Setting Our Yard on Fire!

by | Nov 30, 2023 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Garden/Yard

On  Fire?

Many readers know we burn our yard. What? Are we nuts? Fire kills. Fire destroys. Well, it can but it also cleanses and heals.
It’s one way to manage natural growth on properties. So, on a balmy early November day, we set our yard on fire! Flames towered over the yard as intense heat pushed outward.

We usually burn smallish prairies we’ve planted in both our front and back yards. Years ago, we usually burned in March but more recently we’ve shifted to November. Burning in fall seems to encourage wildflower blooms next summer.

Preparation is the Key

We’re unusual but not reckless. (A good read is at this address. www.prairienursery.com/media/pdf/burn-your-prairie-safely.pdf.) Before burning we did these things:

  • Mowed a wide firebreak around our proposed burn area. Closely clipped lawns are nearly as effective as a firebreak as pavement or bare soil.
  • Acquired a fire permit from Linn County Public Health.
  • Found friends and neighbors to help us manage the burn.
  • Ahead of time educated neighbors about the value of burning and then alerted them of our plan to burn in a certain time frame.
  • Had appropriate tools on hand before we burned. These included garden rakes, matches, and both a portable fire pump, called a “Smith Indian”, and a hose stretched to the burn site.

Important Last-Minute Steps

On the day of our proposed burn, we did what the Health Department requires and first checked the air pollution report. We are only allowed to burn when the air quality is good, so jump online to a local map that shows real-time air quality. If the air quality is good, we call the sheriff’s department before burning. This is so that if someone reports smoke or fire, they know not to send out firefighters.

A light breeze helps push the fire through standing dried-out prairie grass, but too much wind can be dangerous. Our permit allows us to burn only if the wind is 20 mph or less.

Consideration of Neighbors

Because busy 30th Street Drive is our south property border we burn only when a south wind will push smoke away from the road and neighbor’s homes. North of our property is a large woodland where no one lives and there’s plenty of space for the smoke to disperse.

Rewards After Burning

Burning takes planning and preparation but the actual burn is over in a flash. On November 5th we were all ready, called the sheriff, and lit the prairie just after 3 pm. Flames roared through the grass and stopped dead when they reached our mowed lawn. Less than an hour after striking the match our fire was completely out and we were munching on pizza.

Most homeowners can’t burn, but many can. It’s an interesting and natural way to manage property.  And, it’s fun.

How to Mulch Leaves

by | Nov 23, 2023 | Uncategorized

Mulching blades chop up leaves

Two blades chop up leaves.

A few years ago we found a way to make removing leaves fast, easy, and good for the lawn. We actually don’t remove them but mulch ‘em in place.

We’re old enough to remember childhood autumns when homeowners raked their leaves to the curb and set them on fire. Smoke wafted throughout the neighborhood.

For good reasons, many towns banned leaf burning and began picking up and composting leaves. It’s a great change, but there’s a better way.

Raking is a monotonous chore. Leaf blowers herd leaves to the curb while filling the neighborhood with dreadful noise that sounds like a magnum force dentist’s drill.

We don’t like raking and won’t use a blower. Instead, we mulch leaves right on the lawn. Our battery-powered mower gives us an easy and environmentally appropriate way to convert them into lawn fertilizer.  At the same time, we help small pollinating insects in the hibernation stage and small amphibians among other helpful creatures.

We bought an EGO mower a few years ago that has two blades that effectively chop leaves into tiny pieces that filter downward beneath grass blades. Eventually, tiny leaf pieces decompose to add nutrients to the soil that next year’s lawn grass will appreciate and use.

Unlike blowers, our battery-powered mower operates quietly. Our neighbors probably can’t even hear it.

Note:  We purchased our EGO mulching mower at full retail cost.  

Sweet Home Alabama

by | Nov 16, 2023 | Nature, Travel/Columns

Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute

“Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd is a “heartfelt tribute to the state of Alabama.” Adopted by Alabama tourism as its slogan the “catchy” phrase indeed speaks to the variety and comfort of this truly Southern Hospitality state.

On a hot and muggy September trip to the deep South, we experienced Alabama hospitality and diversity from north to south.

Surprising Diversity

The northern third of Alabama is rugged where the Appalachian Mountains swing in from the northeast and finger down southwest toward the center of the state. The Tennessee River flows from Knoxville, TN, then cuts northwest through Huntsville and Decatur and on into the Tennessee Valley Authority.  It’s wet there and tent camping is an adventure when the waters run high. We quickly learned that most of the waterways flow south and spill eventually into the Gulf. Planning our crossings was important because there are limited bridges from west to east.

Ferry crossing Ohio River at Cave in Rock, IL

Quick way to cross the Ohio

Further north we did ferry across the Ohio at Cave in Rock, IL. This working ferry gets local and distance travelers across the broad river. The sounds of the ferry clanging and moaning of chains and engines at night recalled Jurassic Park! Then we wound our way through Kentucky and Tennessee to Alabama following parts of the Natchez Trace and the Trail of Tears.

Geologically, the ancient Appalachians of northern Alabama boast caverns, natural bridges, and tumbling waterways with falls. Cooler mountain air and vistas delight weary travelers’ eyes.

Birders find diverse birding from the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker that thrives in mature pine forests to the Bald Eagles that seem to soar everywhere nonplussed by humans. Nearer the coast migrating birds rest from their long flight over the Gulf. The State promotes varied birding trails.

Culturally, The Poarch Creek Indians hold Alabama sacred and are the only federally recognized Indian Tribe in the state. The Helen Keller home in Sheffield and Huntsville’s U.S. Space and Rocket Center are great stops.

Black Belt of Alabama

This unusual phrase refers not to martial arts but to fertile calcareous soils that span central Alabama. Here, farming in plantations dominated.  This region is also where the Civil Rights movement of the ‘60s. Montgomery hosts the new Legacy Museum that powerfully retells the story of kidnapped Africans who became slaves on plantations and the unjust, centuries-long suppression and incarceration of people. Along with The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, this important, interactive museum holds accountable past injustices and opens the door for reconciliation and cultural change where we ALL can be better people.

The Coastal Shores

The drive through large swaths of timber-harvested pine forests revealed a source of the nation’s telephone poles. So, thank Alabama’s logging industry the next time you pass a pole.  Our destination was Gulf Shores State Park and Lodge where we explored for three days.  The Lodge is LEED certified and surrounding modern “cabins” and RV camping accommodate most budgets. How smart of the state to get this piece of Gulf land.  It is one of the few areas not privately developed and with views of the Gulf waters. With miles of bicycle trails, fresh, brackish, and salt-water areas, and white sugar sand beaches, it is totally enjoyable. The habitat changes in a short distance depending on elevation (yes there is elevation along the coast) and proximity to the Gulf. We bicycled past freshwater ponds, palmetto areas, oak knobs, and back to beach habitat.

Lots for most people to take in. Our favorite was walking after dark along the shore looking for the ghost crabs. Herons stalked nearby, also on the hunt. Dawn found us sitting quietly along with others watching the sun rise over the Gulf. Each day crews set out and took in beach chairs and umbrellas. Flags flutter in strategic places alerting visitors to water conditions.  During our stay, small yellow flags rippled in stiff winds. Rip currents are a thing to pay attention to.

Rich took in a day fishing trip out of sight of land learning more about Gulf waters, sea bed, and the fishing industry.  Marion took in oyster harvesting. Owners of Admiral Shellfish and Navy Cove shared the aquaculture techniques to raise oysters from pinpoint size to eating size in a matter of months.  In northern waters, it’s years before edible oysters can be harvested. We both enjoyed several meals of oysters – who got the raw end of the deal!

Lodging & FOOD!

Uncle Mick offers pecan pie with ice cream and bourbon sauce to a customer

Uncle Mick’s Cajun old town Prattville is THE place to eat Southern.

We can’t say enough about Sweet Home Alabama hospitality and food. The front desk staff at the Hampton Inn and Suites, Prattville, AL, are some of the most friendly, efficient, and kind service workers we have ever met. They guided us to Uncle Mick’s Cajun just down the road in old town Prattville.  The unique and tasty dishes and personal touches by the owner made the meal memorable.  Staff kept dishing up small portions of truly Southern food for us to try and then loaded on our choices.  Uncle Mick himself visited and drawled, “Would you like the pecan pie warmed up?” Well, yes.  “How about a scoop of our local vanilla ice cream?” Well, yes.  “And we’ll pour over warm bourbon sauce. If you’d like.” Well, YES! All at no extra charge. Amazing!

At Gulf Shores, the Flying Harpoon is truly local. Unpretentious, funky, and busy! Eating our po boys, and shrimp baskets, and sipping a local brew we chatted with servers and residents. Down the road tourists dined at the “recommended” upscale restaurants.

One of our most curious adventures was the luxury RV water park Tropic Falls at OWA. Not much natural there, but a great time watching huge buckets fill with water and splash down soaking nearby visitors. It was hot so that was fine! Tropical falls and dizzying roller coaster rides were two hits along with mermaids serving beverages and food. Quite the place. Be ready to spend money.

Back up through pine forests, skirting rivers, crossing the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and on into familiar Midwest terrain. We carry memories and stories with us.

Furless Tailed Squirrel Update

by | Nov 9, 2023 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Mammals, Nature

Update on Furless Tailed Squirrels

Furless tail on squirrel

Even in winter, the squirrels’ fur looks healthy…except for their tails.

Two winters ago, we noticed squirrels with nearly furless tails visiting our bird feeders. Our blog about them on Winding Pathways brought hundreds of visitors. Some from other countries! Apparently, we weren’t the only people seeing these hapless animals.

Last winter we had almost no squirrels in the yard. We wonder if the malady that caused them to lose tail fur might have knocked their population way back.

This fall we’re seeing plenty of both fox and gray squirrels in our yard. Their populations have rebounded. And, they have long, furry tails! Squirrels make us happy. While many people don’t like them gobbling seeds at the feeder, we are OK with that and find them as fascinating and fun as cardinals, chickadees, and goldfinches.

Squirrels and the Derecho

Now three years since the disastrous derecho that felled thousands of trees in the Eastern Iowa area, we’re seeing the vital work squirrels do. In the wake of the storm, people planted thousands of trees. Then came three drought years. The National Weather Service placed Cedar Rapids into its exceptional drought category in 2023.

The drought killed many human-planted trees but the ones planted by squirrels are doing just fine. Thanks to them, baby hickories, walnuts, and oaks are poking through the soil in nearby woodlands and our yard.

This fall we’ve watched squirrels carry acorns and walnuts across the yard, dig frantically, and bury their treasure. These enthusiastic gatherers and diggers plan to return during winter’s lean months to retrieve dinner from underground storage. Fortunately, squirrels bury more nuts than they’ll ever need. Unfortunately for them, some of the furry hoarders die with their hidden hoard untouched to sprout in the spring. Squirrels are master tree planters.

American Ninjas in the Yard

An oak and a walnut live about 150 feet south of our back deck.  Acorns and walnuts are epicurean squirrel delights, and our trees attract the furry acrobats. Squirrels like to use treetops as highways, jumping from one to the next. Our oak and walnut presented them with a problem. There is a several-foot gap between their branch tips. We are fascinated watching the squirrels make the long leap from twig to twig, sometimes leaping up to reach a branch on another tree, often while clutching a nut in its teeth. Their athleticism is astounding. So is their courage.

Squirrels fall. Twice we’ve seen one lose its grip and drop from the top of enormous trees. Both times the furry animals spread eagle their legs and tails while descending and hit the ground with a thump. They are shaken, rest, and then scamper off. A fall that would instantly kill a person, is hardly phased by the squirrels.

This winter we’ll again welcome squirrels to our feeders. They can dine on whole or cracked corn and cobs. We are assured of entertainment with their romps, athleticism and enthusiasm.

High Plains Adventures

by | Nov 2, 2023 | Travel/Columns

West to Montana

This September, after a more normal Cedar Rapids year (post-derecho, post-COVID, post-surgeries) we headed to the American Prairie Reserve in Montana which we help support. Our compact equipment fit nicely in the Subaru as we headed out on Highway 30. That gave us a great view of wind turbines, especially in western Iowa.  We threaded our way up to and through Sioux City to I-90 and crossed South Dakota, pausing at eye-catching rest stops.

The Badlands were smoky from Canadian wildfires the first night we camped but cleared some by the next morning. The spacious tent sites were pleasant, and our lifetime National Park senior passes came in handy.

We enjoyed the Badlands loop and then just had to stop at iconic Wall Drug and walk through without succumbing to the enticements.  We didn’t get ice water but had coffee instead.

The Bighorns in Wyoming.

Such unusual names like Crazy Woman Creek and the Tongue River, had us speculating what might be behind those names.  As we passed through the Crow Reservation we thought about the contrasts between Reservation land, with less arable soil, and non-Reservation lands and settlements.  The Crow land is large. We noticed some fields with square bales compared to the large, round bales on non-reservation ranches.

Panoramic view of Bighorns

The Bighorns loom in the distance.

The second night found us camping in a private campground in southeast Montana north of the reservation. Most private campgrounds are geared toward huge RVs and camping trailers, with few tent spaces. However, we secured a tent spot by a stream and enjoyed showers.

The land changed radically in Montana.  Rocky hills with huge hayfields, grazing cattle, and beehives dominated. We saw some sorghum and sunflower fields.

American Praririe Reserve

We headed west and then north on US 191 to our cabin on the American Prairie Reserve (APR).  Small cabins with bunk beds and storage space were seven miles north of the Missouri River. Although we have tent camped many times in bear and cougar country, we were glad to have a rustic cabin. Along with four cabins, there were also about twelve primitive camping sites. We cooked outside.

The well for potable water, with high mineral content, was 2,000 feet deep.  We used community showers, toilets, two sinks, and a dishwashing sink/drainer which were very thoughtfully spaced and planned. By hiking trails near the cabins, we learned about prairie ecosystems – grasslands, soil and water, bugs, birds, and animals.  As we hiked around the area, prairie dogs gave us hell every time, pipping like crazy.  Plenty of scat and some bear paw prints confirmed we were glad to have a cabin to stay in.

Little Rockies in the north in this photo. The Lewis and Clark Expedition thought they were the Rockies.

Other trails lace the Reserve. The Upper Missouri River Breaks are west and the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge is south of the American Prairie Reserve with trails.

The evenings were delightful. Gorgeous sunsets glowed for hours. And in the dark sky, a jillion stars shone brightly.  We saw constellations we hadn’t seen in years.

Munching in Malta Montana

We enjoyed the tiny, totally packed general store in Zortman hamlet. (3-4 of everything!)  We circled the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge, a treasure of lakes and wetlands. Here is a sanctuary for resident and migratory birds, many new to us. The water in the area is managed to maintain the lakes and an abundance of artificial islands were established to protect the nesting birds from predators.  Stretch’s Pizza in Malta, MT, offered up some of the best vegetarian pizza ever. A welcome change from camp food and one of only two restaurant meals of our trip. The comprehensive Phillips County Museum in Malta gave major space with empathetic attention to both Native people and settlers. Absolutely a not-to-miss stop. And, of course, there was Elvis, the dinosaur, so named because of its perfectly articulated hips, found near Malta.

After three days at and near APR we headed up to US Highway 2 and Fort Peck. Again, our National Passes helped with expenses. A lovely camping spot below the dam along the Missouri River boasts trails in every direction.

Fort Peck

Fort Peck Dam is the largest hydraulic earth fill dam in the world, producing a billion kilowatts of electricity each year. You read it right, one billion. It was built in about seven years during the Great Depression but hydroelectric production didn’t get started until the early 1950s. It is 21,000 feet long.

All along the Missouri River from the Breaks to Fort Peck area and around the reservoir is the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge.  It has sizable bison/buffalo herds. North of US Hwy 2 and east of the dam is the Fort Peck Indian Reservation where about 800 buffalo roam.  We saw antelope, occasionally one but usually up to seven grazing in fields along with the cattle. American Prairie Reserve has the goal of preserving up to 300,000 acres of grassland in Montana which has one of only four sustainable grassland ecosystems in the world.  The Reserve staff work with farmers to install wildlife-friendly fences, which have a more flexible, non-barbed wire on the bottom for antelope to cross under safely.

Into the Dakotas

Next, we headed east to North Dakota, and an unusually named town, Home on the Range.  Every mile was a feast for the eyes as we drove through the Painted Canyon in Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) before heading to the south camping unit.

We managed to snag one of the last two camping spots.  The wild horses, buffalo, antelope, and elk can all venture into the camping area.  We saw evidence of the first two right near our camping spot. Five of the horses thought they might make a visit but campers steered them back into the wilds.

On our way to hike the Paddock Rim trail in the morning, we passed Sagamore Hill, Teddy Roosevelt’s Summer White House. Wild horses grazed in the distance. Bruce compared his foot size to buffalo hoof prints.

Prairie dog towns stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions.  These chubby critters were grazing away, fattening up, and storing food for the winter as they do not hibernate. They were less wary than the ones on the American Prairie Reserve.

Agriculture and Open Range

As we drove through Montana, North Dakota, and northern South Dakota, I could not believe how many hay bales in fields and the enormous stacks and rows of bales we saw. We understand they had an unusually rainy summer and so the harvest was plentiful and they will be selling a lot of hay south. We also saw many cattle storm shelters on the ranches, and huge corners of metal or wood on the west and north for cattle to shelter if they get caught in the field during snowstorms. Here is a stock image of a shelter. The ones we saw were 2-4 times this big on a side to shelter a large herd and probably some wildlife, too.

Black Hills

On south to the Black Hills where we camped near Deadwood with the hills behind and mule deer in the campground.

The next day we circled lovely Sylvan Lake which was one of Bruce’s Aunt Gertrude’s favorite spots.

Having seen Rushmore several times with Gertrude, we chose the Needles Highway with plenty of crazy drivers.

Custer Park carefully maintains a herd of about 1400 buffalo so the land is not overgrazed.  We visited the buffalo center and learned a mountain of new information and met “Bob” the buffalo.

We headed south to Wind Cave National Park to camp and saw buffalo coming down the hill as we ate supper. With an approaching storm perhaps they were heading to shelter.

Our camp was somewhat sheltered by a hill but we endured the most vivid storm with constant lightning and thunder, and pounding rain we have ever experienced in our tent.  Not the windiest but certainly the loudest and most vivid. Obviously, we survived and surprisingly stayed dry. Running to the car would have been deadly.

Our last camping spot before we headed to our farm was on the Niobrara River at Smith Falls State Park near Valentine, Nebraska. What a lovely night with the river rippling by.  Smith Falls, is privately owned. However, the owner put in his will a permanent lease to the state so that visitors could experience this treasure. The hike and falls are quite stunning and the state has ensured that anyone can access this special place — totally handicapped accessible.

So, we arrived back in Iowa, realizing we had seen many sections of the Missouri River along the way.