Late to the Party!

 

"Little Sioux River Valley-Autumn" - color pencil drawing - ©Bruce A. Morrison

It's Autumn and I'm late to the party!  What can I say?  We haven't been complacent or lazy, there is just so much needing attention around here!

Like our neighbors, we are busy harvesting seed since the wet period of the past month finally ceased.  We didn't get a lot of rain here, it was just "wet" every day it seemed.  You just cannot harvest seed when its wet or damp...not a good move. 

We don't have a lot of ground here, but everything is done by hand.  Our only machine assistance is my old '82 electric golf cart and our riding mower.  The mower simply keeps the firebreaks clear for late fall or late winter/early spring burns.  My old "Prairie Schooner"...the 1982 EZ-GO golf cart is my support carrier of buckets, weeding assist vehicle and transporter of old people (me).  I will admit this...I am feeling my age...not fun!  

I really felt my Prairie Schooner's absence for several weeks this summer when the speed board melted down after arcing over some metal contact on the board. Luckily the cart is not complicated...if it was a combustion engine, I would have had to take it somewhere for repairs.  I was able to fix it myself, however the parts are not as available as I'd like, making them harder to find.  A supplier I was used to using, held me up for weeks before I gave up and looked elsewhere. I hope I can keep the schooner running as long as I still am!

Hauling out Lambsquarter from the south pasture planting.

 

During the beastly hot summer, I spent most of my pasture time in the early evenings, pulling and cutting weeds in last winter's planting in the bottom of the south pasture.  That planting was more successful than I had hoped!  It should shake out really well for the future.  But it was a Lambsquarter, Marestail and Pigweed mecca...there was a ton in the seed bank there, as was there Brome seed.  

The Brome was handled with a grass herbicide and may well need a couple more years of followup there.

Great results from last winter's seeding! (All of the above)

 

Seed harvest is underway! 

 

But ya, seed harvest is under way - we are looking at a small section above the north pasture, that is shaded about 2/3 of the day...it has some volunteer New England Aster and some limited other species, so this will be an ongoing experiment for a while.  Kind of fun to see what can come of it.  The section used to be a part of the north grove.  The previous owners tried removing about half of that grove and introduced brome and quackgrass...kind of a mess. we'll work to at least eventually make something more native out of the section.

The neighbor's Avery Thrasher...B.E. (Before Elms!)

I have another planting project - this time for our neighbor.  A few years back, our neighbor brought an old Avery Thrasher and placed it upon a knoll behind us.  He wanted to know if I could do a prairie planting around it for him...this was back around the beginning of our 4 year drought that started in 2020.  The planting did not work out well and the planted area only gave us 3 foot tall brome...nasty!

I pretty much gave up on it and the following years have brought fourth an Elm and Ash forest. BAD!  The last thing we need is a forest of elm seeding our pasture.  I've spent hours over the past 5 years cutting and trying to kill hundreds of Elm and Ash seedlings.  This is not winnable if trees just feet from our property keep raining seed down on us.  (This is now an issue on our south pasture as the neighbor's ground is growing dozens and dozens of Elms there as well.) 

This fall the neighbor agreed to let me try and plant around his Avery again...it was now being buried behind 10 -15 foot Elms.  He can hardly see his "prize" possession from the road now...the Elms are beginning to block it completely.

So, I have a mission.  We are collecting seed for the neighbor and spent yesterday cutting out the smaller trees around the thrasher.  Then I mowed tall brome all around the Avery and partially down the side of the knob...we'll just plant maybe 20-25 feet down the slope and directly around it.  I'll go back and cut tighter in a couple weeks - we can't burn there, so we need to expose as much dirt as possible.  We'll plan for a late fall or early winter planting and do some brome spraying come spring...with follow ups. 

Elms growing around and under the Thrasher.

 

We still have some larger Elms to cut down and many 6-18 inch clumps of volunteers that we'll spray if possible.  The chain saw will have to come out for the big trees - Elms can grow FAST!  I should have taken some shots yesterday before we started this project...I only have one showing some small elms growing underneath and around one side...doesn't give the issue justice. 

Our first frost is due in two days...then it'll be on to Indian Summer weather!

We're late to the party but trying to catch up! 

Please be good to one another - we are all in this together.  

 

Ugh! Hot...

 

"Showy Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canadense)" - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

Showy Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canadense) is a very attractive plant here in our two small native pastures in SE O'Brien County. A fairly tall plant at times and very attractive leaf structure and flowers.

Many years back in the late 80's or early 90's, I found Steele Prairie in Cherokee County, completely inundated with it - a virtual pink sea of Showy Tick Trefoil!

I find this plant a very easy one to collect seed each fall...just put on a cotton sweatshirt and walk through it! Next thing you know you've got their velcro-like seed stuck all over you! When I'm finished, I take the sweatshirt off and go inside and sit down to a good TV show or movie and just pick seed off for the next hour or so! Easy Peasy!!!

For a quick, closer look at Showy Tick Trefoil, go to the following link -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9FST8oV-Cg

"Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum)" - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

I've fallen well behind what is happening in our pasture here in SE O'Brien County. If there's anything that is taking over mid summer here as usual, it has to be the Cup Plants (Silphium perfoliatum). 

I actually carry a "saw" for these. Yes you heard me right...I have to saw down troublesome clumps that are encroaching or smothering out plants that are needing help "staying and thriving". They clump with many plants per stand, and this steals a LOT of real estate in a small pasture! 

I was once advised by my original prairie mentor, to resist the siren call of Cup Plant...'don't give it a new home", was his advice to me. I'm sometimes a poor listener.

 

The first plant I was foolish to grow became "THE" Goldfinch magnet of it's surroundings...it was like crack cocaine to our little state bird...they just could not get enough of it!

 

The summer morning dew and infrequent rain showers (here in SE O'Brien County anyway), collect in the leaves that clasp completely around the stems, giving the Goldfinches, Dickcissels, Sedge Wrens, etc. a good drink during the summer heat. And unfortunately the mosquitos like the many choices of pools for their larvae! 

 

The Cup Plant's leaf structure is amazing; the flowers quite numerous and showy; the height - impressive! 

 

For a closer look at Cup Plants you can visit a short "A Prairie Moment" video on my channel at this link - 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO0WpFWV3f4

Thank You for visiting!  Please remember to be good to one another - we're all in this together!

 

Turning It Up! (Look for some shade in the meantime)

"Canada Milk Vetch (Astragalus canadensis)" - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

This heat is really pushing things along...hate seeing stuff mature and finish up so quickly. I've actually missed the peak on a few things here like the Lead Plants, Compass Plants, Showy Tick Trefoil...too preoccupied with other stuff.

I did have a nice patch of Canada Milk Vetch just peaking in the south pasture a couple days back. Its near the bottom where the new late 2025 planting was done. This can't be a new plant though - too big! It must have gotten a head start the year before and just missed seeing it.

 

Although not a colorful plant, the Canada Milk Vetch (Astragalus canadensis) can make up for that in its structure, form, and pollinator value. We see plenty of hummingbirds, and butterflies on this plant, and this species is also one of the host plants for the Clouded Sulphur butterfly. 

 

We find it quite happy on our gravel slopes and in the wetter bottom mesic areas. This is a Legume and most legume species contribute beneficial bacteria called rhizobia on their roots. Strains of this bacterium aids in the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen - improving long-term health of native plant communities.

 

You can visit my channel for a short video at the following link -

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTyIrfrVjec

"Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)" - Photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

We've introduced a few species in our pastures over the years; not many though, just things that are documented or found within a 30 mile radius of us - and suited to our soils and conditions. I still occasionally find things nearby that aren't on our ground, so we constantly weigh what should have been here decades ago, yet perhaps aren't now due to stresses like spraying and/or heavy grazing.

 

One thing we introduced a few years back, that seems very happy to be here, is Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum). Our pastures are just 2 miles from Clay County and this native (but uncommon in the area) Hyssop has been recorded there next door to us in the past. In researching the Anise Hyssop, I thought with the potential location and soil characteristics, the possibility of this plant having actually been here 150 years ago, is not entirely out of the realms of possibility. (I chose the bottom ground which is more mesic than our hillside eskers, yet still well drained and a drier soil).

 

Anise Hyssop (Agastache Foeniculum) grows in clumps 2 to 3.5 feet tall, featuring strong stems topped with slender spikes of lavender-purple flowers that persist through midsummer. The leaves are a greenish color above and whitish underneath...crushing one will give off the scent of anise.

 

Some plants just began to peak here a couple mornings ago, so I went out with the dawn and got some nice shots. Each year these plants seem to persist and bloom almost into late August or early September!

 

Anise Hyssop is a magnet for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, as well as night flying moths.

 

You can view a short video done late last summer, on my chammel at the following link - 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9_vFD_q2Ts

 

Thank you for visiting the blog; I hope you are keeping cool out there.  And Remember, please be good to one another - we are all in this together!

 

Summer - Hazy, Lazy, Crazy Days

White Prairie Clover (Dalea candida) - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea) - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

Both the White Prairie Clover (Dalea candida) and the Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea), are displaying everywhere in the pastures here - a true summer regalia! 

 

White Prairie Clover is a taller, slightly larger version pf the Purple Prairie Clover. The leaves are similar to it's purple cousin but noticeably larger in size...as is the flowering column of flowers.

 

I have to confess that I love the presentation and vivid Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea) the most - visually! Our gravel slopes here in SE O'Brien County, IA are an easy location for this plant to be found. The flush of the quite pleasing color tints the tops and edges of our pastures. The blooming occurs at the top of the plant as a dense cylindrical spike of flowers about 1-2" long and maybe a half inch or more across. Each purple flower is about ¼" across, with 5 small petals and 5 golden anthers that protrude outward. These flowers bloom together at the bottom of the spike, and gradually move up the spike at the season progresses. 

 

Both the White and the Purple begin blooming around July 1st and continue into early August here.

 

Some older books on livestock forage from the early part of the 20th century, hint that both of these Daleas were eagerly used by livestock in pasture settings, but they do not hold up well under heavy grazing. That could suggest why it is mostly absent in pastures today. Perhaps steeper gravel or loess soil slopes are well suited to this plant remaining as a common remnant in some parts of the state?

 

If Bumble Bees and Butterflies are your thing - these are beautiful flowers to behold!

 

You can spend a quick minute watching videos of both the White Prairie Clovers and the Purple Prairie Clovers at the following links on my channel - 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U2cHm-rqUI

 

and

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G4WlH0YTZo

 

Prairie Coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata) - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison 

Prairie Coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata) is a great early summer forb on the pastures here in SE O'Brien County, in NW Iowa. It forms fairly nice isolated groups where the surrounding plants may not be as thick or as tall, as to compete too heavily. It is also referred to as Stiff Coreopsis, and it does present stiff/straight stalks with nice fine palm shaped leaves. 

Our's seem to do best on the gravels slopes where it can find plenty of sun and shorter neighbors...and those here seem to be having a better year than usual - loads of them in bloom!

 

You can view a short video on my channel, which has a series of "A Prairie Moment" videos at the following link - 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khjkDjLFpjI

 

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my blog!  Be sure and stay cool out there and remember to be good to one another - we're all in this together!

 

Summer - the Fourth Approaches

 "Wild Rose (Rosa blanda) with two Metallic Green Sweat Bee species" - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison 

Each morning here the wild roses along our hillside driveway are really showy from the house...I decided this morning to take the camera and tripod down to see if there were any photos presenting possibilities.

I'm fairly confident these are "Rosa blanda" as they are really very smooth and un-barbed on the flowering stems...further down on the base stem they are very barbed. 

 

The roses were being visited by Bumble Bees and Metallic Green Sweat Bees. Which one these two are, I am less sure of. But they are most likely female Texas Striped Sweat Bees - Agapostemon texanus or Bicolored Striped Sweat Bees - Agapostemon virescens, as the females present totally metallic green - both thorax and abdomen. However, they could also be Metallic Green Sweat Bees (Augochloropsis metallica)...another common native bee where both males and females are primarily shiny, metallic green overall.

 

But I'm at least confident of the Wild Rose in the photo! If I could live another 3/4 of a century, I think I could manage to be a fair amateur entomologist too!

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

Who doesn't love Butterfly Milkweed?!! This is one engaging native wildflower in the pastures here in SE O'Brien County, IA. One of the most recognized milkweed family (Asclepias) member. 

 

Often adopted for the domestic garden, this milkweed will grow in nearly any soil type. Those found here are generally on the gravel slopes and return year after year. 

 

From what I have observed over time is they tend to thrive when they aren't overly crowded by a higher canopy. 

 

We have found this is a good "ambassador" plant for the prairie "uninitiated". When we first came to our little spot many years back, a particular neighbor didn't seem approving of us letting the pastures return to their native state...once a few of the Butterfly Milkweed started to return, some interest was peaked and casual interested conversations became more frequent.

 

You can observe the Asclepias tuberosa in the pastures here in a short "A Prairie Moment" video at the following link - 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG2lJ223zIY

Thank you for visiting my Blog - Happy Fourth of July to everyone out there...please remember to be good to one another - we are all in this together!

Last Day of Spring!

The last day of spring - can you believe it!!!?  I've got a few thing to cover before the summer solstice tomorrow, but I can't get to them all...here's a couple to tide things over a bit! 

Prairie Liliy (or Wood Lily) - Lilium philadelphicum - photo ©Bruce A. Morrison

Our Prairie Lilies have begun blooming here on our north pasture. Last year we were robbed of blooms due to rabbits…snipped the bud right off as it swelled to almost bloom. Unfortunately I had to cage them to prevent a repeat of that this year. Frustrating!!! (The year before, voles dug up two bulbs...a small pasture has a lot of negative pressure!)

 

I have noticed the Range map "Floristic Synthesis of North America (BONAP)", lists this plant - Lilium philadelphicum , as not present in O'Brien County...well they are wrong. I first observed and photographed Lilium philadelphicum in O'Brien County, on the Waterman Prairie Complex in Waterman Township, in SE O'Brien. And that was the year before the complex was turned over to the state. I was alerted to the pending acquisition early by a DNR official who gave me permission to walk it and look for native plants to photograph. I remember he was surprised when I showed him a slide (ya, remember slide film?) of a plant in bloom.

 

Prairie Liliy (or Wood Lily) - Lilium philadelphicum - photo ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

I previously knew Lilium philadelphicum as "Wood Liliy", and used to see and photograph them along the shoreline of the north shore of Lake Superior. It was pretty cool to learn they were a prairie forb as well! I have since found them at Steele Prairie, just below the O'Brien County border in Cherokee County. When on the Prairie I refer to them as Prairie Lilies...up north I think of them as Wood Lilies...I guess its the most common native Lily in North America - that's fun to know!

 

We have two more plants coming up...one is in early bud stage now...the other may not put one on this year...not showing any sign of budding soon.

 

These are electric to the eye against the green for sure!

 

Prairie Garlic (Allium canadense) - Photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

And its that time in the native pasture here in SE O'Brien County where so much is happening, and often things are starting to get buried in the under-story, going unnoticed. But I always look for this one - even if I have to dig through the taller plants for it.

 

Sometimes referred to as Prairie Garlic, Wild Garlic or Meadow Garlic, this native prairie plant is the first Allium to show up on our pasture in the summer. By early June it can be seen down among the grasses and new plant growth, reaching for an opening of sunlight. You'll see their top-set bulbs form before the flowers...and the white and pink blossoms reach out beyond the knobby bulblets - creating almost a starburst effect.

 

Since the Mrs grows lots of garlic in her garden, we don't need to sample this beautiful little native Allium - just enjoy it's showy progression in the late spring through early summer!

If you'd like to view "A Prairie Moment" short video of Wild Garlic, you can do so on my channel at the following link - 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGB1KEW1iYE

 

Get out and enjoy the outdoors if you can - its amazing when you do!

 

Thank you for visiting my blog - enjoy the summer ahead - and be good to one another...we're all in this together!

 

More Whites of Spring!

Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron strigosus) - photograph ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

A very common native "virtually everywhere", is Daisy Fleabane.

Daisy Fleabane is described as an annual or biennial plant of 1 - 3 feet tall, with Individual flowerheads of about ½" across - having a daisy-like appearance.

This native flower of roadsides, yards, pastures and prairies is probably so taken for granted by many because of it's familiarity. It seems to show up and thrive in just about any niche it finds. Although it seemingly prefers mesic to drier soils and full sun, it will also thrive in more fertile locations without heavy competition. Those here on our small native prairie pastures in SE O'Bruien County do best along the gravel hillside slopes.

Its a pleasant multiple flowered plant, cheering up any space it occupies.

If you'd like to view "A Prairie Moment" short video of Daisy Fleabane, you can do so at the following link -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEt7RNhaDuU

Foxglove Penstemon or Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) - photographs - ©Bruce A. Morrison

Another Penstemon sp. here in the north pasture (SE O'Brien County) is the Foxglove Penstemon or Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis). About 3' tall, it shows up with its multiple small (1") white flowers and blooms for about 3-4 weeks. Another great plant for Bees, flies and Hummingbirds. I only find it in the pasture bottom, not up on the gravel slopes, not that it couldn't show up there, I just think its in its happy spot and so it stays.

 

This plant shows up on the BONAP maps as not being in our county, but does show up in Dickinson County...which touches the NE corner of O'Brien. How'd it get here? Well possibly from the IRVM seedings in the area (County seed source) or it might have been here or nearby at some point in time...I can't say...I'm just happy its here!

 

Also, if you'd like to view "A Prairie Moment" video of Penstemon digitalis, you can do so at the following link -

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkMLCd98WUs

 

Although we'll be seeing more whites as the season moves along - the colors will get more mixed and we'll see these as the days move into summer!

 

If we ever get a reprieve from the heat we've been experiencing - get out and enjoy a prairie preserve near you!

 

Thank You for visiting my blog - please remember to be good to another...we're all in this together!