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“Peter, Peter, Peter!” declare the tufted titmice. “Cheer! Cheer! Cheer!” chimes in the cardinal. The bluebirds chortle quietly in agreement. Turkeys explore the hayfield hilltop – perhaps staking out territories for soon-to-come strutting and gobbling and showing off for the hens. Further south, there are reports of killdeer, red-winged blackbirds, song sparrows, mergansers, white-fronted geese, […]

Bush clover heads persist through the prairie winter Winter at last! As much as I may have enjoyed the lower heating bills or not having to shovel or avoiding the hassle of slick roads, it just didn’t seem like winter – at least until the recent sub-zero cold and 6-inch snow. Finally, I was able

We need to ask more questions about our food. Where is it produced? Who is raising it? How much energy is used to grow it? What chemicals are applied to it? Is the land used sustainably, so it can continue to produce the crops? That was a take-away message from the recent annual conference of

If you’re eager for winter, it’s always refreshing to see the season’s first Rough-legged Hawk. Seldom very common in Iowa, occasional rough-legs may drift into the state in October, and remain as late as March. These striking, black-and-white raptors, which nest on the Arctic tundra, seem to adjust readily to winter hunting in Iowa grasslands.

DEER HUNTIN’ WITH PAPA “Where are the deer, Papa? Maybe we should go another place if there aren’t any deer here.” When you’re 7, and have been sitting in a deer blind for at least half an hour, patience may not be one of your strongest traits. “How about if I walk over the hill

We started this month with a balmy stroll in the woods, where lingering bronze oak leaves glowed in the warm sun. A day or two later, bluebirds serenaded us as we worked up a sweat while cleaning the dead tomato vines off the garden. At night, a few katydids continued to sing, albeit v-e-r-y slowly.

Fog drifts above the valleys at dawn. The gray wisps sparkle in the first rays of sun, and frame the golden glow of the distant cottonwoods, maples, and oaks. Dew gilds the purple asters and bronze Indiangrass in the prairie. Goldfinches at the feeder chatter as they have all summer – but the males have

Dew drops gilding the bluestem . . . An ever-changing mosaic of color – from butterfly milkweed orange, to coneflower and partridge pea yellow, to bergamot and liatris pink, to Indiangrass green . . . Butterflies flitting . . . Caterpillars creeping . . . Insects buzzing . . . Busy birds chattering . .

Energetic volunteers, an unsurpassable staff, a pretty river, tons of trash (mostly old), a reminder from the weather that this IS Iowa: Saturday’s final day on AWARE 2011 proved to be a microcosm of the entire 90-mile week. With canoes, kayaks, chain saws, pick axes, come-alongs, bolt cutters, buckets, and sledge hammers, intrepid river warriors