I got to Marysee Prairie earlier than the others.  It had been about five months since I had done any prairie restoration work on Marysee Prairie.  I had worked my way past a kidney stone and a bad cold.  I was glad 2017 was over and was excited about 2018.

I got my gear ready and began to walk toward to the east side of Marysee Prairie where I was going to cut woody plants on a pimple mound.  Several times on my walk, I stopped and cut some woody plants in the prairie and along the north boundary, where the three-acre forest began.  The weather was chilly, the sun was shining, and I was glad to be here.  The fact was I needed Marysee Prairie, more than it needed me, to let my mind go and do some honest, sweaty, manual labor to take me away from my cares of the past week.

After about 30 minutes I heard a call in the distance.  It was Ellen.  She made her way through the tall grass, five to six feet tall, a surprising chore.  Marysee has not been burned in two years and the Bushy Bluestem, Broom-sedge Bluestem, Little Bluestem, and other tall grasses, with plenty of rain (thank you Hurricane Harvey), had responded wonderfully and were impressive in their height and thickness.  Ellen and I talked a few minutes about the need to burn or mow Marysee this year to remove the thatch and provide room for other grasses and wildflowers to grow.

Ellen left to cut down some Chinese Tallows, the bane of healthy prairies, and I went back and cut American Beautyberry, Yaupon Holly, Water Oak, Common Persimmon, Southern Wax Myrtle, Baccharis, greenbriar, blackberry, and other woody plants.  In about 30 minutes I heard my name again and Ellen called that we had a volunteer and that she would send him to me.  That is how I met Skai.  Skai came toward me and I knew he was tall because he towered over the tall grasses.

We said our hellos, I told him what I was doing, and we both cut with a vengeance.  In a few minutes we began talking to each other and found that we both had a love for the outdoors which we could not quench unless we immersed ourselves in it.  Although Skai is from Washington, D.C. and I am from Houston, we bonded and talked about our lives.  Before I knew it, my watch said 11:45 am and I told Skai we would stop for lunch.

We waded through grass and the few tall pines still left on Marysee Prairie and walked to the west side to the tool shed.  Maxine, I call her the “Godmother of the Big Thicket”, was there and had set a table for us.  I went to find Ellen, did not succeed, and came back and found Ellen.  We helped ourselves to lunch and sat contentedly under the shade of pine and hardwood trees with blue skies, the sun warming our bodies, and low 60’s temperatures that told us that Winter weather had subsided for awhile.

We talked about the Big Thicket, Skai’s experiences as an Uber driver, politics (of course), and our delight with being outdoors on such a beautiful day.  We lingered in the solitude and found that it was hard to stir again.  We helped Maxine pack-up, Ellen left to cut down some non-native privet, Skai left to pick-up his daughter in Houston, and I walked Marysee and looked in vain for any blooming plant.  Finally, I bade Ellen farewell and drove off to Houston, the “Big H”.  How I needed Marysee Prairie today and was rewarded with peace, quiet, and a clean feeling of tiredness in my body.  I will be back to visit my “Prairie Friend” soon.

Brandt Mannchen

January 7, 2018