Jessica Rilling’s great photo of a Turkey River kayaker approaching Motor Mill is one of three finalists for the honor of being the cover image for the new Iowa Travel Guide. What a great opportunity to spread the word about northeast Iowa’s Motor Mill Historic Site and the Turkey River Recreational Corridor! But we need […]
Opportunity for Motor Mill Read More »
Maybe it’s a day or two early – but our blizzard proves that winter is here. TV weather forecasters had predicted it for days – and they were right. Flakes started falling just after dark, foretelling the “8 to 12 inches” that computer models said we’d get. A good guess – although who’s measuring, when
Fifty years ago this month, I shot my first deer. Big deal for a 16-year-old. And big deal for ANY Iowan, given it was only the tenth year of Iowa’s modern deer season. Hunters took only about 5,700 whitetails that season, and the total deer population in the state numbered fewer than 22,000. I hunted
The old deer hunter . . . Read More »
It’s official! When the tundra swans show up along the Upper Mississippi, you know that winter is on its way. We delighted in the sights and sounds of a hundred or so swans north of Harpers Ferry on October 27. A few birds loafed in the backwaters along Red Oak Road, while others restlessly circled
Almost winter . . .? Read More »
The long-awaited project to replace the bridge over the Turkey River at Motor Mill has begun! Crews from Minnowa Construction, of Harmony, Minn., started work at the site on October 11. The first phase is to build a temporary cofferdam to protect the century-old center pier during repairs. The historic pier will be used for
Work Begins on Motor Mill Bridge! Read More »
Frosty coneflower leaf Lucky that we had enough tarps to cover the peppers and green beans and flowers! The weather forecasters were right when they predicted a COLD first night of autumn. We awoke to birds ice-skating on the bird bath, frost on the exposed kale leaves and the prairie flowers, and the brisk feel
To see a short feature about Larry Stone, go to http://www.iptv.org/iowaoutdoors/story.cfm/full_program/9680/iao_20120713_204/video Be patient! It’s at the end of the Iowa Outdoors public TV show.
Shameless plug . . . Read More »
It’s not fall yet – but Mother Nature sure is dropping a lot of hints . . . Yellowing leaves already tinge the walnut trees in the valley. Boxelders and elms and cottonwoods also are following the walnuts’ lead and beginning the change from green to yellow. Virginia creepers paint tree trunks with splotches of
Lots of clues – but no mystery Read More »
SUMMER! Why do I like summer? Let’s count the ways . . . Maybe it’s because I’ve never grown up – so I look forward to the no-school, boyhood joys of mud and water and catching frogs and fish. Or perhaps it’s because spring-into-summer is the season of birth and renewal. We see baby rose-breasted