Work!

Campfire is coming.

The to-do list is long, and every day I seem to be getting an email requesting information for this or that. Earlier this week, I cut the perfect log for the cross-cut saw competition. Today I kind of ruined that log dragging it to the barn. Idiotically, I did not notice that it was being chipped away by the road. So now the back third of it is a smaller diameter. Alas, it will have to do. What is done is done. And my calves hurt. Many thanks to Bill, Oliver, and Lauren for the help!

Today was a full-on Saginaw day. In addition to the log dragging, I did rounds, attended a Properties Committee meeting, cleaned up the bonfire pit, and mowed down the zen meadow. I'm whipped.

Class use this fall has been extensive. Several ecology classes have been out in the woods, and a few others may be seen floating about the lake. My first year landscape architecture students have made several field trips out here (and will be out again tomorrow). As they research the site for their projects, a lot of interesting photographs and information have become available. One student in particular found some excellent old images at the Bentley Library. So much flannel!

Before.

After

Last weekend I cleared some deadfall from the driveway, and also attended the Native Plant Sale at the botanical gardens. I picked up a hefty load of my favorite perennials to plant around the cabin. My hope is that they will ultimately disperse their seeds throughout the wood. Saginaw, my gift to you.

The big witch hazel by the cabin is already blooming! It is lovely, but much earlier than anticipated.

Spider flowers.

Oh, you pretty.

High Summer

July is waning.

I've been bad about blogging. I spent two weeks in Alaska working on my masters project, and although I had many things going on in the woods before and after these travels, I completely failed with the reporting. I'll run you through a few of my activities.

Alaska, ooo baby.

Major developments prior to my departure can be attributed to the outstanding help I received from a friend of mine. Chris assisted with meadow mowing, porch enhancements, and clearing trees to the fence line of the berm road. Lots of work done in a short period of time! It was very exciting, and I'm eternally grateful for the time he put in out here. It was a hot week, too.

Zen meadow.

Cutting 'em back.

Other pre-trip activities included tool maintenance--chainsaw sharpening and cleaning and a lawnmower tune-up. Everything is working spectacularly, which makes my job much easier.

Right before I returned home, the drive-way was finally regraded! No more broken shocks for me. I can't tell you how nice it is to not have to hold my breath inching over the enormous chasms in the road.

Since getting back, I've been out and about mowing, pulling purple loosestrife, clearing back overgrowth on the trails and boardwalk, and telling people to stop fishing. I missed home, and have loved every minute of being back on the trails with my loving partner, Leto Little-Wolf.

Today I'll be up on Liberty clearing back honeysuckle obstructing the view of the road. See you all around...

Whoa.

Last week was b.u.s.y. After doing some honeysuckle/garlic mustard removal early in the week, the weather hit--and didn't stop. The saturated soil brought down trees left and right, to the point where I lost count of how many I cleared and how many I had to go. On Saturday, I was up early to clear a big one before my volunteer work day. When nobody showed at 9, I was disheartened--but at 10:30 I scored two very able-bodied hard workers!

Since there were only three of us, I scrapped the original workday plan of clearing the shrubs along the berm in favor of pulling garlic mustard. We did good work--a lovely and productive morning. Thank you, Diane and Gayle, for the four bags worth of weeds!

I have a bit more tree clearing to do--what was left was "low priority," and I needed a break. Weather is beautiful now, though. Hopefully it will stay that way for when I get home from work!

Planning ahead!

Spring is approaching. So is garlic mustard.

I'm interested in making an email list of folks who want to get down and dirty volunteering with me in the woods this spring/summer. If getting face deep in raspberry prickles, buckthorns, and poison ivy is your bag, come join the fun! There will be snacks--and my amazing company--to heal some of the emotional (if not physical) wounds.

What I look like at the end of everyday between May and September.

If you're interested, please email saginawforestcaretaker@umich.edu, and I will put you on the email list for this season's fun in the sun.

Voluntary Pulling of Garlic Mustard

Spring sprung very quickly, and the garlic mustard has been LOVING IT



and - although I have been pulling garlic mustard for the past month - it sometimes feels like I'm playing a game to stalemate...

Last week, I got an e-mail from a long-time walker:

We have noted garlic mustard in the past in the Saginaw. ... We were wondering if we could get permission to pull some garlic mustard. We know to bag it and that the seed pods can continue to develop after the flowers are picked.

Yesterday, I received an update:

I have done some but we have had difficulty finding time to do a concerted effort. Today we pulled for 2+ hours and filled 2 large bags; we left on in the fire pit but carried the other one out expecting to find more which we did.

As of now, the path from the Parkland Plaza entrance that passes the two lakes and then the cabin to the boardwalk are relatively clear. We found 2 areas more infiltrated off the trail towards the cabin after the tree root steps up and more in one section near the frog pond. Unfortunately, we did not get there early after blooming so hopefully got some seeds; it was harder to get roots since the ground is dry. We did not go on the upper trail but will, possibly Wednesday. Otherwise, the biggest patch we saw was by the cabin although we did not take side trails.

We saw lots of rosettes that will emerge next spring so hopefully the effort can start sooner.

Indeed, there was a trash bag filled with garlic mustard in the fire pit. I took it to the trash can at the front gate, and it will go out tomorrow for trash day.

A big and hearty, "THANK YOU!" to this visitor-steward and to everyone else who has been pulling out garlic mustard whenever they've seen some. I know that pulling it up will help ensure that future years won't have large accumulations, and that - compared to last year - there are areas that are now completely garlic-mustard free.

Thanks to PitE student help in the forest

Today, I had a lot of help from PitE students who came out to the forest and - among other things - helped do some work out in the forest. Over the course of about an hour, these 20 students helped clip brush, haul wood, and clean some trails:







Thanks! ...and feel free to come out again to do some more work. ;)

Work Day on April 1, 2012 (no joke!)

Spring is coming early this year. Already, there are daffodils pushing up around the forest, and soon the buds will blossom on the trees, and the invasive species will also be getting their growth on.

Sunday, April 1st, 2012 will be a volunteer work day from noon to 4pm at the Saginaw Forest research facility (3900 West Liberty Road).

WORKDAY PRIORITIES:
We will be focusing primarily on honeysuckle removal. Furthermore, thanks to the unusually warm weather, the garlic mustard is coming in strong and will likely be more than ready to pull come April 1, and so we will also be pulling as much garlic mustard as possible.

n.b.: If you happen to like the taste of garlic mustard (and you can find garlic mustard recipes online), feel free to take away as much of it as you wish!

Other activities include raking the trails of leaf litter and picking up trash from along Liberty Road.

TOOL AVAILABILITY:
Due to a limited number of tools out at Saginaw Forest, I am asking volunteers to bring their own gloves and pruning saws and/or loppers.

SITE ACCESS:
On Sunday, April 1st, 2012, the main gate will be open from 11:30am, and volunteers can park along the driveway near the cabin. (Please don't park at the cabin, since there is limited turn-around space.)

INCLEMENT WEATHER NOTICE:
If the weather turns out to be inclement (i.e., rainy or - heaven forfend - snowy and blustery), then this event will be cancelled. (Check this page for updates.)

OTHER INFO:
There will be snacks and drinks on hand, as well as some hamburgers and hot dogs for later (anyone handy with a charcoal grill?).

If you can't come out this time, don't worry: there will be more volunteer activities in the upcoming months. (Buckthorn needs cutting throughout the forest, and if the garlic mustard isn't up on April 1, they'll be up by May.)