Surrounded By Wrens

by | Jul 31, 2025 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Birds, Nature

Every summer, we are surrounded by wrens. When we sit on our back deck, the loud call of the Carolina Wren serenades us. It’s a tiny bird that stays back in the woods and vines. It’s hard to spot. It’s surprising how such a smidgen of a bird can sing at high volume.

Different Wrens

Most of our wrens are more common House Wrens. Where Carolina Wrens stay away from our deck, House Wrens love living and nesting close to us. They’re easy to see and observe. Serious birders aren’t crazy about them because they sometimes take over the nests or destroy eggs of other native species, but we like them.

Our wrens winter down south toward the Gulf of Mexico. We look forward to their arrival in mid-April, just when our winter juncos head north. It’s like the changing of the guard. The switch happens again each fall when wrens leave as juncos arrive in October.

Early each April, we set up several wren houses near our house. They’re easy to make from scrap wood. An entrance hole of 7/8ths or 1 inch lets tiny wrens in while barring larger House Sparrows.

Industrious Birds

When wrens first arrive, we hear their near-constant chatter coming from the woods, but by early May, they’ve moved close to the house and start housekeeping. The male brings sticks into the nest box. Sometimes his stick is too long to fit into the small hole, but eventually he figures it out and pokes it through from the end. The female lines the nest with feathers and whatever soft items she can find. Soon she’ll sit on three or four reddish spotted eggs that hatch in about two weeks. Then we enjoy seeing a constant stream of wren parents bringing tasty and nutritious bugs to their nest to feed the kids.

Within two weeks, they fledge. We clean the old nest out of the box, and often a wren couple nests in mid-summer.

Diet

Wren box hangs near the garden.

Nearby foraging

Our wrens forage for insects mostly at the edge of the woods and in our prairies. Unlike mowed lawns, these areas have plenty of insects. The industrious birds also forage for insects in our garden. We never need chemical pesticides thanks to our friendly wrens.

House Wrens also forage on pollinators, but somehow all our fruit trees and vegetables get pollinated.

To learn more about nearly any bird species, visit the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology’s website, All About Birds. The site contains photos, recorded sounds, and videos of hundreds of birds.

Few animals are as animated, ambitious, and noisy as House Wrens.  We enjoy them for about half of every year.

 

White Mulberry – Trickster Tree

by | Jul 24, 2025 | Foraging, Garden/Yard, Nature, Pests, Trees

The white mulberry is a trickster tree. We match wits with it often at Winding Pathways.
“All Around the Mulberry Bush” may be a kid’s jingle but the tree is an ecological pest with some positive traits.

Our front hedge is an example. It’s a dense growth of privet. Few plants can live in its shade but the mulberry has a trick that lets it thrive. The mature tree craves sunshine to grow to its full height of 75 feet. We wouldn’t think they’d stand a chance growing under our shady hedge. But it has a trick.

White Mulberry Trick

Birds poop out mulberry seeds when they roost in our hedge. These readily sprout, and the tiny tree sends up a skinny stem that quickly grows through the thick, shady hedge branches to emerge into the sunshine above them. We don’t want a mulberry there so we need to frequently clip down their tall leggy stems.

Another White Mulberry Trick

It’s a trickster in another way. Although called the white mulberry, Morus alba, it can have ripe white berries but more often they’re red to purple. Don’t let the color fool you.   And that’s not all. Most trees have leaves of just one shape. Not the white mulberry. It has three common leaf shapes. See the photo. An individual tree can have all its leaves one shape, two shapes, or a mix of the three.

While many people join birds in eating the sweet fruits, it’s an invasive species that seems to take root wherever there’s a bit of bare soil. Then it grows like crazy. Cut it down and the stump sprouts that can grow a couple of feet in a flash.

Range of the White Mulberry

White mulberry trees grow throughout temperate North America and on other continents. Silkworms feast on their leaves, and probably white mulberry trees were introduced around the world to create a silkworm industry. The tree liked living in America but silkworms didn’t. They died out and a hoped-for silk industry never took root here.

Telling Apart the White Mulberry Cousin

Closely related is the native red mulberry, Morus ruba. It’s hard to find and may be declining due to hybridization with the exotic invader. Here’s how to tell them apart:

White Mulberry:  Relatively small leaves. The top surface of the leaf is smooth and often shiny. It grows fast in the sun. Common.

Red Mulberry: It’s more of an understory tree. The fruit is red. The leaves are big – three to seven inches long with a sandpapery textured top surface and somewhat hairy bottom. Uncommon.

Although Red mulberry is native to Iowa we’ve not found any here. All mulberry trees seem to be the white species or hybrids.

Mulberry Tree Benefits

Firewood:  We love burning mulberry wood. It’s an attractive yellowish wood that burns with a pleasant aroma as it gives off lots of heat. For example, a cord of mulberry contains 25.8 million BTUs of energy. In comparison, white oak has 25.7.

Food:  Kids love the sweetness of mulberries. The berries normally ripen in June. Birds also flock to ripening mulberry fruit. They love them so much that they’ll eat mulberries before nearby ripening cherries. So, having a fruiting mulberry can increase a cherry tree’s yield. Mulberries can be eaten fresh and made into pies. We love adding some to our breakfast oatmeal. The fruit’s robust color makes an attractive natural die in drinks. Because mulberry fruit is sweet and rather bland it is excellent when blended with rhubarb or tart cherries.

Native Red Mulberries Are in Trouble

The native red mulberry tree is in danger. It’s uncommon and apparently declining, possibly because it so readily hybridizes with white mulberry. Red mulberries tend to live in small groves in forested, bottomland areas. Look for their large sandpapery feeling leaves. Finding one is a treasure.

White mulberry trees are tricky, but they are plentiful, prolific, and useful. We have a few growing at Winding Pathways. As long as they stay out of our hedge, we like them.

Trackchair® Brings Folks with Mobility Issues into Nature

by | Jun 12, 2025 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Nature, Reflections/Profiles

Woman guides the Trackchair(R) down a hill.

Tracks easily run over a rough surface.

On a spotless spring day, Trackchair® made a delightful afternoon in nature’s beauty possible.

Marion had had surgery, so walking on soft or uneven ground during recovery was challenging. But it was May, the marvelous season of birdsong and wildflowers. We yearned to leave urban noise behind and hike a trail.

Why Nature?

Few activities are as refreshing, relaxing, and rejuvenating as being in nature’s stillness and beauty. For most people, all it takes is a walk in the woods, wetland, or flower-studded prairie. Marion’s walking challenges were temporary during recovery, but many people lack easy access to nature due to a permanent disability.

How We Got Outside

We made a reservation to use one of three Trackchairs® that the Indian Creek Nature Center welcomes people to use for free. Two are adult sizes, and one is designed for a child.  The chair was charged up and ready to go when we arrived at the Nature Center. Staff member Michelle Basler gave us a quick orientation. “I love helping people use a Trackchair. They help people who usually use a wheelchair to venture into nature alone or with their more mobile friends or family,” she said.

The Nature Center’s Trackchairs® are made by ATZ Manufacturing in Marshall, Minnesota. “We have a nationwide system of distributors making it possible for nonprofit organizations, like the Nature Center, or individuals to purchase one and have it tailored to their needs. Distributors also service the chairs,” said Adam Henning, Marketing Manager.

How Trackchairs(R) Help

He told us the chairs are being used by a diversity of people with special needs. “We know they give access to nature for people close to the end of their lives. Even injured seasoned athletes use them to observe outdoor sports,” he said.

Our time outdoors wasn’t exactly quiet. We were serenaded by Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Tennessee Warblers, and American Redstarts. Wildflowers lined the trail. The Trackchair(R) itself was so quiet we could hear birds as the chair purred along on its electric motor. “Quietness is important. Various ATVs on the market enable people to access nature, but they are noisy,” said Henning.

Friendly Features

The chairs are also easy on the ground. Marion used the joystick to turn the chair 360 degrees, and it barely scuffed the grass underneath. It has a leveling feature that enabled her to go up and down steep slopes without concern of tipping, and gingerly cross a narrow footbridge.

Where to Rent a Trackchair(R) Locally and Why

Learning the controls

Controls are easy to learn.

We were fortunate to have access to one of three Trackchairs® recently purchased by the Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids. “The Nature Center held a fundraising campaign to find money to buy the chairs and additional endowment funds to generate income to pay for their maintenance and eventual replacement costs,” said John Myers, Executive Director.

“The Nature Center strongly believes in the many mental and physical health benefits of being outdoors. The Trackchair® helps us extend access to those people who struggle to walk,” said Sarah Botkin, who manages the Nature Center’s Amazing Space Building.

The Indian Creek Nature Center is a private nonprofit organization on the east side of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Annually, it hosts thousands of people for environmental education programming, special events, and rentals. Trails wind through over 400 acres of woodland, prairies, and wetlands and are open to the public for free use every day of the year. For information or to make a Trackchair® reservation, visit Indian Creek Nature Center and the reserve an all terrain wheelchair. You can learn more about AMZ Manufacturing and the many models of chairs they make by visiting their site.

What Is A Trackchair(R)?

ATZ Manufacturing made the Trackchairs® and is based in Marshall, Minnesota. It began in 2008 when a father worked to develop a device to enable his son to access the outdoors. It grew into a company that makes and distributes the Trackchair® we used and many other models suited to different needs. “We have one that enables people to stand and do things like grilling dinner,” said Henning.

Trackchairs® weigh between 400 and 500 pounds. They are best transported in a pickup truck or enclosed trailer, but can be moved on a hitch platform that has a tongue rating of at least 700 pounds. Transportation, of course, isn’t necessary at the Nature Center or the many other nonprofit organizations and government agencies that let people use them on their grounds. They move at three to five miles an hour and have about a seven-mile electric range. “We’re working to increase the range using advanced batteries,” said Henning.

Overall Impression

Man using Trackchair(R) to go up a steep slope.

A Trackchair(R) helps people with limited mobility enjoy being outside.

We were amazed at the chair’s comfort, its quietness, and its ease of learning. After just a few instructions from Michelle, we were on our way up and down the Nature Center’s trails. Even after turning on a mowed section of the trail, the grass was undisturbed. The slower speed gave a leisurely pace. Time to note flowers and hear birds.  The faster pace on rough ground was akin to riding a bronco.  Kind of fun, but not recommended. The chair has a guard on the back to prevent tipping over. And, users can angle the seat forward or slightly back when going up or down steeper hills.
It was awesome to use!

An Update

About a week after we tried the Trackchair® Rich was volunteering at the Nature Center. A school bus drove in and unloaded a class of fifth grade students. One was in a wheelchair with an attendant. The Nature Center had the youth-sized chair ready and a staff member oriented the student right after he was transferred into the Trackchair®.

Then, off he went with his classmates. The chair enabled him to pace right along with the other students on his own. He was thrilled.

 

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.