by Winding Pathways | Apr 10, 2016 | Geology/Weather, Nature
A volcanic glass, Obsidian occurs in volcanic areas such as the western United States.
We’re honored to welcome visitors to our Winding Pathways website seeking information on obsidian. Many have probably learned of this rock through video games.
Ironically Winding Pathways is located in Iowa, a state where natural deposits of obsidian aren’t found. However, the rock was so useful to Native Americans that an extensive trade network existed in North America and it was carried far and wide by prehistoric traders. All Iowa obsidian was carried here by Native Americans and has only been found as artifacts.
Obsidian is an amazing rock. It formed when lava cooled so quickly that the molten rock could not form a crystalline structure. Usually black, obsidian can be of many other colors. It occurs naturally around the world where volcanism occurred relatively recently. Fairly common in western states it has also been found in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Virginia. A well-known hillside in Yellowstone National Park is composed of this rock. It’s fun to see but collecting is not allowed in national parks.
The smaller piece is the back of a point. The larger piece is the broken tip of a point.
Because of its amorphous, or non-crystalline, structure obsidian breaks cleanly creating extremely sharp edges. It’s been used by people for at least 1.5 million years as the raw material that could be crafted into knives, spear points and other sharp tools. Today obsidian is often made into jewelry, and there are reports of ultra-sharp shards of it being used for surgery.
An easy way to see obsidian and hundreds of other types of rocks and minerals is to visit a rock shop. They are common in tourist areas, and we’ve always found visiting them fun. Often the owner is so happy to see a customer that he’ll give a personal tour and share oodles of rock information, even if no money is exchanged.
Another great way to see obsidian……and buy a chunk……..is to visit a rock show. Held around the country they bring rock enthusiasts together to talk, barter, buy and sell. To locate a show near your home check RockNGem and show-dates.
Eastern Iowa’s 2016 Cedar Valley Rock and Mineral Society’s big Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show will be April 16 and 17 at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids. Programs, demonstrations, pebble pits for kids, gorgeous jewelry, equipment and raw materials all will be featured.
Wherever you live, take in a rock show and rub elbows with rock hounds and lapidists, and invest in some cool rocks and crystals.
by Winding Pathways | Apr 3, 2016 | Mammals, Nature, Pests
Deer drop fawns in our front yard labyrinth.
Few gardening experiences are as frustrating as discovering a patch of almost ready-to-bloom tulips or ready-to-pick green beans devoured by deer.
Over the past couple of decades deer populations have skyrocketed across North America, making gardening challenging. We have plenty of deer at Winding Pathways and have tried or researched many ways to either eliminate or greatly reduce damage. Here they are:
PLANT CROPS, FLOWERS AND SHRUBS DEER DON’T LIKE: This only sort of works. There are a few plants deer don’t like to eat. Books, blogs, and magazine articles contain lists of plants deer don’t like, but beware. As deer herds increase they get every hungrier, eliminate their favorite foods, and then chow down on plants they don’t particularly like. Also, deer seem to have regional preferences. Connecticut deer may avoid a certain plant that Iowa counterparts love. Winding Pathways Advice: Assume that sooner or later deer will eat just about any plant with only a few exceptions.
KENNEL A BIG DOG IN THE GARDEN: We haven’t tried this one but we’re guessing that the deer will soon figure out that the dog is tied or fenced in and they’ll eat plants just out of Fido’s reach. Winding Pathways Advice: Fido might help but don’t count on him.
SPRAY DEER REPELLENTS ON DESIRABLE PLANTS: It works much of the time. Many commercial repellents are on the market. We’ve made ours from egg yolks blended in water, strained through a nylon stocking to remove most of the thicker egg material and sprayed on plants. At best it is a temporary solution. Really hungry deer will eat the plants anyway, and rain washes most repellents off. Read labels. Some commercial repellents may not be safe on vegetables. Winding Pathways Advice: Repellents help but need to be reapplied after each rain and the deer will find the one plant you overlooked!
BUILD A FENCE: Tall mesh fences work. Electric fences work. Electrified mesh fences work the best. If you want a surefire way to keep deer out build a sturdy fence all the way around the garden. Unfortunately, there are some disadvantages of fencing as follows:
- Electric and tall nonelectric fences are often prohibited by town ordinances
- Fences are expensive but last a long time.
- Fences can be unsightly
- Fences are barriers to both deer and people. Building a fence means passing through a gate every garden visit.
Fences work. If nonelectrified they should be at least seven feet tall. Eight is better. Electric fences don’t need to be as tall and can be several strands of wire or (better) an electrified mesh.
Winding Pathways Advice: This is the one surefire way of keeping deer away from valuable plants. Just remember to close the gate!
WHAT WE’VE DONE AT WINDING PATHWAYS
We take a comprehensive approach to reducing deer damage to our labyrinth, vegetable garden and favorite landscape plants. Here is what we have done and are contemplating.
- Built a 7-foot tall nonelectric fence around our smallish vegetable garden.
- Built sturdy nonelectric fences around young trees.
- Use repellents frequently on special non edible plants.
- Buy a deer tag and harvest one deer per year. It’s legal where we live and we enjoy this
“local free ranging, organic” meat.
We’re considering buying and setting up an electric mesh fence around our labyrinth.
Farm and garden stores sell a wide diversity of nonelectric fencing. Our favorite resource for fences is Premier1. Their FENCES THAT WORK catalog is an outstanding resource. Check out Premier1 in Washington, IA.
by Winding Pathways | Mar 13, 2016 | Amphibians/Reptiles, Birds, Nature, Travel/Columns
After an unusually mild winter we were hardly surprised by the early onset of spring’s symphony. At Winding Pathways in Iowa it usually starts on clear cold February days when male cardinals begin their beeker beeker beeker call. They were close to their normal schedule this late winter. Then red winged blackbirds arrived fully two weeks early and added their voices to roadside ditches and wetlands.
On March 7 we heard the glorious sound that truly harkens spring – Chorus Frogs and Peepers! We were driving a dirt road through southern Iowa’s Shimek State Forest when Marion heard the voices of dozens of tiny frogs coming from a puddle the size of our car.
Chorus Frogs
To naturalist Joseph Wood Krutch singing peepers heralded a true resurrection and marked the start of the warm season. Living in Connecticut he noted that they always began singing in the period of time in which Easter can fall. In other words between March 22 and April 25 .
That’s usually true in Iowa but this year they are earlier, much earlier.
Most people have heard peepers and chorus frogs but have never seen the tiny amphibians that sing with magnificent enthusiasm. The two species often live in the same places and can be easily told apart by their calls. Chorus frogs sound like a person running his finger along the teeth of a comb, while peepers make the “peep peep peep” calls that gives them their name. To hear recorded peepers and chorus frogs log in to Manitoba Frog and Toad Calls.
Frogs are far from the only animals that begin calling as winter transitions into spring. Migrating birds are already beginning to appear in yards, woodlands, and wetlands across America and often they are easier to hear than see. Some of the most melodic singers are the hardest birds to spot, and identifying them by sound is often more efficient than trying to spot a bird in thick brush. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has excellent audios of bird calls for mobile apps.
Experienced birders (and froggers for that matter) use both ears and eyes to identify species. Like many birders we started out using printed bird guides to help us learn species. Only much later did we begin learning their calls. It’s been a rewarding hobby that has a cruel catch.
Each Rich would learn new bird calls when history caught up with him. Probably due to intense noise of heavy machine guns in Army training decades ago his ability to hear many sounds, particularly those of high pitches is fading. Marion can hear birdsong he can’t. He’s investigating hearing aids that should help him continue this fascinating means of identification. Stay tuned. He’ll report on hearing aids later.
USING THE MERLIN APP
For years we lugged around bird books that were either large and heavy or compact but limited in the information they provided. They were the best way to learn new species in the field.
That’s changed thanks to the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. We loaded their free Merlin App into our smart phones. It makes identifying 400 bird species a snap. At the touch of a few keys several photos of each species appear, a range map, and……best of all…… recorded sounds of each bird.
We still carry and refer to a paper bird book but the Merlin App has become our favorite field tool for identifying birds, especially by their call.
ABOUT THE LABORATORY OF ORNITHOLOGY
We joined the Lab a few years ago and love its colorful and informative magazine, LIVING BIRD, and the many bird tips posted on their websiteChorus Frogs. The Lab has been a leader in bird science for decades and they’ve helped us become better birders and gain new insights into the lives of these fascinating animals.
by Winding Pathways | Mar 9, 2016 | Nature, Trees/Shrubs
Imagine an enormous elephant in the back yard, its huge tusks smashing a tree while it gobbles leaves, branches, and fruits. It once happened! Mastodons, mammoths, camels, horses, and sloths were once native Iowa wild animals before they slipped into extinction some 10,000 years ago.
They dined on the fruit of a long suffering tree that is getting a new lease on life because oil in its seeds promotes beautiful, healthy hair.
The humble Osage orange tree once grew across a vast area of North America. Scrubby, small, and prickly it thrived in poor soil and challenging climates. Today, its range is limited. On its thorny branches grow softball sized warty green fruits often called hedge apples or hedge balls. Without elephants to harvest them they drop to the ground and rot. Any seeds that might sprout can’t grow in their parent’s shade.
Elephants and sloths once devoured these hedge balls and wandered off, digesting the fleshy part and pooping out the seeds a distance from the parent tree. In exchange for a meal the animal planted a new tree generation. Around 13,000 years ago humans appeared and with razor sharp spears decimated the tasty animals. Lacking big mammals to spread its seeds the tree’s range slowly shrank to a small area of Texas and Oklahoma. Then people gave it a helping hand.
Farmers homesteaded the Midwest before barbed wire was invented. They needed fences and planted rows of Osage orange trees that grew into long linear impenetrable tangles. For a while the tree was valued and planted far and wide. When barbed wire was invented it rendered living fences obsolete and the hapless tree again went into decline. Then it got lucky, again.
Now cosmetologists are replacing elephants and farmers as the newest partners of this humble tree. Iowa chemist, Todd Johnson, learned how to extract oil from its seeds. When used as an ingredient in hair care products it promotes healthy hair. According to Capri College of Cosmetology Director of Education, Madison Seaborn, Osage orange oil is used in shampoo, cleansing conditioner, and volumizing gel.
Johnson buys tons of Osage orange fruits from farmers and youth groups and processes them into oil that’s sold to cosmetologists. Once again the Osage orange has value, and it’s likely that people will plant new ones as aging trees die.
Wooly mammoths and mastodons had long fine hair that kept them toasty warm in the cold glacial climate. Perhaps the oil that today is valued as a human hair care product once kept their fur in prime condition.
by Winding Pathways | Mar 5, 2016 | Bugs, Nature
Bees forage on many plants. Create pollinator pockets to help them out. Then harvest the honey from your hives.
Interest in beekeeping is heading toward the stratosphere. Although the number of bee colonies may be declining more and more are showing up in suburban and urban yards.
We kept bees for years and enjoyed watching them visit garden flowers. Their honey was delicious. We didn’t stop beekeeping from lack of interest. It simply became a time priority. Bee colonies need attention in May and June, just when we like to wander off camping, go fishing, canoe the river, or work in our garden. Something had to go, and for us it was the bees. But, we still miss them and beekeeping may be your perfect hobby.
Here are beekeeping aspects to consider
- It is fascinating. Tend a hive and you may kindle a lifelong hobby.
- It’s complex. Keeping bees requires knowledge, time and strength. Having a mentor is the best way to learn, but many organizations now sponsor classes, and books, websites, and YouTube videos abound to help with the learning curve. University of Minnesota’s Extension Office has an excellent site on beekeeping basics.
- It can be costly. You’ll need hives, coveralls, veils, smokers, hive tools, a honey extractor and bees. Bees and equipment can be mail ordered and some stores sell them.
- Honey is heavy. Plan on hefty lifting.
- With the relatively recent arrival of several new parasites, diseases, and the still somewhat mysterious colony collapse syndrome, it’s getting harder to keep colonies alive and productive. Colony death is common.
- Home produced honey is delicious.
- Bees are outstanding pollinators and may make a garden more productive.
- Beekeeping is not allowed in some towns. Check local ordinances before jumping in.
A great way to start a bee hobby is to find an established beekeeper and volunteer to help. Working with a mentor is an opportunity to decide whether beekeeping is for you before investing in equipment and bees.
An Internet search will help locate a beekeeping class in your area. Simply type “beekeeping class in (your state)” into the search engine and chances are good you’ll find a class nearby. YouTube Videos aren’t as hands on as taking a class or working with a mentor but they are helpful. One of our favorites is a 25 part series on YouTube done by Dr. Keith Delaplane of the University of Georgia. We found it at FarmUS12 on YouTube.
by Winding Pathways | Feb 28, 2016 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Garden/Yard, Nature
By Jacqueline Hull, contributor
Last fall, approaching my three-quarters of a century mark in age, I decided in my gardening life to experiment on a different level with growing vegetables. Winter was quickly on its way with its sharp spears of cold. Some seedlings, specifically beets, carrots and lettuce, would meet their untimely demise if I didn’t intervene.
So I rummaged through my assortment of planters finding an elongated one with a couple of colorful pots. I was in business! So out to the garden I traipsed with trowel in hand and a box to rescue a number of seedlings.
After retrieving the seedlings, I potted and set them in a south window where they have thrived. I even arranged some beet, carrot and lettuce seedlings as if for a floral arrangement – really pretty with various colors and types of leaves. Since then I’ve had many beet leaves in salads or mixed with steamed chard. The carrots are beautiful with their feathery spears. The lettuce keeps flourishing. One beet growing in a red pot became my centerpiece on the kitchen table over the holidays. It is gorgeous with cranberry red veins coursing through the deep green leaves.
Mission accomplished. I’ve had fun. Enjoyed great winter eats and spring is on the horizon!
Editor’s note: Following are some links to indoor winter gardening to keep for planning next fall. Washington Post. I particularly like the last sentences of this article. Vegetable Gardening Online features a vegetable tree, herbs and counter top gardens.
