This one is too far gone, but it must have weighed 30 pounds. We're still finding them on our walks but we have plenty so no longer collect them.
J G Ward

J G Ward

J G Ward

J G Ward

Prairie at Forest Park

One of several small areas of prairie grass being preserved in the Peoria area by Peoria Wilds, a local grassroots organization dedicated to the restoration of biological diversity in the Peoria area.
J G Ward

Amanita muscara
J G Ward

Spider Web
J G Ward

Springdale Savanna

In the heart of Springdale Cemetery, one of central Illinois' largest and most historic cemeteries, there is a small remnant of native tallgrass oak savanna. This increasingly rare ecological community once dominated the bluffs overlooking the Illinois River in the Peoria area. A dedicated group of volunteers is restoring this degraded savanna, work that involves cutting woody brush, seed collecting and sowing, educating, and periodic prescribed burning. The last prescribed burn was last spring, but look at the savanna now. The grass is over eight feet tall. The Cole monument stands in the center of a circle in the middle of the Springdale Savanna.

J G Ward

J G Ward

J G Ward