by Marion Patterson | Jul 21, 2022 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Nature
Nearly everyone remembers a brief, often scary time. Usually, it comes within months of high school graduation. It’s time to leave the familiarity of home and venture out on new endeavors. Change is often exciting but it requires venturing out into the unknown – often alone.
Rich remembers moving from New Jersey to a state he’d never been to, Idaho, to start college. Within days he was sworn into the Army as a student soldier. Lots of change.
Marion ventured forth in the same year but not quite so far. Her launching took her to Plymouth State University a ways north of her home.
Wildlife babies face many of the same huge life changes and uncertainties that we did, but they do it at a much younger age. When we walk along early summer trails, we often see baby cottontail bunnies. Some are no bigger than our hands, but they are on their own in a world full of bunny hazards. They must learn how to find food, water, and shelter while all sorts of predators try to make them food.
In June we watched several broods of house wrens fledge from boxes we put up near our kitchen window and in the garden. Earlier we’d seen mom and dad bring in sticks to make a nest. Then we didn’t see them often for a couple of weeks as they incubated their tiny reddish eggs.
-
-
Wrens lay several small, reddish eggs.
-
-
Wrens peek out of the box.
-
-
Wren adults are busy feeding the young.
On a miraculous day, those eggs become hungry but helpless babies. Mom and dad worked endlessly catching and delivering juicy caterpillars and adult insects to feed the youngsters a high-protein diet. They grow quickly, and a couple of weeks after hatching we see beaks poking out the birdhouse entrance.
It must be scary venturing forth, but mom and dad encourage them to fledge. Out they go. But life is not easy. They need to learn how to fly, where to find food, and how to be safe. Parents help for a while but soon they are on their own while mom and dad make a new nest and raise a second brood.
Launching…. fledging……is a tough transition time for people, bunnies, birds, and just about any other young animal.
by Winding Pathways | Jul 14, 2022 | Garden/Yard, Garden/Yard
Gardeners across the world proudly bring freshly picked vegetables and fruits into the kitchen. They’re lucky to have an amazing array of delicious plants to grow and enjoy. It wasn’t always that way.
Consider Native Americans. Prior to Columbus, many lived in cities and big towns surrounded by gardens and farm fields. They grew corn, beans, and a diversity of squash and pumpkins, but they knew nothing of many of today’s common vegetables. Residents of Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia back then also farmed and gardened, but their crop choices were limited.
-
-
Many foods were cultivated by indigenous people.
-
-
Cahokia Mound
New World & Old World
Indigenous contacts ranged far and wide.
It changed quickly following what’s called the Great Columbian Exchange. Shortly after Columbus set foot on Hispaniola people began deliberately and purposefully moving plants and animals around the world. Many were valuable and diversified the food chain on all continents. Others quickly became pests………most weeds infesting American gardens originated in the Old World.
Imagine Southern Italian cuisine without tomatoes! This delicious vegetable originated in South America and was unknown in Italy before the Columbian Exchange. Same with potatoes. The Irish potato originated in South America.
It went both ways. Today’s gardeners enjoy vegetables originating all over the globe. Here’s a brief list of where common foods came from:
NATIVE OF THE NEW WORLD
Pumpkins and squash, Beans except for fava, Corn, Potato, Sweet Potato, Tomato, Pepper, Jicama
-
-
A machete is useful in cutting squash.
-
-
The sweetness of summer’s bounty.
-
-
Sweet potatoes are a healthy vegetable.
NATIVE OF EUROPE, ASIA, and AFRICA
Watermelons and cantaloupes, Onions, leeks, and garlic, Turnips, Carrots and parsnips, Yams, Radish, Celery, Asparagus, Beets, and Chard, are the same species, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli – all related, Endive, Lettuce, Rhubarb, Spinach, Okra, Cucumber, Peas.
The Columbian exchange also included grains and fruit. Corn is American but wheat, barley, rye, and oats are from the Old World. Apples, peaches, pears, and cherries (except for the bitter American black cherry) are also Old World. Brambles and strawberries apparently lived in both the Old and New Worlds prior to Columbus. Grapes eaten fresh and used for juice and wine came from the Old World but several species also are native to the Americas.
-
-
A favorite fall harvest is apples.
-
-
Tart cherries come ripe in June.
Thanks to the movement of useful plants gardeners worldwide enjoy a diversity of plants to grow and eat.
by Winding Pathways | Jul 7, 2022 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Chickens, Garden/Yard, Nature, Weeds
Chickens in run
A chicken run is one tough place for plants to live, and our run at Winding Pathways is even tougher than most.
Every day we let our chickens roam around the run. A bright baking sun broils the sandy soil all day long, so it’s hard to imagine that any plant can thrive there. And, chicken run plants face another challenge. The birds love greenery and usually devour every plant they find. As a result, most chicken runs are just bare dirt that’s either dusty or muddy.
Flower and leaf
Big Bracht Verbena (Verbena bracteata), sometimes called Prostrate Vervain, is up to the challenge. It carpets our chicken run. We didn’t plant it. Verbena moved in on its own. Hopefully, our chickens enjoy viewing the plants’ tiny soft blue flowers.
Big Bracht Verbena is common across much of North America, but it’s easy to overlook. Rarely causing problems, it lives in the most difficult environments. The plant thrives in hot dry gravel soil along roads, in vacant lots, and in sidewalk cracks.
We like having this humble plant in our chicken run. It covers the soil, eliminating mud that follows rain. Chickens absolutely won’t eat it, but they love snatching the insects lured to the plant. It needs no human care, but we sometimes mow it if it gets a big shaggy by late summer.
Foraging among verbena
One of nature’s mysteries is how plants have adapted to thrive in all sorts of environments, even harsh ones. Hats off to Big Bracht Verbena.
by Winding Pathways | Jun 30, 2022 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Garden/Yard, Garden/Yard
Varied Garden Produce
Midsummer. It’s the heart of gardening season as millions of Americans proudly bring tomatoes, beans, squash, and a host of other crops into the kitchen from the backyard garden.
Many don’t realize they ignore eating a typical garden’s hidden delightful food.
Most gardeners spend hours pulling and hoeing incredibly common and prolific garden weeds, only to toss them out. They make delicious food.
Here are our favorite “weeds” to eat
Lambsquarters. The young leaves of this persistent and fast-growing plant are delicious in salads. Or they can be boiled and used like spinach.
Amaranth or Pigweed. Sometimes called wild beet. Almost as common as lambs quarters, the young leaves can also be used similarly to spinach.
Purslane. This ground-hugging hot weather weed is a commercial crop in India. Young leaves and stems are delicious raw. They can also be boiled or even pickled. Grit tends to cling to purslane so rinse it thoroughly.
-
-
A full pot of raw Lamb’s Quarters cooks down to a few fork fulls of this nutritious potherb.
-
-
The Latin name is Portulaca oleracea
Crops with Rarely Harvested Edible Parts
Our favorites are
Beet greens. Beets are the same species as Swiss chard but the leaves tend to toughen as the plant grows. We use young beet leaves as we would chard.
Sweet Potato leaves. We haven’t tried these yet but will this summer. From what we’ve read they are delicious steamed and can be eaten raw.
Squash and pumpkin blooms. These plants usually produce more blooms than they need. We sparingly pick and steam them for a colorful yellow vegetable.
Carrot tops. Our master gardener friend thins carrots and uses the tops in pesto. We tried this in a pesto that a friend shared. Delicious!
Radish tops. Mix a few young leaves into salads. They’re spicy and add zest to other greens.
-
-
Beets are a cousin to Swiss Chard
-
-
Sautee or mix in a salad
-
-
Add to pesto!
-
Resources
Whenever eating a new plant for the first time, make sure the identification is correct. It’s smart to identify a wild plant from at least three sources. These might include an Internet search, a wild foods book, or identification by a trusted wild food or garden expert. One online source is www.wildedible.com. Once you’re certain it’s edible, eat a small helping the first time to make sure you like it and it likes you.
by Winding Pathways | Jun 23, 2022 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Energy Efficiency, Home Improvements
Want to buy gas for a buck a gallon? Well, you can but you won’t find it at a service station. It’s available at the electrical outlet in the garage or shop.
Battery-Operated Tools
We switched to cordless tools gradually.
Nearly ten years ago we switched from plug-in carpentry tools to battery (cordless) equivalents. We loved them for their power, effectiveness, quietness, and ease of use. So, when battery-powered yard tools came on the market we gradually switched.
In 2018 we ditched our gas lawn mower and replaced it with a battery unit….with concern. Would it have the power of our gas machine to chew through tall grass and weeds? Would it have enough battery storage to mow the entire lawn?
Mowers
Maintaining the labyrinth is work. And a way to connect.
We quickly learned our concerns were false. The mower chewed through tough prairie grass and buzzed off our traditional lawn with ease. We liked it so much we bought another one so we could both mow simultaneously. Then came a trimmer, chain saw, and snow blower that all run on the same battery system. We love them all and believe gas-powered equivalents are on the road to obsolescence.
How about operating costs? Experts at our utility, Alliant Energy, told us that one gallon of gasoline has the energy equivalent of 33.7-kilowatt hours of electricity. As of mid-June 2022, gasoline average cost pushed to $4.60+ a gallon in Cedar Rapids. 33.7 kWh of electricity costs, on average in Iowa, $1.03.
Operating our battery tools costs a quarter of our old gas equivalents.
Benefits of Electric Tools
Comparison of a gas mower and the EGO cordless lawnmower.
But, there’s more than cost savings with battery-operated tools. Here are aspects we love about our mowers, trimmers, saws, and snowblowers:
- No rope to pull to start the machine. We save the shoulders! Just press a switch.
- No filters or oil to change.
- No need to buy and store gasoline. Fuel is always at hand at the electrical outlet.
- No fumes to breathe while operating.
- No noisy internal gas explosions. Battery electric machines are quiet.
- Easy to fold and store.
So, what are the downsides of battery-operated tools? We had to think about that and came up with only one thing. They may cost more than gas machines, and batteries are expensive. However, the batteries last a long time, perhaps as many as 2000 charge/discharge cycles.
The cost of electricity varies from place to place. Utilities print the kilowatt-hour charge on monthly bills. To calculate the cost of 33.7 kWh of electricity multiply that number by your per kWh cost and add in any taxes or service fees. Almost certainly it will cost less to charge a battery than to buy gas.
Have a cranky old gas mower? We suggest replacing it with a battery-powered equivalent.
by Winding Pathways | Jun 16, 2022 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Birds, Nature
We enjoy the haunting call of geese on the wing.
One of nature’s most alluring sounds is the song of flying Canada geese. Years ago, one had to travel to remote marshes to enjoy it. Not anymore, and a mother goose in Cedar Rapids shows she enjoys urban life.
Giant Canada geese were once nearly exterminated, but a small flock was discovered. Volunteer groups and biologists carefully transplanted geese to new locations, often to urban ponds. Boy, did the huge birds ever love them!
Favorite Foraging
Canada geese love dining on short mowed grass. Lawns surrounding ponds in golf courses and condominiums are perfect habitat. The big birds don’t mind human activity or noise and have expanded so much that many people consider them pests.
Nesting Preferences
Usually, a goose pair chooses a hidden nest site. It may be near an urban area but often is in tall grass or bushes and is hard to spot. Not so one Cedar Rapids goose. She made her nest in a small island of woodchips and dandelions between a parking lot and road. Within sight is a movie theater, tattoo parlor, and medical building!
We are curious about how mom and dad plan to get the goslings to the nearest pond which is a distance away and through traffic.
-
-
The staff have been watching the mother for several weeks.
-
-
Geese are little bothered by traffic or noise.
Sitting, Hatching, and Raising
Goose eggs take about 35 days to hatch. Mom does the incubation but dad is normally close by and is a good protector. They mate for life and can live for decades. When the goslings hatch mom and dad lead them to a pond or river and teach them how to find food.
Our urban goose may be wise. The major nest threat is predation by dogs, raccoons, opossums, and skunks. They all avoid busy parking lots. So the goose couple may have chosen a safe nesting location…..or perhaps they just want to take in a movie, get a tattoo, or visit a doctor!
