Chestnuts Roasting By An Open Fire

by | Nov 27, 2025 | Foraging, Nature, Trees

As Christmas approaches, nearly every American radio station will play the familiar “The Christmas Song” commonly called “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire.”

The song was written by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé in 1945 and made famous by the Nat King Cole Trio. Released in 1946 it became a Christmas melody popular for nearly 80 years. A pdf in the Library of Congress has an intriguing story.

Cruel Irony.

Chestnut tree with loosened bark from fungus.

Chestnut blight wiped out Americn Chestnuts all over the East.

For thousands of years Native Americans harvested baskets full of chestnuts. So did Eur-Americans who swept across North America. Nutritious and abundant, chestnuts fed people and wildlife.  Many were, indeed, roasted by open fires and on woodstoves.

The American Chestnut was one of the abundant trees in the Eastern Hardwood Forest.

It was a perfect tree with gorgeous honey colored wood that was strong, lightweight, and easy to work. Chestnut’s abundant nuts fed wildlife and people. Settlers turned their hogs loose into the woods to fatten on them.

Then one of America’s greatest ecological tragedies happened when an imported fungus created a blight that killed nearly every single one of billions of trees. They disappeared from forests and the human diet……almost.

Disease Resistant Options

Rich bought a couple of pounds of edible chestnuts from Iowa’s Stringtown Market and roasted them on our woodstove for a gathering of friends to enjoy. How?

Well, across the world are Chinese, Japanese and European chestnuts. Chinese Chestnuts resist the blight and have been planted here and there. The nuts Rich roasted were either Chinese or a hybrid of a few types.

Personal Connection to American Chestnuts

Growing up in wooded New Jersey Rich remembers fallen trunks of blight killed American Chestnut trees and small trees growing from their roots. They die before maturing enough to produce nuts. Rich’s Dad, Henry Patterson, salvaged wood from fallen chestnuts and fashioned many objects from it. Marion’s father, Les Fellows, remembers gathering chestnuts when he was a child in New Hampshire. He crafted picture frames that we think are from American Chestnut wood. The pictures in the frames are of Hardwick, MA, where Marion lived first out of college. Chestnuts are part of our personal heritage.

Enjoy Edible Chestnuts

Although hard to find in the market edible chestnuts still make delicious fare. Many recipes can be found online. We like plucking them from their shells and eating them right after roasting. Here’s how Rich prepares them:

  • Cover the nuts with water and boil them for at least 15 minutes to soften the hulls and leach out tannin.
  • When they are cool enough to handle, use a stout sharp knife to make an “X” shaped cut on the top of each damp nut.
  • Place the nuts in a cast iron skillet and heat on the woodstove. Watch them carefully and stir occasionally. The idea is to drive off most of the water.

Putting them on a cookie sheet and baking them in an oven also works well.

Then they’re ready to peel and eat.

 

Beware

Edible chestnuts are unrelated to horse chestnuts or buckeyes but the nuts look similar.  Horse chestnuts are toxic. DON’T EAT THEM. Here’s how to tell them apart.

> Horse chestnuts have compound leaves with leaflets that radiate out like fingers on a human hand. Edible chestnuts have single elongated leaves, often with shallow pointed lobes.

> Nuts in tight husks that don’t have porcupine-like spines outside are characteristic of Horse chestnuts. You could call edible chestnut husks “vegetative porcupines.” Prickly!

> Horse chestnut nuts are entirely smooth, while edible chestnut nuts have a “nub” at their end. See the photo with the arrow pointing toward the nub.

Edible Chestnuts have a small nub at the end.

Note the nub.

The Future

Enjoying Edible Chestnuts, Growing Them, and Saving the American Chestnut

We mostly enjoy peeling and eating edible chestnuts as they are. And, they work perfectly in many recipes. A good recipe source is at foodandwine.com.
(search for edible chestnuts)

Many nurseries sell chestnut seedlings. Pure American chestnuts are most likely to thrive when planted outside their native range where the blight still lingers. Many hybrids sold by many nurseries resist the blight. It’s wise to plant them a ways from the house for these  reasons:

  • Blossoms just plain stink. And the trees produce hundreds of “porcupines”. Don’t step on one with bare feet!

For these two reasons, we will never know why Marion’s dad planted the edible chestnuts near the house in New Hampshire.

The American Chestnut Foundation

The American Chestnut Foundation, tacf.org, has worked for years seeking ways to restore this valuable tree. Its website has excellent photos and information.

We hope some day to spend an evening sitting by our woodstove snacking on genuine American Chestnuts while listening to Nat King Cole’s Christmas song. Until then we’ll roast the hybrid Chinese Chestnuts we buy.

Autumn – Changing of the Guard

by | Nov 6, 2025 | Birds, Nature, Trees

Fascinating Changes

Dark-eyed Junco

Juncos migrate south to the Upper Midwest each fall.

“There’s a junco!” Rich exclaimed as he pointed toward the tiny bird on a mid-October Walk. We knew the changing of the guard had happened.

Sighting the first junco each fall is, for us, a sign of the changing of the guard. They arrive for the winter at about the same time house wrens depart Iowa for warmer locales down south.

Changes in both bird species are fascinating to watch. On the same walk that we spotted the junco we saw dozens of robins. Unlike wrens and juncos, robins aren’t ambitious migrants. Come spring they cavort on lawns and love suburbia, but when the weather cools, they pack up and move to nearby orchards and brushy places that offer dried berries to eat through the cold winter.

We like watching birds, but we’re not serious birders. Serious enthusiasts will drop whatever they’re doing and drive a couple of hundred miles to see an unusual bird.  We’re content to sit on our back deck or walk local trails to watch changes in bird numbers and species. We love the changing of the bird guard.

Birds

Geese on the wing

Geese flying

Big changes come in mid-autumn and late winter. Waterfowl are the most obvious “changing of the guard” as they wing overhead on their way back south, or north in the spring. Unnoticed by many people are the earlier migrants like the shorebirds that head south as early as August. Wrens hang around in late summer after fledging but are quieter. Nighthawks and chimney swifts stage to head south. Vultures soar overhead and drift to warmer climes when they need to. Often, we just don’t notice these changes in bird activity until we realize we have not seen a species for a while. Or when we see birds that have been “quiet” for a few weeks, begin to flock.

 

Spring Changes

In late March Robins on lawns, waterfowls calling from aloft, and Vultures circling overhead herald spring’s return. Figuring out when the last junco leaves is tougher as they simply seem to melt away. Often, we’ll ask each other, “Have you seen a junco lately?”  If the answer is “no” they’ve likely left for northern breeding grounds.   In April we anticipate the first wren’s arrival.

Busy Summer Months

April and May are fascinating months as the summer guard arrives. Some, like many warblers, stay just for brief stops to rest and eat. Then they head north. However, orioles, grosbeaks, phoebes, and a few warbler species, stick around all summer to delight us with their songs and color. It is sad when they slip away as summer transitions into fall.

Trees Change, Too!

Many people anticipate the change of tree color and travel to catch “the height” of fall foliage.  In New England these “migrants” are called “leaf peepers.” The come, catch the color, spend money and go back home. Here is one road trip that is worth reading about. Marion is familiar with many of these places in her home territory.

Around here, we notice more color in towns and cities than the countryside as the tree species are more varied. Ashes turn purple or yellow, maples are known mostly for reds and oranges. Yellow Cottonwood leaves dance in autumn breezes before winds strip them off. The driftless area of Northeast Iowa, Southern Minnesota and Wisconsin, and northern Illinois are always worth a jaunt to for color and birding.

Glorious weather of warmer days and cooler nights feel good all around. Fall sports have cranked up. And, there is a longing in the air. When our avian friends slip away unnoticed, we feel slightly bereft. Time is moving on.

Steppping Into Winter Mode

So, the first junco sighting stirs pleasant memories. We find few winter activities are as delightful as sitting indoors embraced by our woodstove’s warmth while enjoying a cup of steaming tea while watching juncos along with, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, cardinals and bluejays that visit our feeder. The latter here all year and bring joy and color during the drab winter months.

How Do Ponds Attract Wildlife?

by | Oct 16, 2025 | Amphibians/Reptiles, Garden/Yard, Nature, Water Resources

Wildlife Parade

Of all the wildlife attractions we’ve created at Winding Pathways nothing beats our tiny pond’s wildlife parade. Hardly the size of two king beds, it proves that even a miniscule water feature is one of the best ways to lure fascinating animals into a yard. How and why do ponds attract wildlife?

Simple: Animals need water. For shelter and nurishment.

We actually didn’t create our pond. It was here when we bought the property, but we’ve spiffed it up. At about 80 square feet and less than two feet deep its but a speck of water set beneath our dining room window.

A Pond Out of Place

Woman standing at colorful pond's edge.

Wildlife attractant

It shouldn’t even exist. Our house is built on an ancient sand dune. Water percolates quickly into the soil and no natural pond or stream would have a chance of staying wet here. Fortunately, the previous owners had a hole dug and lined with a waterproof membrane. They then had it lined with stones and planted water lilies in a shallow bit of mud over the membrane. We’ve added native vegetation and domestic flowers that attract insects, birds, mammals and amphibians.

Wildlife Attractant

While eating every meal we watch the pond. Wild turkeys, cardinals, titmice, nuthatches, and house sparrows, are among the regular residents that come to drink within a few feet of where we sit. This spring a mallard pair swam in tiny circles during the two weeks they rested on their way north, and a few times wood ducks have settled in to rest. Each summer and fall hummingbirds forage on the succession of plants like Solomon Seal, Purple coneflower, Obedient Plant and other seasonal flowers. Although there is plenty of nectar, they also seem to prioritize “scuffling” with each other. Insects routinely make their rounds to the flowers.

Squirrels, chipmunks, and deer visit routinely. Once a mink jumped in for a quick swim. Cagey woodchucks sip and scoot off when they spot any movement inside.

We can figure out how all these animals make their way to the pond’s edge.

Baffling Visitors

However, some visitors and temporary residents baffle us. Every spring toads and tree frogs call from the pond’s edge and lay their eggs in the shallow water. Where did they come from and how far did they have to hop? Do they use a “hop-ometer” to measure their hops?

Unusual Visitor Returns

bullfrog sitting in shelter of pond outlet

Safe from predators

In the summer of 2020 an amazing visitor arrived at our pond unannounced. That same year, COVID-19, the Outdoor Writers Association of America held their conference virtually and sponsored the photo hunt with the theme “home.”
Marion’s photo of a frog sheltered in the pond’s egress won third prize!

That was the last we saw of frogs until this summer. Then, while we were eating lunch we spotted a bullfrog sitting on a rock at the pond’s edge. Frogs and ponds go hand in hand but what’s puzzling is, like with toads and tree frogs, how this frog knew our pond was there and how it found its way to it. Our home and pond are about a half mile from Indian Creek, the nearest body of water. And, we’re almost 200 vertical feet above the creek!

Long Way to Hop

To reach our pond the frog had to hop a long way through thick woods and prairies filled with animals that would love a frog dinner. Hawks, owls, snakes, coyotes, raccoons, opossums, and skunks live in the area and would quickly convert a hapless frog into lunch. Somehow our frog survived the gauntlet of predators and a long hop.

Our frog gives us joy watching it and we marvel at how it was able to hop into our lives.

Opportunities To Create A Pond

Many wildlife lovers set up bird feeders and create diverse plantings to lure wildlife into their yard.  They might consider taking it a step farther and building a tiny pond to entice a stream of wildlife to visit. Wonder how to do it? Check out thisoldhouse.com/yards.  Scroll down for a good read. There are also several credible YouTube videos that show how to create a tiny yard pond.

 

Death By High Wires

by | Oct 9, 2025 | Birds, Nature

Consecutive Walks Turned Somber

While on different hot September morning walks my day was saddened by the death of a warbler, a nighthawk and pelican.

I (Rich) often walk around Cedar Rapids’, (Iowa) Cedar Lake. It’s near downtown, an interstate highway, and train track. While noisy and industrial it is close to home and sports a paved trail that makes a heart pumping pace easy. Usually, it’s a pleasant 30 minutes to round the lake, sometimes with pauses to watch geese and pelicans silhouetted against nearby factories.

What Could Have Caused its Death?

On different fall mornings I found recently dead birds in the trail. First a warber and another time a white pelican. As I gently picked up the warbler, I looked above me to find a high overhead power line. September is migration season and likely the bird was unable to see the wire and crashed into it in darkness. A couple of days later, the same thing happened. This time the dead bird was a pelican.

Identifying the Species

Fall birds, especially warblers, have recently molted and their fall/winter plumage is often far drabber than their bright springtime breeding wardrobe. What had I found? It looked like a warbler but many fall warblers look similar. It takes an experienced birder to make a positive identification. I didn’t know the species so I took a photo and emailed it to Dr. Neil Bernstein, a good friend, ornithologist, and professor of biology.

Then I gently placed the bird under a nearby shrub to let decomposers do their work and went home. Neil asked me to return and attempt to recover the bird to help with identification. So, I strapped my walking shoes back on, walked the lake trail and recovered the bird’s body and took another photo. “It’s a warbler. Probably an immature Nashville,” he said.

I also emailed the photos to Jim Berry, another friend and retired director of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in New York. Both he and Neil eventually agreed it was a Nashville Warbler.

Barriers to Identifying Certain Birds

It made me feel better that it took two experts’ close inspection to identify it. I struggle telling one warbler species from another, partly because many look so similar and partly because I have a red/green color deficiency. That makes it hard to see plumage the way most folks do.

High Wires Are Problems for Pelicans

Cedar Lake is a perfect stop over for pelicans both spring and autumn. But, the high wires on one side of the Lake create flying harzards as these large birds attempt to take off or land. Surely a way can be found to reduce hazards for migrating birds.

Somber Way to Start Church

A few days later on a Sunday, again, we found another bird that apparently had a high wire encounter and came out on the losing end. A beautiful nighthawk lay crumpled and dead in the church parking lot. Right overhead were long, thick wires strung across an open space.

People Inadvertently Kill Birds

Paved trail directly below overhead wires where the Nashville Warbler was found.

A collision with the overhead wires may have caused the Nashville Warbler to die.

Industrialization created hazards that birds never needed to face throughout their long evolutionary journey. Combined these hazards cause millions of birds to needlessly die.

In the week since I wrote the above blog and before Marion could post it we found a dead nighthawk under power lines and a dead pelican under lines near where I’d found the dead warbler.  

Overhead wires and towers: Birds don’t see them in their flights on dark nights and crash into them. Unfortunately, there’s not much a casual person can do about it. It’s estimated that powerlines kill upwards of 64 million birds a year. We can advocate with utility companies and communities to reduce bird kills. Creative ways do exist.

Lights: Lights left on after dark confuse migrating birds. Here’s our big and simple opportunity to help them. Turn off your home’s exterior and yard lights. The dark helps birds migrate.

Cats:  Well, cats aren’t technology but they are major unnatural bird predators if they’re allowed to run free. A solution is to let the family tabby outside in a Catio that keeps it away from birds. See our earlier blog on catios.

Helping Birds and Plotting Migration

Marion and I help birds by diversifying the vegetation in our yard, and we’re cautious about lights. We rarely have outdoor lights on after dark. If we need to walk outside, we carry a flashlight. We never leave them on overnight. It wastes electricity, gobbles up money needlessly, and outdoor lighting does not necessarily “prevent” crime.

Modern technology creates bird hazards but also helps anyone track migration.  Especially during the fall and spring migrations we check the Cornell University’s Laboratory of Ornithology’s Birdcast Migration Dashboard at birdcast.info.

 It’s free to anyone. Simply access the site and type in a county and the site will tell how many birds flew over the night before, approximately when the heaviest migrations took place, and the direction and altitude of flight. Data are gathered by precise radar and the information is truly fascinating.

Why be concerned about birds? Fish eating birds like pelicans can rid waters infested with “trash fish”. Nighthawks patrol the evening skies and gobble up insects like mosquitoes that bite and can cause diseases such as West Nile Virus, common in the autumn. Warblers feast on tiny insects in trees helping to keep the trees pest free. Birds add color to our lives. And, remember, when you are outside and hear soft bird song, your surroundings are safe. When danger is abroad, either the area is silent of bird calls or the “alarm birds” like crows and blue jays, let you know to be alert with loud squaks.

May companies and communities work together to reduce dangers and help the avian wildlife that quietly helps us.

Maximillian Sunflowers – Summer’s Goodbye

by | Sep 18, 2025 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, 1080 Labyrinth Blog, Flowers/Grasses, Garden/Yard, Nature

Tall Maximillian Sunflowers dance in the breeze at Winding Pathways.

Dancing in autumn’s breezes.

An autumn pleasure is sitting on our front porch watching Maxmillian Sunflowers – Summer’s Goodbye wave as they dance in September’s breeze.

Our yard is a seasonal progression of color from spring’s delightful dandelions that grace our mowed yards to Maxmillion’s final wave. In early summer our porch view is of pale purple coneflowers that gradually yield to  common purple sunflowers. Then yellow coneflowers, purple prairie clover, compass plant and rattlesnake master make their appearance as  white clover looks like sprinkles on the lawn. We can tell the month by what’s blooming.

Autumn’s Hello

Fall’s a time for both joy and sadness. As summer’s warmth diminishes we know we won’t see our flowery color for months, but three blooms give us late summer gladness.

First comes the goldenrod of many species. We spot their earliest blooms on the final days of July but they come into full glory in late August and September. Then they’re joined by asters of several species. Our favorites are tiny flowered heath asters and deep lavender New England asters.  And the surprise pink petaled New England aster.

 Final Actor

The final actor to appear in the season’s progression of blooming color is the Maximilian Sunflower. Ours thrive in the south part of our labyrinth prairie and stretch higher than prairie grasses. Even a slight breeze entices their golden blooms to dance above the prairie as if to say, “thanks summer for your warmth and water.”

They are stalwart and resist early fall’s frosts and keep dancing. Their final bow of color  coincides with a hard freeze.

About Maximillian Sunflowers

Maximilian sunflowers are true sunflowers with many relatives. They are a perennial native to the Great Plains and tallgrass prairie, but people have planted them all over the world. Tall and vigorous, they make a delightful backdrop to a prairie or flower garden.

Supporting Actors

Bright Gold and Black feathers of the Goldfinch perched on a golden sunflower.

Goldfinches show up in the yard when various sunflowers bloom and turn to seed.

As a final delight our resident goldfinches love dining on any nutritious sunflower seeds. They start with cupplant and move on to Maximillian Sunflowers.

We delight that the blooms are exactly the same yellow hue as late summer male goldfinch feathers.

Brightening Autumn’s Days

Dancing sunflowers are a delight. Perhaps it’s sad that they herald an approaching winter, but they brighten fall’s gorgeous weather and lure us to sit on our porch

Bear Commotion

by | Sep 4, 2025 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Nature

Blog by guest authors, Peg and Angus!

Our dog, Angus, and I were sitting on the deck one summer afternoon. I was reading and Angus just looking around. Suddenly, I heard a commotion.
Angus got all excited and started barking. It turns out, a bear commotion!

I looked up and there was a big (200-300 lb) black bear climbing the maple tree beside us. About 40 feet away.

Fortunately, Angus was on his run and close to me so I could get hold of him and hurry us both into the house.  He was not a willing participant in this process!  The bear just watched us the entire time.  It took quite a while before my hands stopped shaking enough for me to take pictures.

I think what scared me most is that Angus showed no fear and kept barking at the bear. I wasn’t sure how the bear would react to him but it totally ignored us.  As much as I like to be outside  I was very happy to be in the rest of the afternoon. No more bear commotion for me or Angus.

From safe inside, my husband, Bruce, and I watched the bear as he (just guessing) relaxed on a large limb and munched away.  Eventually he climbed down, lumbered across the yard, found our dwarf apple tree and stopped for dessert of green apples. Eventually he wondered off into the woods.

I love seeing wildlife but he was too close and way too big for me!

Click on the links for other bear encounters in the East. One in Virginia and another in New Hampshire. Of course, in Alaska, bears are common. And troublesome.