Possibly we could consider a forum for Prairies/Meadows?

I know I am interested in Tall Grass Prairie restoration. I also like the species of flowers that can be grown in these types of ecosystems. Anyone else out there?

I second that, great idea.

Being a prairie freak, and having a small prairie in my back yard...I agree

If you have to ask... I'm interested OF COURSE! ;-)

I'd pop in from time to time too...love using natives...

Hi,Equilibrium!So glad to"read"you!I really admire your passion of nature and the wealth of information you and your "buds"provide for this ole'dude,anyway!My playground is the Missouri River Bottoms where Lewis and Clark sweated upstream and froze downstream!Plus,the Flint Hills prairie....so awesome.....makes me wanna wet my "plants"! lol!Thanks,again for the forum.....Dave.....

Ohhhhhhhhh, you live by Flint Hills? You have got to post photos if you have a digital camera! That area is beautiful.

Say Davers, I know I don't frequent a lot of forums and certainly don't know everybody and there are thousands and thousands of us but where have you been hiding out? If you have any photos out there stashed in areas that I don't really get a chance to get to, would you please post links here?

Hi Equilibrium!!I'm less than 2hrs. from the Flint hills around Manhattan,Ks.and is one of my favorite roadtrips!I finally gave in to the digital camera world after my tired old Minolta 3000 35mm slr gave in to river mud abuse,lol!I hope to post pics as the weather warms up a little!I lurk better than I post in alot of forums,so,hopefully,will build up a little confidence to do so!I read your willow story and it reminded me of what I did 30 years ago,pulling up what I thought was a river Cottonwood and stuck it in a snake-hole on my front terrace and would appreciate your id and comments after I show you a pic of the tree as it is today.I need to know what forum would be best to post in and I hope you don't mind my "pick-up load" of questions! Thanks,again....Dave.....

Yes, some willows certainly do strike well don't they. I never expected to see those branches growing.

I'm excited about all the photos you will be posting.

Regarding the plant you stuck in a snake hole 30 years ago, first you would want to post photos of the tree over in the Plant Identification forum. You'd want several photos to include close ups of the leaves as well as the bark and from there a general photo of the actual plant. If you know there are specific memebers who might have a shot at IDing your plant, go and send them a D-Mail with a link to your thread because some people stick to certain forums and only branch out when the mood strikes them or when they've got a couple minutes to poke around in a forum less frequented.

Once you get a positive ID on what you have, I'd go over to the Trees forum and post for general information you can get a better feel for what you've got there.

Have fun!

Flint Hills.....pic of a slide......Dave.....

It sort of resembles undulating green sands in a desert. Very beautiful.

Oh, yes, that would be a great forum to have. There's a lot of interest now in prairie and meadow habitats.

I would also be interested in this proposed forum.

Bring it on! We have prairies and meadows, even this far south and east.

So what formed those plateaus Dave? Wind or Glacial run off? I enjoyed the view.
I was studying the reports on the prarie around Great falls Montana when Lewis and Clark were there. Very little due to the high numbers of buffalo that hung out there. It was mostly Sage and cactus. So I'm sure that there were areas of massive grass but the native species had pruned it to the ground by July 1805. Just something that we never think of is that huge biological changes occured before man mucked things up. I bet the best tasting grasses were spred everywhere simply by grazing. Darwin would have a ball studing the evolution of the prarie species. Any body know the process of selection that was favored?

Very good question. I don't know nearly as much as I would like to about prairies.

There is a book out there titled "Plants of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" by H. Wayne Phillips. I've had that on my books to order list for a while but never got around to it. I wonder if perhaps that might address your question at least in part. Do you have a research station any where near you that you could go to?

Hi Soferdig!If we were viewing a map of Kansas..to the west,The High Plains.....in the middle, The Smoky Hills, The Arkansas River Lowlands and The Red Hills....to the east, The Glaciated Region,(where I live),The Flint Hills Upland and The Osage Cuestas..... The Flint Hills form a prominent erosional massif that stands well above lower plains to the east and west,"layer-cake stratigraphy",at its best.The bedrock strata are revealed as a result of pervasive stream erosion,which has dissected deep valleys in all directions.The Flint Hills includes the largest region of native tallgrass prairie remaining in North America...Grasses are the most common plants in the prairie.Approximately 180 species of grass are native to Kansas.Big Bluestem,Little Bluestem,Indian Grass,Side-Oats Grama, Switch Grass and Eastern Gama Grass are very common here.The grasses are the basis of the food chain for grazing animals.The growth of grasses is stimulated by fire,grazing and properly timed mowing.Two-thirds of the living tissue of the prairie is below ground.(here is a pic of a slide of one of hundreds of native stone barns and houses scattered through the bluffs and meadows of my area.....Dave

Great picture, Dave. That really evokes longevity and persistence in what isn't the easiest environment to inhabit, albeit serenely beautiful.

Thank you so much V!....hope things are going well your way.( the weather here is totally insane at the moment.....goes from 70 in the afternoon to 15 in the evening)......Dave.......

Thank for the info I just learned a few years ago how the missouri got to where it is. Can you imagine the massive run off the tops of glaciation that is 1000 to 5000 ft thick running in one direction. South all the way from above James and Hudson Bay! Some major cut banks along that run off. Beautiful barn. Just think how many hours to build such a structure. Then to see it abandoned to itself. Is it made out of sandstone or what.

Hi Soferdig!What a beautiful home and habitat you have! Awesome work you have done!Glaciation ....mind boggling!The barn is limestone...(resistant limestone),from stonelines in hills and bluffs(limestone outcroppings).....hard to imagine the labor involved....One farm-house,here,still in use,has three stories,six fireplaces,root cellar,barns,fencing and wells all built with limestone(quarried from nearby fields and hills) The walls are two feet thick with each cut stone (layered) being one foot thick.....amazing......cherty limestone,commonly known as flint was used for weapon making and is found in outcropping limestone beds.....Dave

I have a hunger for Geology here in the Glacial world of Montana. Most of out formations here have been carved by the receding glaciers and Lake Missoula run offs. I visited a large rock the size of a house over 300 miles down the Columbia from the Ice dam breaking in Idaho. Quite impressive.
Back to the questions. Does anyone know the proper knappweed eradication protocol. My newly aquired 8 acres of meadow has knappweed on it.

Believe it or not, some of the Hawaiian Islands look that beautiful.

Wonderful pictures Sofer!

Knapweed, ugh. Post that over in the new Invasive Species Forum. Ot's been sort of dead over there lately. Give them something to sink their teeth into.