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Winding Pathways encourages you to create a wonderous yard, whether that yard is an expansive acreage, a suburban lot or a condominium balcony. Go outside and play!
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Clean the Tool
Disclaimer: Both Milwaukee and Ego have provided us with tools to test, however, we purchased most of our tools at retail cost, including Milwaukee and Ego brands. There it was, printed clearly in the owner's manual. Clean the tool. I’d just bought a Milwaukee Brand...
DEI Chicken Flock
We have a DEI Chicken Flock. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in chickens??? Yes! A smart way to husband animals. And honor people, too. DEI Variety Within our small flock are chicken breeds with various body types, feather colors, origins, and dispositions. Here’s...
Does Investing In a Backyard Flock Make Sense?
Soaring Prices Cause People to Question Does keeping a backyard flock make sense? While shopping at a nearby grocery store, we noticed eggs for sale at $6 with a purchase limit of two dozen. After returning home, we visited our backyard coop and collected eight eggs,...
Marshmallow Scramble
What is a Marshmallow Scramble?* It's an easy, entertaining way to get chicks to come home for the night. Every afternoon, with great enthusiasm, our chickens do the marshmallow scramble. Until recently we didn’t know chickens love the sugary balls of puff, but...
Best Woodstove Fire
If you want to burn wood in a fireplace of woodstove, what are some characteristics of wood that will help you decide?
Coyotes In Town
Coyotes have moved into town. They’re showing well within huge cities and towns from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Sometimes early news reports of urban coyotes bring concern among residents. Are they dangerous? If you listen to media or follow social media then you...
Beavers Moved into Town
Beavers moved into town. Even a large city like Cedar Rapids. Surprise An amazing sight greeted us In December 2024, as we walked a circular trail around a tiny unnamed stream in the heart of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A beaver dam spanned the narrow waterway. Beaver-felled...
Stillness and Dark Discoveries
On a cold December afternoon Rich bundled up, drove to a friend’s farm, and lugged a lawn chair and hunting gear into the woods. He settled into the chair and sat motionless for nearly two hours. His reward of stillness and dark discoveries was quiet interactions with...
Radon Is An Unwelcome House Guest
Everything has a life. Even Radon machines and Radon. Radon is the second leading cause of cancer and is higher in Iowa than other states. Testing your home and mitigating radon levels is important for good health.
Possum’s Presence
In late autumn 2024, we had only light snow. The thin coverings of snow each revealed a procession of night visitors the next morning in tracks. We got especially excited by one set of tracks. Our possum’s presence! It is our favorite opossum. We hadn’t seen him (or...
Best Garden Vegetables
Seed Catalog Reading We trudged through the snow to retrieve our first garden catalog. Excited! So, we wondered what our gardening friends thought of about the best garden vegetables to grow in tiny spaces. They replied about small spaces and in general. Garden seed...
Labyrinths 2024
Winter and Spring Each January I post about visiting labyrinths during the years. Below are Labyrints 2024 that we visited. January kicked off the year with a fun and moderately mild weather visit to a childhood friend and her family who now live in Wisconsin. We...
Cedar Rapids Gazette Features – Updated
Features: 2020 – 2024 2024 (For a list of features go to https://www.thegazette.com/marion-and-rich-patterson/) For related articles click here. November 10, 2024. Riding the (t)Rails. (in print copy and Green Gazette) November 3, 2024. Land of the Dawn. October 23,...
Why Do Prescribed Prairie Burns?
Historic Background and Reason For Prescribed Burning After the glaciers retreated over 9,000 years ago fires swept across much of North America, set by Native Americans and occasionally started by lightning. Fire created the vegetation and wildlife Europeans found...
Ice Storms
The world around Winding Pathways changed overnight. On December 14, 2024, we awoke to an ice-glazed world. We know that hurricanes, tornadoes, and derechos cause widespread havoc. Ice storms present their own perils to trees, people, and wild and domestic animals....
Why Do Fires Burn Hot or Cold?
Experience a prairie burn.