Prairie Blooms

Doggo and I ran the trail camera trap line yesterday and discovered a date/time hiccup that we returned to fix today.

 

It was also a good opportunity to checkout the seasonal changes occurring in our prairie habitat. 

 

Prairie isn’t universally native to Door County. Prior to European settlement the landscape was mostly boreal forest. 

 

Cleared for agriculture nowadays you can find previously-farmed acreage repurposed as native prairie. Technically, non-native it’s terrific pollinator and ground nesting bird habitat.

 

For us the autumn species are beginning to come online. 

 

Click on images for a closer look.... 

 

 

Stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida)

  

 

Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

 

 

Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum).  At seven feet it’s as ‘high as an elephant’s eye'

 

 

Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans).  It’s flowering this time of year as part of its reproductive cycle.  Yes, grass flowers for pollination.  Four to five feet tall.

 

 

Big Blue stem (Andropogon gerardii).  Commonly known as known as turkeyfoot.  The tiny yellow structures visible dangling from the spikes are its anthers shedding pollen.  

 

 

More turkeyfoot.   The King of the Prairie around here generally grows four to eight feet tall.

 

Check-in periodically for updates as the seasons progress.  

Summer Blooms

It's gotten cooler the last couple of days and we've been delighted to turn-off the AC, open some windows and spend time outdoors for fresh air, exercise and chores.

From our walk yesterday morning there is stiff goldenrod, wild bergamot (bee balm), black-eyed Susans and flowering turkey foot (big bluestem)….

 

Situational Awareness

From our walk this morning we found swamp and bur oak acorns.  The critters gonna love all this mast.

And the big bluestem was pollinating. 

Yes, grass pollinates.

It costs nothing to be aware of the natural world... 

Show-offs

More native plants...

Bee Balm

Big Bluestem

Prairie Blazingstar and Ox-Eye Sunflower

Blue Vervain

Joe-Pye Weed

Compass Plant

Yellow Coneflower

 

Wildflower Walk

From our walk the other day the flowers of late summer and early autumn were showing-off.

Bergamot (bee balm)

Stiff goldenrod

Big bluestem (turkey foot)

And compass plant (as high as an elephant's eye)

Black-Eyed Susans

 

Walking the Dog

From our walk this morning there was this.

We observed the six-month anniversary of the prescribed burn that was conducted earlier this spring.

The tall grass prairie planting is now three to seven feet in height and you cannot see the house from this location anymore.  Moreover, you cannot see the deer when they are sneaking thru or bedding-down in this native cover.  

It is spectacular!

Yet, someone needs to inform this late-blooming Black-eyed Susan that it is autumn.

King of the Prairie

 

Five months have passed since we conducted a controlled burn out back and the prairie planting continues to amaze as different plant species come into their seasonal glory. 

Big bluestem also called ‘Turkey Foot’ is one of the Four Horsemen of North America’s tallgrass prairie (the other three are little bluestem, Indian grass and switch grass)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some call it The King of the Prairie - a quintessential prairie grass.  No wonder - it towers over seven feet in height in some places. 

From our walk today it is rather breathtaking in the cool of autumn. 

Of course the New England aster and stiff goldenrod are rather showy too. Among the last remaining nectar sources for hungry pollinators.

 

 

Walking the Dogs

Following days of storms we caught a break in the weather today.  Sunny, breezy, 73F (as opposed to 93F) and a comfortable dew point.  It's soggy in some spots on the trail but the girls got an opportunity to stretch their legs and get worn-out.  I suspect they'll be sleeping it-off for the balance of the day.

From our walk today there was this...

Bee Balm (Monarda)

Big Blue Stem (Turkey Foot) Taller Than I Am

Gray-Headed Cone Flower and Empty Nest Box

Turkey Foot, Switch Grass, False Sun Flower and Showy Tick Trefoil

Turkeyfoot

There is a prank around deer camp where the newest hunter finds a turkey foot under his bunk pillow.  Someday I'm going to get around to making use of all of the turkey legs shrink-wrapped in the chest freezer - re-purposing those spurs is going to make for a terrific Man Necklace replete with spurs, colored beads, bear claws, silver and feathers.  Like this - but more spurs and more fancy...

It will be a talisman.  Just you wait.  

But I digress.

Turkeyfoot is also the colloquial name for big blue stem prairie grass.  Which is now coming into all of its late summer glory.

Don't take my word for it.  If you were to walk in there this stuff is more than six feet tall.  You could get lost in it!  

The people that did the burn are chortling over all the deer that are going to hide in there during the hunting season.

Turkeyfoot

Meet Andropogon gerardi - commonly known as big bluestem, turkeyfoot, tall bluestem, and bluejoint.   

It is a native species of tall grass common to the prairies of the Great Plains.  When protected from grazing - as the photo above - it can reach a height of 6 to 8 feet.    Birds and mammals use big bluestem for nesting and escape cover in summer and winter.  It resists lodging under snow cover like switchgrass – as a consequence it makes for excellent spring nesting habitat.  The seed heads normally have 3 spikelets that appear like a ‘turkey foot’.  

It also happens to be the official state grass of Illinois and Missouri and the official prairie grass of the province of Manitoba.