Patience. Determination. Preparation. A good guide, spelled D-A-D. OK, and a little luck never hurts. My grandson Isaac used a good dose of all those ingredients to shoot his first deer during Iowa’s 2014 shotgun season. Do you know how hard it can be for a 12-year-old to sit quietly in the woods with his […]
The first juncos from the north arrive as the last tardy hummingbird heads south. Orange maples peek above the morning fog that hangs in the valley, beckoning paddlers to float the low, clear, cool waters of the river. The huge, bright harvest moon hovers near the eastern horizon at twilight, and lingers in the west
Carrying a canoe across a rocky portage, paddling into a stiff breeze, stepping into the muck while traversing a beaver flowage, and sleeping on a rocky point with rain pattering on your tent can give you stiff muscles and wet feet. But those experiences in canoe country also bring a sense of accomplishment and the
Back to the Boundary Waters Read More »
Wilderness: An untrammeled place where man does not remain? Perhaps – if you’re a bureaucrat or lawyer or legislator. But to Jamie Pinkham, a Nez Perce Indian who grew up in Idaho, wilderness means “home.” Pinkham recalls camping with his grandmother in a tipi while harvesting berries. He didn’t think of the outings as wilderness
Hot! That’s how lots of Iowans describe our Julys. And it’s often hard to dispute that description. But I prefer another adjective: Colorful! It’s not just the green of our endless corn and soybean fields, nor the hazy blue of our skies. Look again for the rich gold and dark brown of Black-eyed Susan, or
Perhaps it’s the GREEN that defines an Iowa summer. Grassy lawns and pastures, trees, gardens, even corn and soybean fields almost shout their message of growing plants. But when you look more closely, you may be dazzled by a whole array of other colors. What’s bluer than an indigo bunting? The males almost glow with
Is it just a spark – or the first flicker of what could become a raging forest fire? The confirmation of the first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Iowa’s wild deer herd has biologists, hunters, and other wildlife enthusiasts nervously watching, waiting, testing, and hoping that the neurological disease will not become widespread.
After the l-o-n-g winter, it would be easy to get discouraged when you still see drifts of snow in farm groves in early April. But think positive! If the Canada goose is on her nest, spring must be here. As you canoe past her island for a closer look, the protective goose flattens her body
And now it’s HERE! Read More »
As I set off along our ski trail in the face of a March snowstorm, it suddenly hit me that my inner self probably was searching for spring. It’s been a great winter for skiing, with fresh, powdery snow several times each week. There seldom was a worry of getting over-heated, because temperatures struggled to
In search of spring . . . Read More »
Life-threatening wind chills. Near record low temperatures. White-outs. Schools closed. Travel not recommended. Towing bans. And a propane shortage/price hike to boot! To add insult to injury, your friend posts a “selfie” from a beach in Mexico. And another friend suggests you really ought to take a quick trip to Florida. What? And miss out