The seed bonanza continues at Goose Pond. Seven volunteers answered the call. With Graham, Emma, Calla, and Sayre—the latter two being expert seed collectors hired to help this fall—eleven of us took to the field. With each seed collecting session, we're assembling the components of new or improved prairies at Goose Pond and some partners' lands. Analogous perhaps to kids in a Lego store.
The first seed was false boneset, a plant that grows on hilltops and other dry areas. Butterflies, bees, tarnished plant bugs, and moths love false boneset along with the appropriately named false boneset flower moth. Since our prairie birds need lots of insects, especially for the young ones, false boneset is a key support of a diverse and lively prairie. At a bit over two feet tall with an easily recognizable fluffy seed head, it's easy pickins'. Pick we did to the tune of 4 barrels. This is another plant with tiny seeds so we now have about a gazillion.
False boneset in bloom. Photo by Peter Gorman
False boneset seed heads drying in the racks at Goose Pond Sanctuary. Photo by Graham Steinhauer/SoWBA
And since we blitzed through the false boneset, we had time for rosinweed. This plant contributes its share of yellow flowers that light the prairie up this time of year. Many species of bees, including the bumbles, pollinate the flowers, and it grows in many types of prairies. Taller than false boneset and with distinctive seed heads, rosinweed practically begs to be collected. We finished the morning with 2 barrels and a bin of seed heads.
Rosinweed in bloom. Photo by Peter Gorman
Rosinweed seed heads. Photo by Graham Steinhauer/SoWBA
The people are always fun at seed collecting. John Exo has become one of Goose Pond's volunteers since his recent retirement. John and I worked together years ago in the Dane County Executive's Office where he was a leader in the County's efforts to improve our lakes, rivers, and streams. As you can imagine, reacquainting with John has been a pleasure. People can be as delightful a surprise on SoWBA's prairies as the birds, bees, and butterflies.
Ticktrefoil extraction committee. Photo by Graham Steinhauer/SoWBA
A bane of the collectors' work is Canada ticktrefoil. Although it's another valuable native plant in the prairie ecosystem, its seeds can stick to clothes in depressingly large numbers. It isn't nearly as troublesome as Virginia stickseed which might actually damage clothes, but I've still spent 30 minutes cleaning my clothes after some of my recent sessions at Goose Pond. However, a wonderful bird has a better way. A small flock of chickens resides at the Prairie Lane house (not to worry; they have SoWBA permission). Our collectors have discovered if they sit quietly on the lawn, the chickens appear and gently eat the trefoil seeds one after another. Besides being a great solution to the seed problem, the chickens are wholly delightful to observe. Who doesn't enjoy watching a chicken—and these are even more charming than most.
Perhaps the point of this tale is that a SoWBA prairie always has pleasant surprises, especially at seed collecting time. Please join us if you can find the time.
Topf Wells, advocacy committee
