Why Do Fires Burn Hot or Cold?

by | Dec 12, 2024 | 1080 Labyrinth Blog, Flowers/Grasses, Garden/Yard, Labyrinths

Humidity makes a huge difference when it comes to fire. So does the wind.

On mid-morning December 3, 2024, two Cedar Rapids Gazette reporters and a photographer arrived at Winding Pathways to experience a prairie burn. We’d set the date ahead of time, hoping burn conditions would be ideal. They weren’t, but we decided to give it a try.

The humidity was around 75% with barely a puff of breeze.

We aimed to burn our backyard prairie to reduce brush and encourage next year’s wildflowers. With low humidity cured prairie grass burns almost explosively, sending flames towering above the ground.

On the high-humidity morning, we struck a match and started an unenthusiastic fire that crept along the ground and only burned hot a few times. Then it died all by itself. We called it a day.

Three days later we tried again under very different conditions. The humidity was down to about 40% and a pleasant and steady southwest wind blew at around 10 miles an hour. What a difference! The fire roared across our prairie, consuming grass it had ignored three days earlier. Marion lit the prairie around her labyrinth and it also roared.

Dry grass is especially sensitive to changes in humidity. When humidity rises grass quickly absorbs the dampness. When humidity drops, grass sheds moisture just as quickly and is ripe to burn. Wood does the same thing but much slower.

Our burning is now over for the year. We know it will stimulate an amazing array of colors next midsummer when wildflowers are in full bloom.

Tools to Help With Yard Work

by | Dec 5, 2024 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Energy Efficiency, Garden/Yard, Garden/Yard

*Note: Below are just a few examples of several power tools we’ve purchased.  They were pricey but made yard work so much easier than with muscle-powered tools. Occasionally, a company asks us to try a product and give reviews.

Yard work was a snap when we were in our 20s. That was a half-century ago! How can that possibly be? Years slipped by. We’re just as eager to mow grass, rake leaves, plant gardens, prune shrubs, and shovel snow, but muscles and joints make the work challenging. Fortunately, we’ve found ways to make yard work and house repairs easier for us as aging homeowners. People with reduced strength or mobility and even younger people with busy schedules will find these tips handy.

Here are some ways we’ve made yard management easier:

Invest in Tools

Tool companies have made yard care easier and safer than in the old days. We used to use muscle-powered tools to trim hedges and shrubs, cut and split wood, rake leaves, move snow, and till the garden. As we got older we began investing in power tools that make the work easier and faster.

For example, an old fashioned “weed wacker”, powered by arm muscles, cut down tall grass growing into pathways and our woods. That got harder each year, so we invested in a Milwaukee brand battery-powered tool that fuels a weed cutter, pole saw, and hedge trimmer. The work is quick and easy. Same with our lopping shears for trimming trees. A battery-powered pruner does the tough cutting easier than hand muscles.

We always had a gas lawn mower but often struggled to pull the darn starter cord. When EGO came up with a battery-powered mower we eagerly bought one and got rid of the old gas mower. The EGO starts by pushing a button, and it’s self-propelled. We have to walk behind and guide it, but it chugs along under its own power. That’s especially helpful when we mow trails on our hillside.

EGO snowblower

The EGO snowblower starts with a push of a button.

Snow shovels! Well, we still have a few and use them in tight spaces, but our relatively new battery-powered snow blower makes clearing our 440-foot driveway a snap and eliminates the need to lift heavy snow and pull a starter cord.

 

 

 

 

 

Those are just a few examples of several power tools we’ve purchased.  They were pricey but made yard work so much easier than with muscle-powered tools.

Hiring and Borrowing

This past season we did a “first”. We hired a young woman to help with gardening.  And, we sometimes hire a local teenager to mow our lawn. Years ago we wouldn’t have dreamed of hiring anyone to do what we could do. That’s changing. Having extra hands to help is money well spent.

Man on John Deere Tractor with small cart behind to haul wood.

The tractor made hauling wood easier.

It’s not always hiring help. We swap. By late October Rich had cut and split a small mountain of cordwood we’ll use to stay warm this winter. There was a problem. It was on the north side of our property and down a steep hill. In past years he’s hand carried it uphill. Not a small task to muscle 2000 pounds of wood in 50 round trips carrying 40 pounds up the hill each time. Whew. This year a neighbor came to our rescue. Rich borrowed his tractor and trailer and moved all the wood up the hill in a jiffy.  From time to time, we have loaned him some of our tools in exchange. Borrowing works both ways.

We pride ourselves on our independence and take joy in yard work, but we just turned 75 and aren’t quite as frisky as we once were. Using power tools, hiring help, and cooperating with neighbors all make keeping up with the yard easier.

Kendal’s Appeal as a Senior Residence

by | Jul 18, 2024 | Garden/Yard

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 senior residence.  Although emotionally and physically draining we eventually had to move them to a senior residence.  Mom died a year later and Dad enjoyed six pleasant years until his death last year.

Sterile yard.

This yard offers little to wildlife.

Dad quickly made friends at the facility.  The food was excellent, and the staff and fellow residents were helpful and caring.  Although it met his basic needs Dad often expressed frustration that the senior residence lacked things he valued. The grounds were immaculately tended. Nary a blade of grass was out of place. It was a wildlife and native plant desert that frustrated a man who loved animals and natural diversity. Sidewalks bordered the manicured lawns but none traversed natural vegetation. Recycling was minimal and abundant waste was dumpstered.  As a career teacher, Dad loved interacting with children. They were absent at his new home.

We turn 75 this year.  As much as we love our home and yard we recognize that calendar pages advance and someday we may need to live where life is easier and, hopefully, pleasant. So, we’re researching.

Sterile Environments Lack Interest

Flyers advertising Corridor senior residences come to our mailbox, television, and computer.  We’ve driven by some and toured a few.  All seem well managed and fill basic needs, but few address important values Dad found lacking at his last home. And that we value.

The grounds of most senior residences are manicured and manipulated. Pristine. Even occasional ponds are lined with white rocks that communicate sterility.  Where are the cattails?  We crave grounds alive with wildlife and native plants, all accessible by rails winding past thickets and ponds.

Seeing photos of older people playing cornhole at their senior residence communicates boredom to us.  Like Dad, we don’t just desire, but require, access to natural beauty. We know interacting with nature adds enjoyment and meaning to life…..as does recycling, composting, and gardening.  We’ve yet to find a place in the Corridor that offers us a lifestyle we find attractive.

Catching Our Eye

An ad in SMITHSONIAN Magazine caught our eye.  It featured lifestyles offered by facilities managed by the nonprofit Kendal, including one in Oberlin, Ohio.   A June trip brought us nearby, so we stopped in.

As we entered the grounds and drove to their office we felt “at home.”  Clover lawns proved they shun herbicides. Eight ponds sustained lilies and cattails as birds zoomed in front of our car, and trails penetrated natural areas. It was like a senior residence set in a nature center.

Kendal at Oberlin, Ohio

Marketing Manager, Terry Kovach, confirmed that Kendal prioritizes recycling, composting, energy efficiency, and children.  “Our in-house daycare and preschool help us recruit staff who have young children. And, these amenities also enable older residents to interact with kids. It helps everyone,” said Kovach. “Residents swim with their grand friends and help them learn to cook through the cooking club. Volunteering to help kids would have brought joy to Mom and Dad but was impossible where they lived.

Additionally, wide trails lead to the cozy town of Oberlin, Ohio, with quaint stores, eateries, and coffee shops. Oberlin College and Conservatory is well-known for music and diverse studies. Residents at Kendal take in their programs.  The College is also taking strides to convert to geothermal and reduce its carbon footprint. We toured town, enjoyed a coffee shop and browsed some stores before leaving.

After only an hour at Kendal, we felt comfortable. The nonprofit company has similar senior residences in several eastern states and is building two in California. Perhaps they’ll come to Iowa. Or, maybe there is a similar existing senior residence in the Corridor we’ve yet to discover.

Lots to Consider

We’re not yet ready to send a deposit to any senior residence, but when we do it will be a place where we feel at home in a place that shares our values.

 

White Clover

by | Jul 4, 2024 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Bugs, Garden/Yard, Garden/Yard, Nature

Round blooms of white clover.

Mowers pass over low-growing clovers.

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 Winding Pathways, but clover is an exception.

Although native to Eurasia, it’s not invasive. This important forage legume is likely the most widespread in the world. Diminutive clover is so low growing our mower passes right over its dainty flowers. Our friendly cottontail bunnies may seem to be eating grass, but actually, they’re feasting on clover. So are beneficial insects. As its flowers add beauty to the lawn and feed animals, clover’s roots pump nitrogen into the soil, helping other plants grow.

The irony

AI detected our Internet search for clover information. We began getting computer ads from landscaping companies encouraging us to hire them to kill our clover “and other weeds” in our lawn. No way!

Many people spend good money to poison beneficial lawn plants. They expose themselves, their pets, and anyone who walks on the lawn to toxic substances.

Maintaining a Healthy Bed of White Clover

White clover tends to gradually decline over the years. We’ve noticed this at Winding Pathways. To give it a boost we buy white clover seeds and sprinkle them on the lawn during cool months, especially on bare spots. Seed can be purchased online and in stores where hunters shop. These stores sell seeds beneficial to wildlife, and hunters often plant them to boost food for deer and wild turkeys.

Rewards

We have healthy lawns, rich with nitrogen. And, on summer mornings and evenings, we sit in our front porch’s rocking chairs watching bumble bees and bunnies foraging on our blooming white clovers. Thanks, clover.

No-till Gardening – An Easy Way to Soil Health

by | Apr 18, 2024 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Garden/Yard, Garden/Yard

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 the land? Try something new: No-till Gardening.

Man turning soil with garden fork.

A rite of spring.

For generations, an April ritual all across the northern hemisphere is pulling the spading fork out of storage and firing up the rototiller. For generations, gardeners have learned from mentors, books, and videos that tilling is essential to create an abundant harvest of tomatoes, peas, beans, carrots, and so many other delicious garden vegetables.

Over decades and diligent research, we have learned that tilling is often just extra work that might harm the soil! Try no-till gardening.

Science Writer Shares Information

We recently heard science writer, author, and land steward Connie Mutel speak about how Iowa’s amazingly productive topsoil is being degraded by annual plowing and otherwise disturbing the soil. Mechanically mixing soil bares the soil to the air, where it oxygenates, leaching carbon into the atmosphere. When winds blow or rains fall, bare soil erodes. Waterways become contaminated and silt washes downstream eventually to the Mississippi Delta resulting in damage to commercial fisheries and wildlife there. According to Mutel, half of Iowa’s once 16-inch veneer of topsoil has been lost by tillage. For much more information check out her books available at the University of Iowa [email protected].

Reduce Runoff and Work

Most people aren’t farmers but many of us have backyard gardens. An annual activity is tilling. For years we followed conventional wisdom and used our trusty spading fork to turn over the soil each spring. Not so much anymore.

Last year encouraged by Drew Erickson, Farm Manager,  of the Rodale Institute’s Midwest Organic Center, we left about half the garden untilled. “Tilling disrupts the organisms that make soil healthy and productive. “Try no-till gardening. Just plant your seeds in untilled soil,” he advised.

Last spring we tilled half the garden, smoothed out the soil, and planted our seeds.

We didn’t till the other half and just planted the seeds directly into the soil. A few months later we harvested at least as many vegetables from the no-tilled areas as the tilled……and we’d avoided the pitchfork work.

This year we’ll only till about a quarter of our garden. Into the rest we’ll plant our seeds and spread a layer of compost directly on the soil surface after the sprouts emerge.

We’re counting on bountiful harvests of many vegetables.

Join the Project

Give it a try. Put onion and potato sets, tomato plants, and bean seeds directly into the untilled garden soil. Let us know the results.

Learn More

Rodale Midwest is holding a free field day to show the value of minimum tillage and cover crops. It’s geared for farmers but gardeners are welcome. To register for the July 9, 2024, workshop go to the Rodale Institute Midwest Organic Center.

Have fun in the garden and enjoy a season of delicious vegetables.

Invasive Duo – Chinese Lanternfly and Tree of Heaven

by | Mar 21, 2024 | Garden/Yard, Garden/Yard, Trees

Bright! Beautiful! Ominous!

As we walked across a New Jersey parking lot last summer an amazingly colorful, and new-to-us, insect fluttered in front of us. It had a gorgeous creamy white and bright red body covered with black spots.

Identifying it was easy and ominous. It was a Spotted Lanternfly. First found in Pennsylvania in 2014 it likely came to the United States from its native China as a hitchhiker in a crate or box.

It may be a pretty bug but its presence is ominous. It feeds on at least 172 different plant species and is spreading rapidly westward from its start close to the Atlantic Ocean.

Feeding off Another Invasive

What’s somewhat ironic about the lanternfly is the insect’s affinity for another Chinese invasive, the Tree of Heaven or Ailanthus. Although the inch-long insect will eat many different plants it prefers this highly aggressive and fast-growing tree.

Important Contact Information

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is on the lookout for the Spotted Lanternfly. They ask anyone spotting one in Iowa to report it by calling:

l (515)725-1470 or logging onto their website at IowaAgriculture.gov.

How To Reduce the Invasion

A key to reducing this insect’s abundance may be reducing Ailanthus tree numbers. This invasive tree thrives in urban and rural areas, often forming large groves. It displaces native trees, has little commercial value, and now harbors an introduced insect pest.

Winding Pathways encourages anyone with an Ailanthus in their yard to remove it, convert it to firewood if you can, and replace it with a native tree species.  Remember, report any Spotted Lanternflies you spot.