Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary: Short Ears, Service Announcement, and Silphiums

I have gotten rather busy lately and not posted much.  However, I feel that some content is necessary.  And I just found out about something completely awesome a half-hour away from Springfield.  I mentioned wanting to see short-eared owls in a previous post.   Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary, just south of Loami, is the place to go.  The place is an absolutely stunning restored prairie.  Part of the appeal is that it is entirely privately-run and thus actually can afford to have a nice building and plantings. Even in fall post flowering season, the area is exquisite.  Before I strain for another adjective, have some photos:

A map of part of the grounds.  This just shows about a third or fourth of the place.

It was a picture-perfect day, what some people might refer to as a Pixar day. ( You know who you are)   The goldenrod was in full flower, as was the ragweed.  I'd like to make a brief service announcement.  Goldenrods (Solidago spp.) , aka those yellow things that grow everywhere, are not the cause of hay fever.  Ragweed is responsible, and ragweed is a common green scraggly thing found in similar habitats that blooms at the same time.  Goldenrod allergies are a nature myth, of which there are many.  Superstition never ceases, nor do people stop saying this incorrect message. This has been a service announcement and rant that needed to be ended as soon as possible.

(The Plant Shown Above Does NOT Cause Allergies*) 

*Yes, I know there's a beetle, center.  It's called a soldier beetle.  It spends its life mating and drinking  nectar on flowers. There are three soldier beetles and two bees in this picture. Have fun finding them.

 This is an example of a very nice wetland trail located on the property.  This is all done with private funds, and no state funding whatsoever.  In any other state, that wouldn't be something to brag about.

When was the last time you could look and see nothing but grasses to the horizon?  (The correct answer is always, as corn (Zea mays) is a type of grass.  One of the perks of central Illinois, I guess)

A prairie pothole is important for migrating animals, as well as filtering out agricultural toxins. Our streams and ponds were once clear, if you can believe it.  This preserve has a chain of ponds that filter out most pollutants at an impressive rate.  The prairie preserve here is large enough to attract large migrants, such as short-eared owls, to stay here in the winter.  That's impressive. What's even more impressive are the Silphium plants that grow here and throughout central Illinois and the midwest.  Here is a picture of one, compared to a man of average height who will be furious with me when he reads this and sees that I'm using his picture without his permission.  I've done worse.

This particular species, cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) grows over twelve feet tall when happy.  They can live for fifty or more years and have leaves a foot long.  That pales in comparison to a close relative, however.  The boringly-named prairie dock, Silphium terebinthinaceum, (I dare you to try spelling that a half-hour from now) has leaves up to two feet long, stems up to ten feet long, and a taproot about fifteen feet long.   The leaves are an excellent sandpaper substitute also.  Prairie dock can live over a hundred years and is nearly impossible to kill.  See a picture below:

For those of you who need the help, it's the plant going from bottom middle up to the top middle.  Sorry, I'm not a professional photographer, just a professional at ranting and going off on tangents.  Alright, it's time for me to cease ranting,  turn off Waltz of the Snowflakes ( by Tchaikovsky, another fun name to spell), and go to bed.  Visit Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary!  Good night.