Spring Makes an Entrance

Schulenberg Prairie at Morton Arboretum

After a long winter here in the Midwest, we search longingly for the first signs of spring!

The Schulenberg Prairie is one of the oldest restored prairies in the US. Almost every March there is a controlled burn to eradicate invasive plants, as well as to release nutrients into the soil. Burns were a natural part of a prairie ecosystem. The blackened soil allows the first green shoots to make a dramatic entrance in spring!

At first we have to be very observant to see the spring flowers start to appear……..

And then suddenly, Boom!, the flowers burst forth!

Postscript: Here is a Skunk Cabbage blooming (yes, this is it’s flower). Doesn’t the inside look like an image we have been seeing in the media for the last 14 months? Maybe this is where Covid originated. Too funny!!

Skunk Cabbage Flower