Patience!

 

Moonlight, Summer Moonlight
by Emily Brontë

'Tis moonlight, summer moonlight,
All soft and still and fair;
The solemn hour of midnight
Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere,

But most where trees are sending
Their breezy boughs on high,
Or stooping low are lending
A shelter from the sky.

And there in those wild bowers
A lovely form is laid;
Green grass and dew-steeped flowers
Wave gently round her head.

      Yesterday, I walked again, on native prairie which has never seen a plow. Though the soil has never been turned it's hardly recognizable as virgin sod. That's because the natural cycle of burning via prairie fires has been suppressed. Regular burning every few years would inhibit the invasive plant species such as brome and kentucky bluegrass.  The prairie grasses, such as big and little bluestem, would be stimulated by the fire and make it look more like the unplowed land that it is.

     Burning is not feasible because it is hilly and surrounded by other vegetation so the fire could not be controlled.  To restore the native grasses I've employed seasonal grazing. Every spring Steve pastures, either sheep or cattle, on the grass. Pasturing begins as soon as the grass greens and he removes them by the 4th of July. This mimics the effect of fire by grazing down the invasive grasses making way for the native summer grass.

    This process has been in effect since 1993. Gradually the bluestems, and other natives, are emerging. While I pursued pests on that land yesterday I was gratified to see much native grass showing. The process requires patience, for it's been almost 30 years! but it is worth the wait.

   Emily Bronte's poem was likely written about her sister.  Every night when I take Trygve out for his final walk I gaze at the stars which show brightly here. Sinai doesn't have a huge issue of light pollution.  Not far away "Green grass...Wave gently around her (Joanne's) head."

Takk for alt,

Al