May’s Ten Best Days

by | May 1, 2025 | Birds, Flowers/Grasses, Nature

A woodland stroll is outstanding in any season but is best during May’s first ten days.  We always marvel at nature’s fleeting changes that happen swiftly.

Why Early May

Late April and early May are when ephemeral flowers revel in their time in the sun. That long word “ephemeral” means a short time. There’s a brief time in late April through about mid-May when the air and soil are warm but trees haven’t yet leafed out. So, sunlight streams through still naked branches to reach the ground.

Bloodroot, trout lily, anemone, Dutchman’s breeches, ginger, trillium, and May apples, among many of the woodland flowers, take advantage of this window of sunshine. They grow amazingly fast, bloom for a short time, and then seem to disappear for the rest of the year. They are there but hard to see and not in bloom during summer’s heat and winter’s chill.

Other Delights

Enjoying wildflowers is only one of early May’s woodland delights. Another is birds.

Many of them are, like wildflowers, ephemeral but in a different way. They are migrants en route from points way south to breeding areas up north. For only a few days, often in early May, they linger to feed, rest, and sing before continuing their journey.

We always look forward to seeing migrating birds on their way north and others that come north to nest near our home. Flowers are easy to find. They can’t hide. Birds can, and often many fascinating birds are hard to spot but easy to hear as they sing in what seems like springtime joy.

Modern Technology Helps

Identifying flower and bird species is a fun activity that modern technology has made relatively simple. We use phone apps to help identify plants and birds. Many are free.

Plants: SEEK is amazing. SEEK is part of an electronic world called iNaturalist. It works for many domestic plants as well as wild ones. Load the app, open it when encountering an unknown plant, take a photo, and SEEK can usually accurately identify it.

 

Birds:  We love the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology’s Merlin Bird ID app. It includes a sound identification tool. So, when we’re in the woods, prairie or marsh and we hear birdsong we can’t identify, we turn on Merlin and select the sound feature.  It identifies what’s singing. Merlin also includes photos and information on each species.

 

We hope you take in the annual show. Early May is the best time to be outside. Enjoy and remember.

 

Keweenaw Peninsula By Winter

by | Apr 17, 2025 | Geology/Weather, Nature, Travel/Columns

Quincy Warmth

After a short walk through deep snow in the bitter cold, we entered a dimly lit tunnel. As we stepped into Quincy Mine’s long tunnel we were surrounded by warmth. Well, the warmth was relative. Outside it was below zero but inside the tunnel was a balmy 43 degrees.

We visited Quincy Mine in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula in frigid February, but if we had been there on a blistering hot August day the mine’s interior temperature would be a delightfully cool 43 degrees. It’s always that temperature in that tunnel deep underground.

No matter the season, the Keweenaw Peninsula is a fun place to visit. It juts upward into Lake Superior. Lake effect snow piles deeply each winter, but in summer the Lake sends cool breezes inland.

“We Do Winter Well”

This claim by Visit Keweenaw advocates is no exaggeration. Residents navigate steep, snowy streets with aplomb. Some travel by snowmobiles to work, take a short spin during lunch breaks, and motor on home after work. They dress warmly and relish the cold. The area welcomes winter visitors who enjoy downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, shopping, and meals of grilled lake whitefish and locally made pasties. More about them later. Broom and ice hockey regionally and at the Michigan Technological University draw in families by the dozens.  The Huskies, sometimes known as the “Stick Huskies” – think hockey – compete, creating fabulous ice sculptures that dot the campus and area.

Shopping and dining are equally fun in summer, and warmer weather offers boating, swimming, fishing, and sightseeing. During warm months, visitors can book a ride on boats taking them to the distant Isle Royale National Park.

What and Where Is the Keweenaw?

The Keweenaw is actually a peninsula on a peninsula. It’s attached to the relatively wild Upper Peninsula, but interestingly it’s no longer a peninsula at all. Originally a natural inlet extended most of the way across the peninsula’s base. To facilitate shipping, land was removed, extending the inlet into a canal and making the Keweenaw an island.  Today the main towns of Houghton and Hancock face each other across the Portage Canal and are separated by one of the world’s largest lift bridges. In summer, dozens of boats motor by, including some large ones.

Copper Country

For us touring Quincy Mine was a visit highlight. For nearly a century it produced thousands of tons of copper that helped America electrify. Quincy is only one of several that once operated in the area but they all were abandoned when less expensive, open pit mining got established in Utah.

Today Quincy Mine welcomes people to tour its towering surface features that pulled ore up from upwards of 9,000 feet underground. Down that far, the temperatures were blistering 80+ degrees. It was amazing, but we were more fascinated deep down in a mine tunnel when our guide, Clayton Gomez, stopped our small group and doused the electric lights, leaving only one candle to illuminate the vast darkness. “This is how much light miners had as they used muscles to drill into the rock.”

“They’d then stuff blasting power into the hole and set it off.  Afterward they loaded the loose stone in carts and pushed it to a shaft where a lift carried it to the surface. It was dangerous and hard work. They earned $2 for a 10-hour shift,” he added. Some of us tried to muscle the heavy cart to little avail.

Initially, the demand was for highly skilled workers in teams of three. One held an iron bar, two alternated hitting the end.  In between the one holding the bar, turned it slightly so it would not lodge in the rock. At best this would be dangerous. Done by candle light, required cooperation and skills. Mining innovations changed that. Men worked alone so if an accident happened, they might not be found for hours.

Clayton ended our tour with this thought: “Holes in the ground all we have left to tell the story.” But, he pointed out, copper remains such an important part of our lives. Computers, cars, cell phones.

Who Were the Early Settlers and Miners?

The workers, immigrants from the Cornish region, were small, tough, wiry. In the paternalist setting where they received housing and a few amenities, if one got injured or killed, the family was forced to move. After a sweat-soaking shift, the men would change into clothes and step into the sub-freezing weather and trundle home. Only to repeat the process the next day.

Other immigrants from northern Europe arrived and took to the cold, snowy climate. Today skiing and ski jumping are hallmarks of the Nordic heritage. Evidence of the Daughters of Italy, Sons of Norway, Canadian, Finnish and Cornish ancestry highlight the area.

Although mining is now long gone, a delicious traditional food remains. A meat and vegetable pie called a pasty is tasty, nutritious, and portable. (Say the word with a short “a” so as not to confuse with an accoutrement of pole dancers.) Miners would bring this traditional Cornish meal with them as they descended into the pit and enjoy it for lunch.

Many local stores and cafes now sell pasties and we ate several during our stay.

We also enjoyed taking a sauna at Takka Saunas on a frigid day. After sitting in a steamy small sauna building, we dashed out. Marion did the traditional Finnish tradition of laying down in the snow making a snow angel. Rich only stood barefoot in the snow. A sauna part of Finnish culture is fun in any season.

 

Keweenaw Mountain Lodge

Massive fireplace at Keweenaw Mountain Lodge.

Dark sky and slow travel haven.

Part of our adventure was finding respite at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge.  Some in our group snowshoed. Others lounged in the rustic ambiance. Adjusting to “slow travel” and learning more about the dark sky options. As the lodge owner stated, “We lean into what is authentic and unique.” Heated cabins and groomed trails beckoned. The chef creates delicious picnic baskets and the Tasting Post features a “slow dining” experience. On clear nights the aurora is spectacular.

Jibba Jabba

We went to the Keweenaw for the annual Jibba Jabba Railjam. Dozens of young competitors climbed the manufactured hill in downtown Houghton and took turns sluicing down the steep slope, riding rails, swooshing through the tunnel, and spinning to a stop in front of hundreds of enthusiastic spectators. For days ahead, city crews had hauled in and packed snow at just the right angle on one of the steep streets that are hallmarks of Houghton. The result? Fast speed and thrilling rides down the course.

Getting There

Five hundred miles north and slightly East is the thumb of the Keweenaw that juts into Lake Superior.  Houghton, MI, is Eastern time so we lost an hour. We took two days going, stopping to walk a special labyrinth in Westfield, WI, and overnight at Rhinelander, taking in the Hodag Hunt. These mythological creatures frequent the town and purportedly the nearby forests.  We did encounter several in town, which was fun. Eagle River is worth a stop with a terrific coffee shop and amazing annual ice sculptures.

After two hours of snowy and scary driving we found clear pavement.  Good thing we have advances in car technology and road safety. We stayed on our side of the road because of the center and side rumble strips. No “good ‘ole days” for us.  We prefer safe cars and roadways.

We drove back in an easy day as we gained an hour.

For information on what to do at the Keweenaw and where to stay check out Visit Keweenaw.

We were there during winter’s icy grip but a future visit during summer’s warmth is in our plans.

 

Turtles of Iowa

by | Apr 10, 2025 | Amphibians/Reptiles, Nature

Reading a new turtle book stirred memories of Rich’s boyhood near Cedar Lake in New Jersey.

The book, The Natural History of the Turtles of Iowa, by Terry Vandewalle and Neil P. Bernstein is Iowa focused but applies to turtles over a great swath of North America.

Poking Around Cedar Lake

Snapping Turtle on log.

Snappers have powerful jaws.

During his adolescent and high school years Rich spent hours in, on, or around the 99-acre lake. “I remember rowing through a weedy area and pausing to watch a musk turtle walk along the muddy bottom. I’d often see painted turtles, which I called painters, basking in the sun. Every once in a while, the triangular head of a giant snapper would pierce the surface. Then, there were Eastern box turtles and wood turtles that I’d spot while walking,” he recalled.

Although Cedar Lake is a thousand miles east of Iowa, according to the authors our state has musks, snappers, painters, and box and wood turtles, although the last is the Ornate Box Turtle, a Midwestern species.

Turtles of Iowa book

Reading through the new book brought more than pleasant memories. It provided accurate, current information on the natural history of all of Iowa’s wild turtles. It also created sadness at the plight of these amazing and beautiful reptiles.

The book has two general sections. The second and largest is a description of each species found in our state. It’s packed with natural history information and photos of adults, juveniles, and even turtle eggs and nests.

Decline of Turtle Habitat

The first section can leave a reader depressed. Turtles have a hard time living amid the massive habitat changes and direct exploitation caused by people. Although these changes also take place across the continent Iowa, perhaps, is an extreme example.

Turtles that thrive in prairies and wetlands saw their world contract by close to 100% through conversion to row crops, cities, and roads. No habitat, no turtles. They hang on in pockets of appropriate habitat. Perhaps more alarming is the theft of these noble reptiles by people for pets and the turtle meat market. On top of that, many are squashed by cars as they try to cross roads.

No Kidnapping Allowed!

AToo many people can’t seem to resist picking up a box turtle and taking it home. Kidnapping any species, especially turtles, is bad. Caring for a captured turtle is tricky and often results in its death. If it is released away from its home, the animal’s amazing homing ability stimulates a quest to walk home…….and face death on every road it crosses. Some turtles are caught and sold as pets. Others are sold for their meat. Collection is adding population stress to animals suffering habitat loss. Don’t do this! Enjoy them from a distance and let them go on their way.

Iowa’s Turtles

Vandewalle and Bernstein graphically describe the plight of today’s turtles while offering hints of optimism. For example, the Iowa Department of Transportation crafted a tunnel under the new Highway 100 near Cedar Rapids. It’s become a safe way for Blandings and other turtles to cross under the busy road.

This book is a good read. This Bur Oak guide is published by the University of Iowa Press. For information or to order it visit University of Iowa Press. It can also be purchased from Amazon.

 

Clean the Tool

by | Mar 27, 2025 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Home Improvements

  • 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.

Onwer's manual with date of purchase in Sharpie.

Review the owners manual before operating a tool.

I’d just bought a Milwaukee Brand Random Orbit Sander. Even before handling it I fished the owner’s manual out of the box, wrote the date of purchase and location I bought it on the manual, and leafed through it. Included were clear instructions on the importance of cleaning the backing pad.

Test and Clean

Wood dust on bottom of sander.

Wood dust on bottom of sander.

After testing my new sander, I unfastened the backing pad to find a surprising amount of wood dust packed in crevices. A bit of work with a brush and rag, combined with brisk blowing, swept the debris away, making the sander ready for its next use.

“It’s important to keep all tools clean, lubricated and well maintained. Saws, grinders, and sanders tend to create much debris that can lodge inside them, said Pete Carlson, my tool mentor and and an employee of Milwaukee Tools. “Keeping them clean helps the tool run efficiently, and safely,” he added.

Habit

I think I’m unusual. Right after buying any mechanical device, whether it is a new refrigerator, fishing reel, or tool, I write the date of acquisition on the owner’s manual and include where I bought it. Then I leaf through the instructions and place them in a permanent file for future reference. I also use a Sharpie pen and write my name and the purchase date on the new item. Above all, I immediately clean the tool when done using it.

Read the Manual

Reading the manual helps me learn the capabilities of a tool or reel that I didn’t know.  Instructions also clearly detail maintenance needs and sometimes include troubleshooting and repair information if there’s a problem.

At Winding Pathways, we use chainsaws, trimmers, mowers, and snowblowers for outdoor land management and a diversity of carpentry tools for home maintenance. Years ago, I bought a starter kit of battery-powered Milwaukee brand tools and have built on the system often. I love ‘em for their efficiency, ease of use, and safety.

Lesson from the Army

Back in Army trainee days my squad’s crusty drill sergeant wouldn’t let us go to chow after a tiring day until we’d thoroughly cleaned our rifles.  We were usually starved but knew the sergeant was right. It became a habit. Now, after a chainsaw session I may be tired and hungry but the priority is cleaning and sharpening the saw.

Clean the tool.

 Rich’s Tool Tips

  • Buy quality tools, but before using one read the owner’s manual.
  • Wear protective gear. Usually, that means hearing and eye protection, sturdy gloves and shoes, and, when chainsawing chaps.
  • Clean every tool after use.
  • Keep cutting tools sharp, lubricated, and well-maintained.

Respecting Tools

Tools are amazing. They make the most difficult chore easier and faster. But they should be treated with care and respect and used safely.

Sourcing Tools

Dust on sander. Date of purchase.

Side view with date of purchase.

Most of our tools are either the Milwaukee or EGO Brand. We like them both and occasionally buy a new tool to run on their battery systems. As we buy new tools or replace old ones, we tend to buy Milwaukee for the quality and convenience of using one battery system.  Other companies sell quality tools as well.

EGO snowblower

The snowblower starts with a push of a button.

 

DEI Chicken Flock

by | Mar 20, 2025 | Chickens

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 what we have:

  • Light Brahmas are huge with a quiet personality and mostly white feathers. Their distant ancestry may be traced back to Asia, so they’re named after the Brahmaputra River.
  • New Hampshire Reds are medium-sized hard-working brown egg layers with light reddish feathers. They’re Yankees to the core. Industrious. Taciturn. Weather tough.
  • Delawares are another medium-sized brown-egg layer with mostly white feathers and a name honoring our second smallest state.
  • Mystic Onyxes, bred by Hoover’s Hatchery, are jet black and socially reserved.
  • Buff Cochins are huge birds with fluffy-buffy feathers. Only modest brown egg layers but friendly. Cochin is a region in Southern Vietnam.
  • California Whites are nervous fast-moving white-egg layers always on the lookout for predators…..and they’ll let the flock know when they see one. It’s named for our most populous state.

Blending Characteristics

Our DEI chicken flock of mixed breeds includes a blend of good characteristics. Together they create a community of diversity and strength. Occasionally they have a kerfuffle. Don’t we all? Mostly they get along with each other and help each other out. Partly because we give them space and good living quarters, and treat them kindly. It’s a resilient, mutually supportive, and productive flock.  We treat them all equally and humanely. In return they eat food scraps (no waste into the sewer system or landfill), give us their jewel eggs, and entertainment as we chuckle at their antics.

Lessons

We have had chickens for decades. Even as young kids. Our chickens always teach us about personality diversity. Each chicken breed has likely common characteristics. Then, there’s personality variation within a breed. For example, we collect eggs by lifting the lid of each nest. Sometimes there’s a hen occupying it. If it’s a Black Onyx we get thoroughly scolded by her for disturbing her privacy. However, if a Light Brahma is in the nest she doesn’t seem to mind at all being spied on.

Our flock is also healthier because we DO provide space and superior nutrition, keep the coop and run clean, and remove opportunities for pests like mice and House (English) Sparrows to bring in diseases or eat valuable feed.

The same holds true for people. When we treat each other well, build on our strengths, and have open minds, everyone is better off.
As a nation, like in DEI chicken flocks, we are stronger, wiser, and healthier in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Group at Barn

While chickens forage Rich shares about our projects.