Our good folks at Goose Pond and Faville Grove had a different and much healthier attitude toward the snow. On Friday morning, I was lucky enough to be among the dozen or so volunteers who finished sowing a new prairie at the newly acquired Benade tract just down the road from Goose Pond. Just about as the last bucket was thrown in the truck (I think you could make the case that buckets are among the most essential pieces of equipment for prairie management—you can't collect or sow seeds without them), a mix of rain and snow started. With the forecast of snow a near certainty, we couldn't have been happier. Nothing is better for a winter prairie planting then a nice blanket of new snow. It keeps the seeds in place and the freezing and moisture really help with germination.

Photo by Drew Harry