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.
by Winding Pathways | Feb 28, 2016 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Chickens, Energy Efficiency, Geology/Weather, Nature
How ironic that many homeowners don’t harvest the rain that falls on their property, yet they buy water to irrigate their lawn and garden. Harvest free water by using rain barrels and rain gardens.
RAIN BARRELS
Since ancient times families have captured rain falling on their roof to use for irrigation. It worked thousands of years ago and still works today. A rain barrel is a large container positioned under a gutter downspout to catch and hold water for later use. They can be homemade but most people prefer buying one. Hundreds of models are on the market and range from simple and inexpensive ones to elaborately designed barrels that are practical and decorative. We purchased ours from Rainwater Solutions and have placed six under the downspouts of two buildings. The free water irrigates our vegetable garden and provides water for our small flock of chickens. For more information see the Winding Pathways blog of April 2015 or check http://www.rainwatersolutions.com/
RAIN GARDENS
Rain gardens are more permanent than barrels. Like the barrels they range from the simple to the elaborate. Rain gardens aren’t used to harvest water for irrigation but channel roof runoff into the ground rather than into storm sewers.
Our rain garden is simple and cost nothing to create. We dug a shallow basin in the lawn about the size of a bath tub where our downspout discharges gutter water. During a light to moderate rain our rain garden absorbs all the roof water and puts it back into the ground where it moistens roots and eventually helps recharge the aquafer. During a fierce thunderstorm it overflows a little but we channel that to the lawn. Between the garden and lawn all the rain falling on our roof stays on our property, benefiting our plants and not creating flooding downhill.
The Indian Creek Nature Center and Linn County Master Gardeners will hold workshops in March 2016 to help participants learn how to make their own rain garden. Other nature centers, master gardener and Extension Offices hold similar workshops in many locations across the country. Books and websites are available to help homeowners plan their rain garden. One of our favorite information sources is the Low Impact Development Center.
Besides harvesting water and reducing downstream flooding there’s another benefit of having a rain garden. Flowering plants that require wet soil flourish in rain gardens but can’t live in nearby dry soil.
by Winding Pathways | Feb 5, 2016 | Children/Play, Geology/Weather, Nature, Wonderment
Kids enthusiasm about playing in the snow is evident with snowmen around town, tracks across yards, piles of wet boots and mittens and gay laughter ringing through the town. Two children share their reasons they love to “Go Outside and Play!”
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Musher Devany Souza on her magical “first snow” trip to Alaska
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Part of the fun of snow is making snow angels.
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An intrepid sledder walks back up the hill.
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Smiles in the snow!
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Drying out the clothes
-Savannah. “I like to play outside when it’s snowing because we can do several different things. We can throw snowballs at each other. We can make big snow forts and hide in them. We also slide down our icy slide so we can go extra fast. So all together, we play in the snow whenever we get the chance.”
-Breanna. “When it’s snowing I like to go outside. The reason I like to go outside is because I like to go
sledding really fast down a hill. I also like to build
snowmen while my brother and sister go find accessories. I like to find cool
foot prints in the snow. And I think it is fun to throw snowballs at my brother and sisters. And that is why I like to go outside.”
by Winding Pathways | Feb 2, 2016 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Foraging, Nature, Travel/Columns, Trees/Shrubs
Late this winter and early spring dozens of maple syrup festivals will shake the winter blahs. From the Midwest to the Atlantic and from the mid-South to Canada folks will be getting outside as days lengthen and temperatures warm to welcome the season’s first harvest.
Most festivals feature tree tapping and boiling demonstrations as well as delicious pancakes topped with local maple syrup.
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For over 40 years, the Indian Creek Nature Center has hosted families at their two day festival.
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Children love to re-live harvesting methods.
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Explaining the evaporation process.
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Volunteers arrive early at Indian Creek Nature Center’s Festival to serve hungry families.
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Just enough to finish the pancakes and sausage.
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Sweet Surrender!
There’s likely a festival near your home. Just type into your search engine MAPLE SYRUP FESTIVAL IN (your state or province) and details will pop up. Here are just a few:
Indian Creek Nature Center Maple Syrup Festival. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Indiana National Maple Fest. Brown County, Indiana
Mt. Rogers Maple Syrup Festival. Virginia
Elmira Maple Syrup Festival. Elmira, Ontario, Canada
