If you’ve been to Allerton in the past week, escaping the hot political mess and enjoying some unseasonably warm November temperatures, things were probably a little hazier than usual. They are currently doing a series of prescribed burns. From their website:
Most of our native plants are adapted to fire or depend on it for seed germination, nutrient recycling, reduction of competition, or maintenance of open tree canopies. Fire also stimulates flower and seed production in many native plant species, and more flowers and seeds are produced following a burn. Many tree, shrub, herb, and wildlife species cannot survive without the complex effects of occasional fire. Returning the natural process of periodic fire to our Natural Areas helps to restore and maintain hundreds of native species that would otherwise be lost from these sites.
The day I visited, I kind of appreciated the added ambience of the sun shining through the smoky haze and pleasing smell of burning leaves as we crunched along the trail.
You can learn more about the burns from this week’s Peaceful Monday Hike video.