By Topf Wells

Thanks to Jim Hess and an even bigger, more varied cast of characters than usual, we had another successful work day, this time on Smith Conley.

The DNR folks, led by Justin Haglund, were a tremendous help.  Lloyd and Mitch were great sawyers, great to work with, and kept an eye out for us as we worked in sometimes overgrown terrain.

We cleared and stacked lots of box elders and one spectacular honeysuckle. The property is lovely with a beautiful wetland, home to a pair of happy sandhills. The stream, well that needs lots of TLC; let’s hope this workday is the start of that love and work. As is often the case, some of the box elders were gnarly. However, we did not wipe out the wooden bridge, a wild turkey nest full of eggs (pictured), or any volunteers. We had 6 or 7 sawyers working, all doing a great job under demanding circumstances. We had a fabulous turnout of another dozen members and we needed every one of them. We cleared lots of area and have left pyramids of piles. We should have an end of the year SWTU Olympics featuring brush piling and stump tossing.

Again, thanks to Jim and Justin for organizing the workday. Each has its challenges. In this case, the landowner wanted just the female box elders removed and had marked the females last fall when the seeds were still attached. The landowner

s were just walking down to the site as I was leaving. I expect they were pleased and surprised by the amount of work we accomplished.

We’re back at this site for the final spring workday in a few weeks. Pray for a spell of dry weather prior to that day. If the site is dry enough we’ll have a skid steer helping. That will dramatically increase productivity and result in a whizbang finish to our spring. (Photos courtesy Jim Hess.)