A Tallgrass Prairie Valentine

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“My own feeling for tallgrass prairie is that of a modern man fallen in love with the face in a faded tintype. Only the frame is still real; the rest is illusion and dream.”—John Madson

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Today, as we swap sweet valentine notes with friends, family, and loved ones, I’m writing to you, prairie.

Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL. (2022)

Yes, you.

Belmont Prairie, Downers Grove, IL. (2022)

I’m talking to you, prairie remnants…

Beach Cemetery Prairie, Ogle County, IL. (2022)

…and backyard prairies, so lovingly planted…

Crosby’s backyard prairie, Glen Ellyn, IL. (2022)

…and front yard prairies, placed where neighbors can see…

Possibly the transverse banded drone (Eristalis transversa) on showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), Crosby’s front yard prairie, Glen Ellyn, IL. (2022)

…and street prairies, in the midst of suburban hustle and bustle.

Neighborhood cul-de-sac prairie, Glen Ellyn, IL. (2022)

Cemetery prairies, where the native plants hung on for dear life as the tallgrass was plowed all around.

Vermont Cemetery Prairie, Naperville, IL (2020).

Prairies of a hundred acres.

Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL. (2022)

Prairies of thousands of acres.

Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL. (2014)

Prairies tucked into the corners of churches and schools…

Prairie at Glenbard South High School, Glen Ellyn, IL. (2017)

…playgrounds and public spaces…

Prairie smoke (Geum triflorum), Prairie Walk Pond and Dragonfly Landing, Lisle, IL. (2018)

…in industrial parks…

Corporate prairie planting, Westmont, IL. (2018)

…and in places you might not expect.

International Crane Center, Baraboo, WI. (2017)

Old planted prairies that started a restoration movement…

Curtis Prairie, University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum, Madison, WI. (2020)

… and prairies that remind us of the vision it takes to keep tallgrass alive in the hearts and minds of people.

Aldo Leopold’s “Shack,” Baraboo, WI. (2017)

Prairies that gave me new ways to think about the world.

Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL. (2021)

Thank you, my landscape of home, for the thousands of hours of pleasure you’ve offered me.

Wild lupine (Lupinus perennis), Kankakee Sands, Morocco, IN. (2021)

I’ve pulled your weeds…

Afton Prairie, DeKalb, IL. (2017)

…collected your seeds.

Planting pasque flower (Pulsatilla patens), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL. (2020)

Thank you for supporting the native bees…

Possibly the brown-belted bumblebee (Bombus griseocollis) on wood betony (Pedicularis canadensis), Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL (2020).

…and the butterflies…

Baltimore checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton) on Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum), Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL. (2021)

…and the birds…

Dickcissel (Spiza americana) on great angelica (Angelica atropupurea), Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL. (2020)

…so many fascinating birds….

Northern harrier (Circus hudsonius), Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL. (2022)

…and myriad whimsical insects…

White-faced meadowhawk, Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL. (2014)

…by providing them with a healthy, diverse place to live.

Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL. (2017)

Thank you for your blooms, which add color to my life from March to October.

Pasque flower (Pulsatilla patens), Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL. (2018)

Thank you, tallgrass prairie, for days full of sound and motion…

American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL. (2018)

…for nights full of discovery…

Trevor Edmonson leads the first Mothapalooza on the Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL (2019)

…for streams to wade through…

Early morning wading Clear Creek, Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL (2017).

…for helping me understand the role of prescribed fire that causes you to flourish…

Prescribed burn, Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL. (2021)

…and for endless bridges to adventure.

Bridge over Willoway Brook, Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL. (Undated)

For the cool taste of mountain mint leaves in summer…

Common mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum), West Chicago Prairie, West Chicago, IL. (2021)

…for the delights of prairie thunderstorms…

Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL. (2019)

…and for giving the displaced and threatened a home.

Bison (Bison bison), Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL (2016)

You’ve taught me to see the small things. To pay attention.

Citrine forktail damselfly (Ischnura hastata), Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL. (2021)

Thank you, tallgrass prairie.

Orland Grasslands, Orland Park, IL. (2017)

This is my love letter…

Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) at sunset, Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL. (2017)

…my valentine…

Fermilab, Batavia, IL. (2019)

…to you.

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The opening quote is by John Madson (1923-1995) from his beautiful, thoughtful book on tallgrass prairie, Where the Sky Began. If you haven’t read it, February is the perfect month to do so.

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Dragonflies and Damselflies —IN PERSON February 18, 10-11:30 a.m. (Note new earlier date). Hosted by Citizens for Conservation, Barrington, IL. For more information, click here.

Illinois’ Wild and Wonderful Early Bloomers—In Person February 20, 7:15-8:45 p.m. Hosted by the Suburban Garden Club, Indian Head Park, IL. Free and open to non-members. For more information, contact Cindy through her website contact space at http://www.cindycrosby.com.

Literary Gardens —In Person March 7, 7-8:30 p.m.—Hosted by the ELA Library and Lake Zurich Garden Club. Location change — now at St. Matthews Lutheran Church, Hawthorn Woods, IL. Free and open to the public. For more information, visit here.

Illinois’ Wild and Wonderful Early Bloomers ONLINE — March 15, 7-8:30 p.m., Hosted by Bensonville Public Library. Free and open to the public, but you must register for the link by calling the library. Contact information click here.

Illinois’ Wild and Wonderful Early Bloomers ONLINE –March 16, 7-8:30 p.m., Hosted by the Rock Valley Wild Ones. This event was formerly a blended program and is now online only. Open to the public; but you must register. Contact information is here.

See Cindy’s website for more March programs and classes.

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Bell Bowl Prairie in Rockford, IL, needs your help! Find out more on saving this threatened prairie remnant at SaveBellBowlPrairie.

A September Prairie Soaking

“Life is one big transition.”– Willie Stargell

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Thunder rattles the windows. Up north, tornado warning sirens blare. The news broadcasts footage of holiday passengers wading across flooded roads to get to O’Hare Airport, thinking only of returning home.

The deluge continues.

At last, in the early evening, a short break in the precipitation gives me time to go for a walk. I head to the prairie to check conditions.

Trail puddles are necklaced with black walnut leaves, pulled loose from their tentative moorings by the pounding rain.

A ruby-throated hummingbird shelters from the weather in an oak along the path. Just like the passengers at O’Hare, the thunderstorms have put a crimp in this bird’s travel plans.

The hummingbirds are migrating. In my backyard, they wage fierce battles over the single feeder filled with sugar water, placed tantalizingly over the butterfly weed and little bluestem. The hummers are driven by instinct. Powered by nectar—or in the case of my backyard birds—faux nectar. In a few weeks, they’ll disappear completely; their entertaining antics only a memory.

On the prairie, the sun breaks through the clouds. The tall Indian grasses, with their lingering raindrops, become crystal-hung chandeliers.

For a moment. Despite the glitter and bling of raindrops catching sunlight, the prairie still seems dark. Subdued.  The beginning of September is always a bit melancholy.  Perhaps it’s the lowering slant of light; shorter days, longer nights. Just some of the many signals Mother Nature sends her creatures that colder weather is on the way.

For migrating dragonflies—green darners, black saddlebags, wandering gliders, and others—those signals mean GO! GO! GO! They’ve massed together, then zipped away to warmer climes this past week. Their remaining kin, bedraggled and shopworn, are left to face the coming cold.

The end-of-the-season butterflies I’ve seen this week are a study in contrasts. A few are bright and freshly emerged. Like this newly-minted American painted lady. Crisply colored, with unblemished wings, she’s probably the Midwest’s late season generation of her species.

Oddly enough, according to University of Florida, instead of making a southward journey, American painted ladies, or “American ladies” as they are sometimes called, “overwinter in the southern U.S. and repopulate more northern areas each spring.” The report tells us the northern limit of their overwintering is unknown. Is Illinois too cold? Probably. Apparently, “in north central Florida, American ladies migrate northward during the spring, but there is no significant southward migration in the fall.” Why not, I wonder?

So much mystery!

This great spangled fritillary butterfly is only a bit worse for wear after the summer’s adventures.

Perhaps it doesn’t have the worries of a cross-continental trip on its mind. Just nectaring, nectaring, nectaring until the cold weather sets in. That’s what thistles are for, right?

But this evening, on the rain-drenched prairie, there isn’t much butterfly—or dragonfly—movement. Both likely shelter in the rain-glazed trees…

…or nestle deep in the big bluestem and grasses.

Thunder rumbles. The clouds sweep in.

It’s Mother Nature’s signal to me! Go!

The first raindrops splatter the trail. Tonight, the local news broadcast will tell us this was the Chicago region’s wettest Labor Day on record.  But the September rain, no matter flooding and postponed picnics, has its purpose.  It nourishes the prairie and its creatures for the last months of the prairie season.  Gives a last boost to the goldenrods and asters, needed by monarchs on their long migratory journey south to Mexico. Coaxes the gentians to open, fresh and vibrant in the grasses.

The passage from summer to autumn is bittersweet. But the prairie knows how to ease the transition. Butterflies. Gentians. The daily surprises of migration.

Even thunderstorms.

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The opening quote is from Baseball Hall of Famer, Wilver “Willie” Stargell (1940-2001), who played his entire 21-year professional baseball career for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1962-82). During his farm club years, he was harassed, threatened at gunpoint, and denied lodging because of his race in many of the towns where he played. Stargell, an African-American, was tempted to quit. He persevered to become one of the most beloved players in the game. Stargell is one of only five players to hit a home run out of Dodger Stadium, and is known for his long-distance home runs. Said Cincinnati Reds second baseman Joe Morgan upon Stargell’s death, “He never made anyone look bad, and he never said anything bad about anybody.” A good way to be remembered.

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All photos and video copyright Cindy Crosby (top to bottom): video clip of rainfall, author’s backyard prairie, Glen Ellyn, IL; thunderstorm approaching the Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL;  rain-drenched path, Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) in the rain, Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; Halloween pennant dragonfly (Celithemis eponina) at the end of the season, Nachusa Grasslands, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL; American painted lady (Vanessa virginiensis), Nachusa Grasslands, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL; great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele) on pasture thistle, (Cirsium discolor), Nachusa Grasslands, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL; trees on the Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) with raindrops, Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL: bridge to the Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; prairie gentians (Gentiana puberulenta), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

The Frog Days of Summer

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.” –Sylvia Plath

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Indian grass plumes out, announcing autumn’s imminent arrival on the prairie. August is trickling away.

Hey –not so fast, summer! It seems like you just got here.

My hand-dug, mud hole of a backyard prairie pond evaporates quickly in our hot, sweltering days. The rain barrel is dry; precipitation a distant memory. Each evening, I turn the hose on for 20 minutes and bring the pond back to its original level. The wetland wildflowers on the pond’s banks sink their toes into the moist soil. Ahhhh. Much better!

As I fill the pond, I hear Plop! Plop! Plop! A swirl of duckweed. Four frogs look up at me.

Where did you guys come from?  We’re a long way from any major water source. Mallard ducks flap in from time to time to enjoy a dip in the pond. Did the frog eggs come in on a duck’s webbed foot? It’s a mystery.

But the best kind of mystery, when something exciting that you didn’t expect turns up to delight you. Water often brings about surprises like this. Like when the blue lobelia, that breath-taking wetland wildflower, comes into bloom seemingly overnight.

Or, dragonflies and damselflies, which emerge from streams and ponds and surprise us with their comic expressions….

…or cause us to marvel at their color…

…or astonish us with their balance and grace.

This month, after the extreme mosquito activity of June and July, I tried something new in my little pond: a solar water bubbler, which is “guaranteed to reduce the mosquito populations to 10x less their original state”  according to the packaging. Mosquito marketing aside, the bubbler sends up a consistent splash of water as long as the sun is shining. Which this August, hasn’t been a problem.  The water feature is a fun addition to the pond.

The frogs think so, too. Early in the morning, I often find a frog sunning herself on the solar collector, letting the water gently bubble over her. Something that wasn’t promoted in the marketing materials, but maybe should have been.

The crackling dry days of August give me a new appreciation for water and all it brings.  Late one evening this week, as I top off the water in the pond, I hear the frenzied concert of the cicadas crescendo to a deafening level. Thunder rumbles. Lightning flashes.

At last! Let it rain!

 

And it does. Bringing with it a cool breath of air, the refreshment of grasses and wildflowers, the filling of my pond without me wielding my hose…

…and the promise of a new season ahead.

A tumultuous and welcome end to the dog days of August.

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The “dog days of summer” are reference to the hottest, most humid days of the year. The actual reference to “dog days” refers to Sirius, the dog star, which rises before the sun in late July. Sylvia Plath, whose quote about August kicks off this blogpost, was a talented and troubled poet. Says The Poetry Foundation about Plath: “Intensely autobiographical, Plath’s poems explore her own mental anguish, her troubled marriage to fellow poet Ted Hughes, her unresolved conflicts with her parents, and her own vision of herself. ” She writes some powerful poetry about the natural world. Try “The Moon and the Yew Tree.”

All photographs and video copyright Cindy Crosby: (top to bottom) Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; August wildflowers by author’s backyard prairie pond, Glen Ellyn, IL; frog (Lithobates catesbeianus) resting in author’s backyard prairie pond, Glen Ellyn, IL; blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), author’s backyard pond, Glen Ellyn, IL; eastern pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; familiar bluet damselfly (Enallagma civile), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; male calico pennant dragonfly (Celithemis elisa), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL; frog (Lithobates catesbeianus) on the water bubbler, author’s backyard prairie pond, Glen Ellyn, IL: video of a mid-August thunderstorm, author’s suburban backyard prairie patch, Glen Ellyn, IL; biennial gaura (Guara biennis), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.