The Stage is Set: Milkweeds and Other Forbs Planted

After evaluating the wind, we were finally able to burn on Saturday, April 5th.  We were surprised that the majority of the grass was a lot drier than we anticipated.  I was happy about it, thinking, "yay - a more thorough burn!".  My husband, not so much.  We were able to get most of the area burned with a low & slow back burn, but if you live in the Ozarks, you're aware that you can never really rely on a consistent wind speed or direction for a whole day.  We had some very unpleasant moments of choking on clouds of smoke blown in our face and a few times we were chasing down an unexpected 6 foot-high head fire that went roaring towards an equally tall stand of ultra-dry Indian Grass. My inner-pryo, was jumping with joy, "burn, baby, burn!".  My adult self was screaming in terror.

My husband is so cute when he's panicking and feverishly pumping water on a fire that I just worked so hard to get going.  After years of burning stuff together though, I have learned though when is a good time to take pictures and when to put the camera away and grab my rake.  I really am a well-behaved, somewhat-controlled firebug, well, most of the time. 

Wind coming in from the south, created a low & slow back burn on this acre.

After burning we dragged the field with a large cut cedar tree to remove the burnt matter and break up any remaining debris so that it can compost more quickly.  The unique shape of this area was cut out on purpose by my husband when he made the fire breaks.

This is the most northern half of the acre.

The adjoining areas in the above and below pictures have now been planted with Common and Butterfly milkweed (approximately 1000 seeds), Side Oats Gamma, Little Bluestem, Yellow and Pale Purple Coneflower, New England Aster, Prairie Blazing Star, Lemon Mint (thank you Gail!), Black-eyed Susan, Trailing Lespedeza, Hairy Mountain Mint, Wild Bergamot and Purple Beardtongue.  Every patch of bare soil is blessed with a seed or many in this case; the fire breaks have even been planted with Red Clover.

This is the southern half of the acre. 

For the west field pictured below, the winds were coming from the west consistently, right up until the last 30-40'.  Then suddenly, the wind shifted 180 degrees on us and we had a head fire for the last few thrilling, heart-pounding minutes.  It was a good reminder of why we take the time to create really, really good firebreaks, but it's still fun to create a little bit of excitement in the neighborhood and watch their eyes grow wide as the fire roared towards their property lines.

West field - this area started out with a nice back burn but ended with an awesome head fire.

The area pictured above (during the burn) and below (post-burn) was formerly a hayfield and it was very thick with fescue, then dead, dry duff after killing it.  We were suspicious that all of the fescue had not died yet so, after burning and dragging it with a cedar tree, we decided to wait a few days and see if it would pop back up for another dose of glyphosate.  It did and we obliged. 

West field - post burn and drag.

Now, we wait another 4 days until the glyphosate has dissipated, after which I will be able to spread more of my precious native wildflower seeds that still slumber in my very cold refrigerator.  But they will be on the ground soon and then we wait another year or so to see the results.  I'm sure I can find another project to work on in the meantime!