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Posted in News on May 14th, 2013
At the May 4 workday volunteers continued removing Italian Thistles from the west side of the lake berm and the area surrounding the “toad pond mound”. This was our last Italian Thistle removal for the season. We’ve treated the most the major infested areas, and it’s time to turn our attention to Maltese Star Thistles, […]
Posted in News on Apr 25th, 2013
Some time in the past, perhaps in the early 1970s, a very large mound of dirt was dumped on what is now the southwestern portion of the BFS in preparation for a development that never happened. Because the dirt in the mound has more clay than the native BFS soil, it retains more water, and […]
Posted in News on Apr 14th, 2013
Last Saturday volunteers continued our campaign to control invasive annual weeds, starting with a newly discovered patch of Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii) growing behind the old infirmary. Unfortunately, the mustard had already set seed, but the plants we removed had a lot of unopened seed pods, so we were able to keep most of the […]
Posted in News on Mar 19th, 2013
The past Saturday volunteers continued the war on Italian Thistles (Carduus pycnocepalus) in a clearing off the trail on the east side of pHake Lake. In the past this area had a fine stand to Italian Thistles, as well a patch of very scary looking Bull Thistles (Cirsium vulgare). Last year, volunteers removed all the […]
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 […]
Posted in News on Jul 9th, 2012
This past Saturday, volunteers set up a soil solarization trial at the BFS. The area to be solarized was cleared of rocks and vegetation and covered with clear plastic, which will be left in place for 2–3 months. The plastic will trap heat generated by solar radiation (the greenhouse effect), causing soil temperature to rise […]
Posted in News on May 6th, 2012
This past Saturday BFS volunteers mounted an assault on Italian Thistles (Carduus pycnocephelus) at what we think is the site of the original infestation – the top mound of dirt that with the ‘old toad pond’. This is what it looked like before we started: And here’s what it looked like after we finished: In […]
“The destroyer of weeds, thistles, and thorns is a benefactor whether he soweth grain or not. —Robert Green Ingersoll Nine BFS volunteer benefactors devoted part of a beautiful April day to destroying weeds, thistle, and thorns at the BFS this past Saturday. Once again our primary targets were Italian Thistles (Carduus pycnocephalus). Plants that were […]
Posted in News on Mar 4th, 2012
On our last two BFS Volunteer Days, we’ve continued our attacks on Italian and Bull Thistles as well as doing some trail maintenance. On February 18, ten valiant volunteers pulled up 22 bags of Italian Thistles (Carduus pycnocephalus) from the mound with the “old” toad pond. Although we pulled a lot of thistles, more still […]
Posted in News on Feb 8th, 2012
The latest skirmish in the BFS’s war on invasive exotic plants took place Saturday, February 4, when 15 hardy volunteers attacked two patches of Italian and Bull Thistles. These two large very spiky purple-flowering thistles are native to Europe, western Asia, and north Africa. The were both introduced to North America accidentally — the Bull […]