The ability for some of our prairie/native areas to continue to stay in balance and thrive depends on careful management. The area behind the 7th green is a mix of prairie grasses, wildflowers, and some wetland plants that are planted along the waters edge. The use of prescribed burns are a useful tool to remove old prairie thatch, to reduce woody plant invasion, and to stimulate the growth of many native grasses and wildflowers. This year we were scheduled to do such a burn and we took about 45 minutes on thursday and friday to take care of the two areas.
While we were burning on Friday we noticed some visitors in the pond on the 7th hole.
A pair of Trumpeter Swans
On another note we have seen some other interesting things around the course. In this photo you can see the difference that snow cover makes in the development of snow mold (hence the name).
This is a path that we had plowed on #12 that we used to take tree debris to our recycling site on the right side of the 4th hole. 
These photos show what happens when you remove snow and the insulation. It allows for the frost to be driven down into the soil. The first photo is of the cart path on #2. It is raised about 10" higher than in the summer time. The second photo is an area on #2 where we plowed out in order to cut down a couple of trees. It is also about 10" higher than normal.
No comments:
Post a Comment