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Winding Pathways encourages you to create a wonderous yard, whether that yard is an expansive acreage, a suburban lot or a condominium balcony. Go outside and play!
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Who Attended Country Schools?
Authors' Note: Below are replies from folks who attended country schools. Some stories originally appeared in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. "Many older people have fond memories of attending the typical one-room school. The image is quintessential often with a painting...
How Do You Create Calm from Chaos?
Reflecting on 2020 Courage and Creativity When life is topsy turvy; When people we know get critically sick and some die; When our normal routine is tossed out the window, three questions come to mind: How is mine to be? What is mine to know? What is mine to do? So, I...
What’s New at Hoover’s Hatchery?
Our relationship with Hoover’s Hatchery started years ago and launched a long and mutually beneficial relationship that keeps growing. Thanks to quality products and innovative management, the Hatchery, located in tiny, Rudd, Iowa, is thriving today and offers...
How Can You Jazz Up Your Chickens’ Winter Diet?
Late December is special. There are lots to be thankful for and a good reason to celebrate. The solstice just passed, promising a daily addition of sunlight and signaling that spring is on the way. Then there’s a multitude of seasonal, cultural holidays and Holy Days....
A Forest is More Than Trees
We won’t forget August 10, 2020. On that summer day, Cedar Rapids was hit with 140 miles an hour winds that tore off roofs, felled signs, and toppled at least 65% of the City’s trees. The damage was awesome. We lost 47 of our 53 big trees at Winding Pathways and...
Is Arbor Day in November?
Unusual Storm Clouds The August storm looked like an ordinary thunderstorm approaching. Dark clouds gathered to the west as we sat on our porch. What happened minutes later was far from normal. The roaring wind hit like a prize fighter’s fist, bending our small oaks...
How Can Chipmunks Add Amusement in Coronavirus Times?
What a year this has been! Coronavirus altered the lives of nearly everyone. Many of us now work from home and spend the day staring at a computer screen and attending zoom meetings. A delight of working from home is entertainment right outside the window. Sometimes...
How Can YOU Tame Your Electric Bill?
Many people cringe when the monthly electric bill arrives. Not us. In 2019 the average homeowner in the United States paid $115 a month. Our last bill was $13. That is right! Thirteen bucks. Almost everyone can tame their electric bill. Here’s how we did it: Replaced...
Weep Not For Your Memories (Sarah McLachlan)
Friends share their memories of autumn activities.
How Do You Describe The “Joye” of Walking?
Walking Meditation Joye Winey, Guest Blogger I was working in my yard one day when a car pulled into my driveway. The driver rolled down her window and said “You’re that lady who walks !!” I am. And, I have always been. Walking has been my go-to exercise and...
Catch the Color!
Amazing Autumn Across America You can still catch the color this fall as these amazing days stretch on. Even in the derecho band of destruction from Eastern Nebraska through Illinois, some trees offer eye candy in November to lift our spirits. Outside the narrow...
Connect with past Gazette stories
We settle into fall and sometimes like to just browse past stories. Here are some links to more recent Gazette features and natures notes. Explore Iowa's National Parks. August 2020 Take Advantage of Iowa's County Gems July 2020 Why RV Life Isn't for These Senior...
Raccoons, Flying Squirrels and Other Nocturnal Visitors
Early one September morning a disturbing sight greeted us. The metal post holding a suet feeder high off the ground was bent. The feeder was gone. After a search we finally found it where our nocturnal thieves had abandoned it after devouring the suet. Many people are...
Treasuring Our Trees
Winding Pathways is partnering with Cornell College, Indian Creek Nature Center, Peoples Church, Prairiewoods, and Trees Forever to present Treasuring our Trees. Join us via ZOOM to honor and remember the fallen trees in the Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas...
Prairie Restoration – Part Six – Post Derecho
The August 10, 2020, Derecho that swept through the Midwest changed the landscape for decades. Winding Pathways is also changing the yard landscape through prairie management.
What Did the Derecho Do to Wildlife?
We’ll remember August 10, 2020, forever. On that day the wind changed Eastern Iowa and Winding Pathways in a way that will persist for a century. In 40 minutes, straight-line wind gusts up to 140 miles an hour toppled or broke 47 of our 53 trees. Two landed on our...