Twelve weeks following our prescribed burn the seven acres of pollinator habitat out behind the house is thriving. An extended dry spell hasn't been welcome news for the local farmers but the hot season grasses and forbs are thriving in the dry conditions. Exceptionally deep root systems are the key to their success.
They are showing-off and making a valuable contribution to the food web of the local Eco-system.
Cardinal flower in the dry creek bed
Blue vervain
Prairie blazing star (Liatris)
Bee Balm (Bergamot)
Nodding pink onion
An incredible "forest" of compass plant
And Joe Pye weed
Now that the migratory and year-round primary nesting season is coming to a close all of these blooms are attracting insects which serve as a food source for the young fledglings. Providing them with a high-protein diet to bulk-up before the late summer and fall migration begins.
Monday was 68 days from our prescribed burn and beginning Sunday this was blooming.
Silphium laciniatum
- the Compass plant - is a member of the aster family and a perennial
native.
It's the
tallest of plants found in the North American prairie and also happen
to have the longest of tap roots - essentially making it impossible
to transplant.
The name of this flowering plant
derives from the leaves which - upon close examination - line-up
north south in order to maximize exposure to available sunlight.
The
finches love the seeds produced by the flowers and if you collect the
sap you can make a suitable chewing gum from it.
During the recent drought conditions our seven acres of pollinator habitat has thrived. Warm season native plants with deep root systems are singularly adapted to this. If it is possible to have a forest of compass plant that would be us.
Last Wednesday afternoon, on very short notice, and with the
window of opportunity rapidly closing it dried out sufficiently for us to
conduct a prescribed burn.
You're probably scratching your head over the notion of someone deliberately setting something on fire beside a BBQ grill.
Drip Torch
Over several generations it has been an accepted practice to suppress Ma Nature's use of fire to maintain the natural order.
While suppressing fire will bring a smile the face of Smokey
Bear it also has unintended consequences. Without the impact of fire combustible fuel accumulates on the landscape making any fire event more dangerous. Witness the devastating wildfires in California, Colorado and other states.
So, at
usually three year intervals, we have a professional burn crew set fire to the seven acres of grassland wildlife habitat that constitutes our backyard.
This removes combustible material that is close to the
house and has other benefits that I'll enumerate.
Our local BUG Fire Department authorized the burn and both their leadership team and county dispatch is kept informed of the timing.
A controlled burn accomplishes a number of things.Included among them are:
1. Fire removes excess fuel (built-up thatch) thereby
reducing the risk of an out-of-control wildfire. 2. Fire returns valuable nutrients to the soil 3. Fire kills undesirable woody vegetation, invasive
plant species and the blackened earth warms-up quickly in the spring sunshine
stimulating the growth of desirable native plants 4. Following the application of fire the resulting flush
of desirable plant regrowth is a benefit to wildlife – including insects, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds. Photos and video clips.....
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.
Yesterday I posted some photos of the green-up ten weeks following our prescribed burn. From our walk recently are some additional native prairies species that are blooming.....
On May 4 of this year we conducted a prescribed burn on the prairie planting out back behind the house. Yup, we set the entire backyard on fire.
Today marks ten weeks of green-up since the burn. And I am tickled to report that not only is it greening-up it is greening-up more vigorously than imagined.Here are some before and after photos for comparison.
Panoramic view - Left (north) to right (east)
View south with the house in the background
And a few examples of nature's handiwork that are thriving post-burn .....
It has been slightly more than a couple of weeks since we conducted a controlled burn of the pollinator habitat out behind and to the north of the house. And things have been greening-up nicely since then.
It has also been exceedingly wet with almost five inches of rain beginning in the early hours Sunday and extending thru Monday.
Anyway here are some snapshots from our walk in the spring sunshine yesterday. I plan to post updates from the same vantage points at likely two week intervals to document the restorative power of a good burn on prairie habitat.
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