This week I've been maintaining a newly-restored prairie on the Rochester IBM site as part of a group that got the site its Wildlife Habitat Certification last year. I'm proud to say that I've been intensively involved in a dramatic prairie genocide and I take my job very seriously.
The Sweet White & Yellow Clover are native to Europe & Asia, but have since made it over here to wreak havoc on our prairies - most of which have already been destroyed by us. Each year until we're able to exterminate them, we need to become shovel-wielding warriors, systematically extinguishing the weed lest it overcrowd much prettier native species like these Black-Eyed Susans.
I was a little nervous when my friend, Rebecca, recruited me for the task this week, having flashbacks to the 14 days straight of hiking I did in tick-infested North Dakota. However, I LOVED trudging through the prairie. I don't know what it was - being closer to nature, knowing I was doing something good for the environment, finally discovering my inner gardener, or just making sure that my hiking boots got a little dirtier (there's nothing worse than a clean pair of hiking boots!). Who knows! All I know is that killing that Sweet White Clover was the highlight of my week!
Showing posts with label prairie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prairie. Show all posts
Saturday, July 25, 2009
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