: in the winter, the spring, and now, the autumn. Each visit to these more than 70 acres of planted prairie is a new experience.
Rainclouds cover the sky as we start down a familiar trail.
Our first prairie encounter is a spiky black insect crossing the grass, which iNaturalist tells us is the giant leopard moth caterpillar. We admire it for a bit, and look online to see an image of the adult moth. It’s pretty stunning.
Birds are settling into the shrubs and grasses as dusk approaches. I can identify the goldfinch…
…and the white-throated sparrow…
…but this sparrow leaves me perplexed.
Those tricky sparrows! Always a conundrum. Looming over our birding efforts on the Curtis Prairie is the conference center, where my Wisconsin Dragonfly Society symposium takes place the following day. I’m excited to attend with a few of my friends from Nachusa Grasslands, who also work with dragonflies.
Although we’d like to hike farther, it’s getting dark. I cover my camera to protect it from a few fat raindrops and we start for the car. What a day it has been!
Three prairies. Three different adventures.
All pure prairie magic.
****
Scott Weidensaul (1959-), whose quote opens this post, is a writer and author of many books on birding, including the Pulitzer Prize in Literature finalist, Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds (1999). He is actively involved in field research and directs ornithological programs at Hog Island Center on the Maine coast.
*****
Join Cindy for a program or class in 2023!
10/10 –1-2:30 p.m.: “The Tallgrass Prairie: Grocery Store, Apothecary, and Love Charm Shop. Hosted by Gardens, Etc. in Wheaton, IL (Closed event for members).
10/19– 10:30pm-noon: “Literary Gardens.” Hosted by the Garden Club of Iverness, Palatine, IL. Free and open to the public! For more information, click here.
11/1 — 11am-12:30 pm: “Winter Prairie Wonders” hosted by Town and Country Gardeners in Libertyville, IL. (Closed event for members). To learn more about the club, click here.
11/6 — 11am-12:30pm: “Dragonflies and Damselflies” hosted by Elmhurst Garden Club (Closed event for members). To learn how to join the garden club, click here.
11/10 –1-2:30pm: “A Brief History of Trees in America” hosted by Lombard Garden Club. Free and open to the public! For more information, click here.
11/15 –7-8:30 p.m.: “A Brief History of Trees in America” hosted by the Downers Grove Organic Garden Club. Free and open to the public! For more information, click here.
12/12 –6:45-8 p.m.: “Winter Prairie Wonders” hosted by the Buffalo Grove Garden Club. Free and open to the public! For more information, click here.
New program Dec. 1, 10-11:30 a.m. — “Bison Tales and Tallgrass Trails” at The Morton Arboretum’s Sterling Library in Lisle, IL. Registration is limited — click here for more information. Only six spots left!
More programs may be found at Cindy’s website.
*****
A note to readers: Jeff and I are celebrating our 40th anniversary by visiting 40 natural areas over the summer and fall. Please let us know where you think we should head to next. Only two more to go! Thanks to everyone who has sent ideas. So far, we’ve enjoyed visiting the following places: Kayaking at #1 Rock Cut State Park (Rockford, IL); hiking at #2 James “Pate” Philip State Park (Bartlett, IL); #3 Potato Creek State Park (North Liberty, IN); #4 Indiana Dunes State Park (Porter County, IN); #5 Indiana Dunes National Park (Beverly Shores, IN); kayaking Silver Lake at #6 Blackwell Forest Preserve (Wheaton/Warrenville, IL); hiking #7 Belmont Prairie Nature Preserve (Downers Grove, IL), #8 Winfield Mounds Forest Preserve (Winfield, IL), #9 Bluff Spring Fen (Elgin, IL), #10 Herrick Lake Forest Preserve (Wheaton, IL); Jeff’s family reunion at #11 Hawthorn Park (Terre Haute, IN); hiking #12 Turkey Run State Park, Marshall, IN) and at #13 Shades State Park, Waveland, IN; hiking and bison viewing at #14 Kankakee Sands, Morocco, IN; hiking at #15 Hidden Lake Forest Preserve (Downers Grove, IL), #16 Peck Farm Park (Geneva, IL), #17 Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum (Lisle, IL); #18 Busse Woods Forest Preserve, Elk Grove, IL; #19 Nachusa Grasslands (Franklin Grove,IL); reading in a swing along the Rock River at #20 Lowell Park (Dixon, IL); cabin overnight and hiking at #21 White Pines State Park (Mt. Morris, IL); hiking to the overlook at #22 Castle Rock State Park (Oregon, IL); enjoying the views at a prairie remnant gem #23 Beach Cemetery Prairie (Ogle County, IL); #24 Springbrook Prairie (Naperville, IL); watching eagles and hiking at #25 Starved Rock State Park (Oglesby, IL); watching the dragonfly migration at #26 Matthiessen State Park (Oglesby, IL); river overlook at #27 Buffalo Rock State Park (Ottawa, IL); #28 monarch and dragonfly migration at Wolf Road Prairie (Westchester, IL); and hiking #29 Russell R. Kirt Prairie at College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL); hiking #30 Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (Wilmington, IL), #31 Fermilab Prairies (Batavia, IL); and #32 Danada Forest Preserve (Wheaton, IL); #33 Fullersburg Woods (Oak Brook, IL); #34 Dick Young Forest Preserve (Batavia, IL); #35 Lyman Woods (Downers Grove, IL); #36 Harlem Hills Prairie Nature Preserve (Loves Park, IL); #37 Greene Prairie (Madison, WI; and #38 Curtis Prairie (Madison, WI) . Thanks to everyone who sent suggestions last week! Two adventures still to come.
Tuesdays in the Tallgrass 