Wildflowers or forbs of the prairie take center stage as they flower in a sequential series! Atop the Mendota prairie, for the first time since it was seeded in 2005-2006, a few plants of prairie phlox were seen early this summer and bunches of the cool season June grass turn golden by mid-summer.  On the lower slope and throughout the North Prairie penstemon flowers in June at the same time that wild white indigo blooms amidst patches of spiderwort, pale purple coneflower and coreopsis which give way to waves of ox-eye sunflower as seen throughout the prairies.

By mid-July the periphery of the Mendota prairie is recently planted with a fleeting, showy display of the biennial black-eyed Susan, destined to get replaced by the growth of nearby perennials in the future.  Also around this time patches of blue hoary vervain can be seen mid-slope on the Mendota prairie.  Hot pink Canada tick trefoil blooms tall along the entrance drive and throughout the lower portions of Mendota prairie and scattered in drifts throughout the North Prairie.  Other purple and white clovers bloom at this time joined by yellow coneflower, bergamot, and rattlesnake master.  Silphiums like compass plant with their yellow flowers dot the sky especially on the North Prairie. Compass plant leaves appear plentifully on the Mendota Prairie as well, hinting of their future presence. Related cup plant will brighten the shoreline edge of Lost Lake and adjacent edge of the retention basin in the North Prairie, along with purplish ironweed. Prairie and rough blazing-star blooms with magenta spikes in July through September depending on the specific species.

What draws your eye, however, might not be the flower but the butterfly that just landed on it, or the thirteen-lined ground squirrel that veers near, or a bird that flies by. Listen for bird songs, such as the distinctive whistle wheep of the Great Crested Flycatcher!  Look also for the Eastern Bluebirds or Kingbirds perched on posts with their white edged tail feathers and the black mask of the Common Yellowthroat. Nighthawks at dusk flash their striped undersides of their wings high in the sky. Fireflies dance above the prairies on mid-summer nights. White tailed deer have been foraging near the monastery with does bearing triplets and twins.  An eight point buck with velvety antlers gracefully dashed high through the North Prairie fence line when it sensed my presence.

The rains invigorate the prairie. Perhaps more noticeably as the tall grasses, like big bluestem, Indian and switch grass, flower later in July and reach heights exceeding 5 or 6 feet. More moisture creates favorable conditions for invasive woody shrubs or trees to advance into the prairie. Future management choices may include brush cutting with spot herbicide treatment of the stumps to set back such woody growth or a prescribed burn in the fall or next spring. Fortunately for us our intern crew arrived at the end of May and stay until mid-August, helping out weekly with these and other invasive species. They are joined by our Volunteer in Community participants and other volunteers, including youth groups throughout the summer.