Thursday, September 29, 2016

Skywatch Friday 165

Sawtooth Sunflowers climb towards the sky . . .


West Grady Knoll -- only a few months ago,
there were trees hugging both sides of this path.
They've been doing a lot of maintenance and
clearing in an attempt to return this section to
an oak savanna, which is open prairie dotted 

with a few oak trees.


Looking north over Greene Prairie -- it's difficult to tell
from this view, but there are more than sawtooth
sunflowers in bloom -- there are tons of asters and gentians.


Only a few years ago, the sunflowers were more
plentiful than they have in recent years, hugging the
entire length of the path in this section and towering
overhead. They do not know if it is  caused by weather,
a change in soil conditions, or combo of both.
What is known is that the prairie really needs to be burned,
something they've been unable to do for seven or eight years.


Sawtooth Sunflowers, UW Arboretum
Madison, WI * 18 September 2016




LINKING TO: Skywatch Friday






4 comments:

Lea said...

Beautiful Sunflowers!

Heather said...

Thank you!

Alice Audrey said...

Most of our flowers are gone and the leaves in the trees are turning. It's been chilly outside for a while now. I can't complain too much because most of the forest fires are either out or under control.

Heather said...

Alice: We still have some flowers here, though more are fading every day. Glad to hear you've gotten some cooler weather to help with those wild fires.