pic #2 - At first I thought perhaps Maianthemum racemosum then Polygonatum biflorum. Not convinced of either.

I agree, I don't think the 2nd photo Polygonatum biflorum because at this time of year there would still be seed/fruit pods hanging underneath and I don't see any signs of them. The same goes for Maianthemum racemosum, it usually has red berries at the stem end this time of year. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

2 appears to be a monocot.

I had to look that up :-) It can be a lily or even some type of grass. There does seem to be a fairly good sized patch growing in this area, what ever they are.

Panicum clandestinum , Dichanthelium deer tongue grass I believe. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/dichanthelium-clandestinum/

That sure looks like it, and michiganflora.net even shows it recorded in Ottawa County. Thanks for your help.

Euthamia gymnospermoides and Dichanthelium clandestinum

I was almost ready to guess some type of goldenrod even though there were no signs of any seed heads, most have already gone to seed in our area. Thanks for the confirmation.

I think the Goldenrod is the similar species Euthamia graminifolia actually. It seems to be the only species observed in your county. There usually are short white hairs on the stem, but they are difficult to see in photos.

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/gr_goldenrodx.htm

https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/plgr_goldenrodx.htm

Yes you're correct that gymnospermoides could be present, but not obsereved. It's so similar to E. graminifolia, that a close look is needed. This is what I see on I naturalist. The photo thar says 'no results found' is for E. gymnospermoides.

If you scroll down to the bottom of the Illinois Wildflowers site to the comments section, it usually has good information about ways to tell the species apart from similar species.

Thanks Jay, and thanks to everyone who replied to my original post, you have all been a big help in making my friends workshop a success. It's on the 15th, a regional conference organized by the Calvinist Cadet Corps. The workshop is based on a merit badge that I created for the Corps.