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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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Are There Really Waterfalls in Iowa?
There it is! A Waterfall. There’s a second. Wow, just upstream is a third. Three waterfalls in one Iowa stretch of stream! How can that be in such a flat state? Waterfalls bring mental images of water tumbling down steep hillsides where it plunges...
Kendal’s Appeal as a Senior Residence
This blog was first published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, on June 30, 2024 As Dad and Mom entered their 90s they increasingly struggled maintaining the safety and cleanliness of the home they’d lived in for 60 years. Despite our urging they resisted moving to a...
Two Rural Views: Iowa’s Rich Heritage
Winding Pathways is near the edge of town, making it easy to drive into the country and enjoy rural views. Mostly our car traverses Iowa’s abundant corn and soybean fields, but two recent trips gave exceptional views of different vegetation that bloomed in bright...
White Clover
We recently discovered an amusing irony created by one of the most common lawn plants - white clover. Sometimes called Dutch Clover, this low-growing plant graces unsprayed lawns in temperate regions across the globe. Normally, we discourage nonnative plants at...
The Serendipity of Giant Trees
This is a story of the serendipity of giant trees. On a recent long drive to New Jersey, we planned to visit a grove of giant white pine trees in Pennsylvania’s Cook Forest State Park. Plans don’t always go perfectly, but sometimes serendipity happens. It sure did for...
Wood Has a Comforting Embrace
If you want to connect with a cozy, gorgeous athletic venue, take a gander at the University of Idaho’s Idaho Central Credit Union (ICCU) Arena. Beautiful and practical it is a joy to tour and take in events.
Fire In the Forest and Smoke Everywhere
Smoke Gets In Our Eyes We sat on our deck on a June 2024 evening and breathed air carrying the season’s first waves of smoke wafting from Canadian fires. Last summer the smoke was so thick visibility shrank to less than a mile. We don’t remember such thick smoke in...
Dangerous Animals
Gosh, the media have people scared to get outside thinking there are snakes hanging from trees, bears ready to attack and mountain lions luring about. Really?
Raccoon Kerfluffle
A raccoon kerfluffle with loud growling and snarling startled us to nearly jump from our chairs one May evening. It came from an oak tree 20 feet away from the house and close to our bird feeder. A flashlight beam on that pitch-black night revealed the culprits -...
Delicious Sockeye Salmon
On an April morning, we discovered three fish that had spent their lives circling the North Pacific Ocean on our porch in Iowa. Three delicious sockeye salmon landed on our porch. We quickly converted them to delicious meals. How’s that possible? Back In Time The...
Legacy Fishing Reel
Legacy Fishing Reel Our son-in-law, Brian Ohlen, shared a photo of a delightful legacy. He is grinning as he works his reel hauling in a fish from Alaskan waters. It wasn’t just an ordinary reel. He is using a legacy fishing reel. Rich’s father, Henry Patterson, was...
Morel Surprise
Serendipity A surprise morel mushroom sighting was a serendipitous find for Marion. It happened on May Day 2024, in an area of Winding Pathways we’re rewilding. While seeking blooming bluebells and emerging May Apples she spotted the delicious fungus poking through...
Field Pussytoes – A Delightful Lawn Surprise
Field Pussytoes delight us! (And, we plan to encourage them) Early this spring a lawn care company dropped by and offered to spray our lawn. “We’ll keep the weeds out,” said the enthusiastic young man. He knocked at the wrong door. We take joy in our lawn’s diversity,...
Whiterock Conservancy
The steep climb got us huffing and puffing until we crested the hill and looked around. Beneath us was a spacious pond and on the far hillside cattle grazed in the evening's dwindling light. Oncoming darkness, combined with tired leg muscles, encouraged us to circle...
No-till Gardening – An Easy Way to Soil Health
Spring Ritual After this weird winter, most of us in North America are simply ready for spring and want to get outside. Some folks take initiative and start garden and flower seeds indoors then transfer them outside when the weather moderates. Are you ready to work...
Handy Tools
A rarely used handy tool made our lives easier after we found a box on our porch. It contained a remote weather station our two grown children chipped in to buy it for us. Many parts needed to be assembled. That would have been difficult had we not been "tool...