May you never forget what is worth remembering; May you never remember what is best forgotten. — old Irish blessing
Every prairie year has its own personality. Every season in the tallgrass is full of surprises.
Thank you for hiking the prairie with me on Tuesdays in 2015. I hope you’ll enjoy this retrospective of the Illinois prairie, month by month. Who knows what wonderful things are in store for us in 2016?
January
Winter is a good time for naps, as these shaggy bison know. Bringing buffalo to Nachusa Grasslands in Franklin Grove, IL, was a culmination of a dream for many prairie restorationists. In 2015, we watched the herd grow and a new bison unit open.
February
Windy winter skies bring their own motion to the prairie, rattling the brittle grasses and seedheads.
March
Fire is to prairie as water is to life. Because we suppress wildfires, prairie restorationists must used prescribed burns to ensure the prairie regularly goes up in flames. Only a few weeks after all is soot and ashes, the prairie turns emerald with new growth. It’s a resurrection of sorts. A chance for new beginnings that inspires even the most jaded and cynical observer.
April
A great egret keeps watch over a wet prairie, scanning for small frogs and fish.
May
As spring breezes ripple prairie ponds and streams, the sounds of insects, frogs, and birds add their notes to the tallgrass soundtrack. Dragonflies emerge.
June
Pale purple coneflowers open, heralding the beginning of summer on the prairie. Once revered for their medicinal value, today we appreciate them for their verve and color.
Like badminton birdies, aren’t they?
Moist conditions helped queen of the prairie have a banner year in 2015.
July
Dragonflies are all around us in the warmer months. In July, they clamor for our attention with their numbers and bejeweled colors. Here, a blue dasher looks out at the prairie with its complex eyes. Below, an American rubyspot hangs over a stream rushing through the tallgrass.
August
Bee balm rampaged across the prairie in 2015; monarchs sipping beebalm nectar approved. There was good news for monarch butterflies this year — from the tollroads in Illinois which will fund milkweed plantings; to increased numbers of monarchs this season.
September
Without volunteers, the prairie restoration efforts in the Midwest would be a moot point. Here, a volunteer from an Illinois church group collects seeds on one prairie that will be used to plant a different site.
October
Asters are the floral bon voyage to the prairie blooming season. It’s bittersweet to see their purples, whites, and golds across the prairie. We know winter is just around the corner.
The goldenrods join the chorus of goodbyes each autumn.
November
Milkweed, including this common milkweed, got a lot of attention in 2015 for its value to monarchs. Did you plant some? If not, there’s always next year.
December
Who says December has to be colorless? In some years, the prairie palette seems to catch fire as winter begins its slow drain of colors from the tallgrass. The oranges, yellows, and reds are a reminder of the prescribed fires that will burn in the spring; waking the prairie up to a new season of life.
I began my first blog entry this year with the image above; it seems fitting to close out this prairie season with it.
Looking forward to hiking the tallgrass on Tuesdays with you in 2016.
Happy New Year!
All photos copyright Cindy Crosby (top to bottom): bison in the snow, Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL; winter sky, NG; prescribed burn, Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; after the fire, SP; great egret, NG; pond life, NG; Echinacea pallida, SP; Echinacea pallida, SP; queen of the prairie (Filipendula rubra); blue dasher dragonfly, SP; American rubyspot, NG; bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) and monarch butterfly; volunteer, SP; smooth blue asters (Symphyotrichum laeve), SP; New England asters (Symphyotrichumnovae-angliae) and goldenrod (Solidago spp. — there were several species represented in this particular patch where I photographed, and the IDs are uncertain) SP; common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) DuPage County Forest Preserve; late December grasses, NG.
Old Irish Blessing: original source unknown
Tuesdays in the Tallgrass 