I decided to take the opportunity to get in a little guerilla gardening on the now dry empty lake bed. The city plans to start seeding of fast growing grasses to reduce erosion later this year. But there'll be a brief 1-2 year window before any actual landscaping with native plants is done. I figure I can get a single season of growth in without too much disturbance. And if any of the trees I try seeding (oak, maple, birch, thornless honey locust, walnut) get going maybe the city will keep them.

This is what the lake used to look like.