by Bob Lee

Ben Long ready to work - Photo Credit: John Winnie
Ben Long ready to work – Photo Credit: John Winnie

Saturday morning, 24 September, 20 intrepid Flathead Audubon volunteers met at the Montessori School and indulged in some home-made treats, thanks to Kay and Barbara. Great to see old faces.

From there, we headed to the Owen Sowerwine Natural Area for our annual fun-day. Having divided into several crews, we attacked several different projects with gusto. In addition to the perpetual weed pulling and mowing of trails, a team demarcated a previously unmarked property line. Visitors to OSNA may note the metal fence posts topped with orange flagging along a short stretch near the meadow – this is the correct property line. Another team cut branches that have been overhanging a neighbor’s property. Brent had some difficulty starting the mower, so only the Mainland Trail was mowed this fall. With winter coming on, we will reassess that need in the spring. Denny, Kay and Ben located and prepped our perma- nent vegetation monitoring plots for the upcoming

Mentoring Program. And so, by just after noon, another OSNA fun-day came to a close. Thanks to every- one who gave up a Saturday morning to improve and maintain the Owen Sowerwine Natural Area. And a special thanks to the Montessori School for allowing us to congregate in their facility; it makes logistics so much easier. Although the date is not yet set, keep your calendar open as we’ll do this again next fall.