On this first wintery day at the lake, water fowl congregated in large flocks on Lake Mendota. What an awesome sight. Arlene Koziol records it for us with her camera. Please see more on her Flicker site at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29411257@N00/albums/72157660721474039

Movie by Arlene Koziol

The warm, dry fall weather this week offered a good opportunity to conduct controlled burns in the Preserve. On your next walk through Eagle Heights Woods, you will notice the ashes of leaves and detritus, as well as the burned remains of young buckthorn sprouts in the central area of the Heights. As the photos show, the boundaries between cleared areas and buckthorn infested areas, still showing green leaves, are now very distinct. The expansive views add to the feeling of being on top of a height. The ancient dolomite rock outcrops on the central plateau are now in plain view on the wood's floor and add to the pleasure of the scenery.  Oak leaves on the ground still have considerable moisture content and on this calm day the set fires did not quite achieve the “aggressiveness” desired, but project manager Adam Gundlach called the burning a success.  Today, Adam and Amy Jo Dusick of Good Oak contractors were surveying the area. Workers were removing large segments of fallen trees in the vicinity of the mounds. 

Other prescribed burns this week were especially successful in the Heritage Oak area, combating buckthorn regrowth and young maple tree sprouts. Also burned were the weedy berms which form the boundary of the restored Heritage Oak area toward the university’s Grounds department storage area. Burns were also conducted at Raymer’s Cove prairie and other areas. Photos Gisela Kutzbach

It's hard to believe that this photo was taken on November 1 from Observatory Drive. The maple trees on hill have been in glorious colors for six weeks. Madison had no frost in October.