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Elizabeth Cunningham's avatar

Thank you for this important, informative post. I live in the mid-Hudson Valley in New York State beside the Shawangunk Ridge. There a hay field next to my yard. Last year it wasn't mowed. This year it was. Several plants I've never seen before began to grow. I still can't identify a wildflower that I first took for a small variety of Joe Pie Weed, but unlike that plant it formed seed pods, similar to butterfly weed and milkweed. Also appearing in the field were many clumps of what looks exactly big blue stem. I had looked it up some weeks ago and it seemed as though I was seeing a midwestern prairie grass. I don't know how it has traveled here, but I have fallen in love with it and visit it every day. Thanks again for this post.

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Francoise Gourronc's avatar

Great read! In just a year, I have seen a lot of changes in my tiny prairie plot. The indian grass is the one that surprised me the most. The warblers ate the seed avidly before migrating south, the turkeys hid behind the clumps while looking for bugs. Next year will bring new surprises. Hope to see the swamp milkweed and the cup plant take off.

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