Spring at the BFS means that our volunteers return to managing invasive annual weeds, and this past Saturday, the volunteers removed Italian Thistles (Carduus pycnocephalus) from the entry drive and the east side of the ‘Neck’. The thistles are still in their rosette stage, but they have grown large enough to spot easily.
The area along the entry drive had many fewer thistles than last year; in one spot that previously had many thistles, we couldn’t find any.
The area next to the houses on the east side of the ‘Neck” had more thistles than the entry drive, but they were still fewer than last year.

Volunteers pull thistles in the ‘Neck’. Left to right: Carol Cox, Thomas Andrews, Prof. Dick Haskell (HMC), Anne Clark (HMC ’13), Bryan Visser (HMC ’13), Tim Cox, and Maria Morabe (HMC ’13). ©Nancy Hamlett.

Volunteers near the end of their work for the day. Nearest to farthest: Maria Morabe (HMC ’13), Anwen Evans, Jacob Thomas, Prof. Dick Haskell (HMC), Anne Clark (HMC ’13), Thomas Andrews, Bryan Visser (HMC ’13), and Carol Cox. ©Nancy Hamlett.
By the end of the workday, we’d pulled enough thistles to fill two garbage cans.
While pulling thistles, the volunteers also spotted some of the local fauna, including native millipede, Hiltonius pulchrus…
…and two European molluscs that presumably wandered over from adjacent gardens, a Garden Snail (Helix aspera)…
…and a Gray Field Slug (Deroceras reticulatum).
As we headed back to the outdoor classroom for pizza, we also spotted a gophersnake wending its way through the daffodils by the field house.
I’m sure we will be spending several workdays on Italian Thistles, so if you missed this one, you will have other chances to pull those thistles! Just check our volunteer page for the schedule.