In the fall of 1986, I was introduced to the course “Fall Flora” when I was scrambling to earn 3 more college credits. Fortunately, Augustana (IL) Biology Professor, Dr. Bohdan Dziadyk developed this class for me so I would be able to graduate on time. For the first time, I was introduced to flowers that bloomed in the fall as well as Iowa prairies. Two items that had escaped my senses in life, even though I had spent a great deal of time in the outdoors. I would have never suspected that I might develop an interest in knowing anything about them, let alone sharing that knowledge and the beauty with others. But from his mentorship and a few others along the way, I developed a real interest in that aspect of biology and knew I wanted to share that beauty with others. 

When Todd Seifert, the Property and Operations Manager at Our Lady of the Prairie and Lori Freudenberg, the Programming Coordinator approached me regarding hosting a +60 group as an OLPR retreat for a “Fall Flora” presentation, I gladly accepted the challenge and worked at reacquainting myself with the flowers and grasses that are in bloom this time of year around our retreat center. I am certainly not an expert when it comes to fall flora, but as our Land Steward at OLPR, and a still possessing a passion for lifelong learning, I was pretty confident I could put together a meaningful presentation. I was though, a bit concerned that Dr. Dziadyk might somehow end up in the audience. Lori worked out the date, time and logistics with Mrs. Connie Mangler from the +60 group and we were set to go. Sometime before the event, we were informed that it would be a large group of about 30 in attendance! More pressure!! 

The day of the event turned out to be a beautiful fall day. Temperatures were good and although a bit overcast, it was near perfect for a walk at The Prairie. A few days prior, my co-worker, Matt Rissler had helped me locate some species of interest that were in bloom and plant some flags along our anticipated route, so I could make sure to point those out to our guest. The plants included White Snakeroot, New England Aster, Hairy Aster, Pinnate Prairie Coneflower, Cup Plant, Common Evening-Primrose and Partridge Pea to name a few. 

The day started with the arrival of our guest for some breakfast snacks and coffee that had been prepared by our incredible kitchen staff, Carena Weih and Olena Hedzhymanova. More about their incredible contributions later. Matt is a man of many talents and has previously made several jams and jellies from the blackberries and plums growing wild on the property, as well as grapes from our garden. Those were available for our guest as well, along with some homemade bread he had made the night before. 

After a tremendous and heartwarming welcome from Maria Casad, who resides at OLPR in the Victorian House and serves in Guest Services, I took the reins and began my presentation. After 25 years as a high school classroom biology teacher, I was not intimidated by the presentation and was really excited to share my love of the prairie with them. In preparation for the event, I had recently spent some time reading a book that was made available through the OLPR library titled “The Tallgrass Prairie: An Introduction” by Cindy Crosby. If you have any interest in learning about prairie basics, this is the book! It is wonderfully written and understandable to everyone, touching on both the ecological aspects of a prairie and its unique aesthetic qualities, which are hard to overlook. Not every presentation I have ever given has had a great flow to it, but this one did, and the audience seemed genuinely engaged and interested in the topics.

Following the PowerPoint presentation, we took our hike around the prairie, pointing out some of the things that we had been discussing during the presentation. For example, examining how the flower heads of the dominant grass species differed through our field experience made the presentation come to life. We were also able to view and discuss additional points of interest at OLPR, such as the Cosmic Walk, Stations of the Cross, Spiritual Labyrinth, and the 6 newly displayed stained-glass panels that were originally commissioned by two artists from Ivy Ridge Studios in Bellevue, Iowa, and Marycrest College faculty members, and are now scattered throughout the property. It was such a great interactive trek, and like always, things appeared, and questions were asked about various aspects of the prairie that I had not anticipated. Those are the things that I love about interactions like this, which allow me to continue to learn.

Following an hour hike, it was time for lunch. As I mentioned previously, our kitchen staff is second to none, and our meal was a great reflection of that. Not only was the meal incredibly delicious, but it helped emphasize a part of the Congregation of the Humility of Mary’s mission regarding sustainability. Our butternut squash soup and homemade potato salad being made from produce grown in our own garden. The meal was amazing and the conversations at the tables made for an electric atmosphere. After an amazing apple cake dessert, I switched gears and turned on a DVD presentation titled “America’s Lost Landscape the Tallgrass Prairie”. It was produced by Dr. Daryl Smith, a former Biology Professor at UNI, who we had the privilege to meet last year when he visited OLPR. It really enhanced what we had talked about and then seen first-hand. It is a thought-provoking presentation depicting the various dynamics of the prairie that at one time dominated the Iowa landscape and is now all but virtually gone.

To conclude our day, our guests were invited for a second walk around another lobe of our prairie, where we could look at the previously flagged plants. This was also an opportunity for the guest to collect prairie seeds to use to start their own prairie reconstruction or enhance an existing wild area. It was a fun way to “walk off” such a great lunch and a fitting conclusion to a wonderful day. We never fully know what might lie ahead for us at any moment, and this event is an example of that. What started off as just an inquiry regarding a potential visit for a QC area group turned out to be one of the best days at OLPR. I think Dr. Dziadyk would have been pleased.

PHOTO—Kurt Kreiter leads the Quad City Plus 60 Club on a Fall Flora tour of Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat.