For the past several weeks, Kathie and I have been hearing the characteristic "whistle" of the northern bobwhite. This is not a bird that we had heard before this year,…

Today (Friday) Kathie and I got up at 5:30 AM and were in the field ready to start work at 7 AM. It was a beautiful time of day. The…

Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum) has just started to bloom. This great plant, one of the fine conservative prairie species (and featured in the logo of The Prairie Enthusiasts), is thriving…

Today we had a visit from the Vascular Flora of Wisconsin (Botany 401) class at UW-Madison. As it turned out, they were taking their midterm exam, using the numerous flowering…

The purple milkweeds are almost in full bloom now. The weather has really cooperated.This year I found another native location (where a stand has developed with no help from us).…

We were pleased to host a field trip for the Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association on Saturday, June 20. Kathie and I were co-leaders with Ann Thering of SWBA. This trip…

This is the third summer that Pleasant Valley Conservancy has hosted the UW Madison Biocore Summer Science Camp. This project, centered on the Wisconsin Heights Schools, has the goal of…

Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) is now at peak flowering. This intensely blue flower is very attractive, although on a sunny day all the flowers have closed by noon. Cloudy misty days…

Many prairie restorationists are at the moment in the throes of eradicating sweet clover, one of the most persistent and annoying invasive plants. There are two species, Melilotus alba (white…

Many people may not be aware that the UW-Madison Digital Collections has made a great contribution to prairie restoration by making available in digital form ALL of the North American…