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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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Possum visits
Possum visit!
Ringneck Pheasants Give Lesson to Landowners
This fall thousands of hunters will bring millions of ringneck pheasants home to be converted into delicious meals. Pheasants have been around so long that many people think of them as native birds. They’re not but they provide a lesson on how to structure a modern...
Keeping Bugs Out of the House
At Winding Pathways, we take joy in fall’s colorful leaves, cool days, and clear air, but we know insects are on the move.
Box Elder Bugs, Asian Beetles, other insects and spiders, and mice all sense that frigid air is on the way and seek shelter from the cold. Houses offer secure nooks and crannies to hide in and central heat to keep them toasty warm.
Preparing for Winter
Fall is a perfect season to be outdoors. We look forward to the delicate lace of the first frost on our russet oak leaves. When outside be sure to look up. You might catch sight of a raptor, perhaps even an eagle, way up high catching thermals and moving south ahead...
Efficiency Yields Cost Savings
(This story first appeared in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.) A few months ago, my wife called me to her computer to view our electric bill. Although the weather had been mild the previous month we were still proud to see a $13.18 bill, or about 45 cents a day. That's a...
Yoga Labyrinth Walk
On a lovely late summer day, the Yoga classes from PCI and Toula Yoga, led by Lisa Hanigan and Cyndy Logue, picnicked and walked the Phoenix Harmony Labyrinth. After I shared a brief introduction and overview of labyrinths, each woman began her walk. Each rang the...
Managing Deer and Deer Hunters
Many landowners face challenges caused by abundant deer. This animal evolved under heavy predation by wolves, bears, mountain lions, and Native American hunters. Their survival strategy, in addition to being well camouflaged and fleet, is to have many babies. A...
Harvesting Deer for Meat Series
This week Winding Pathways will feature two blogs that cover the "ins and outs" of harvesting deer, landowner responsibilities and a sample agreement between landowners and deer hunters. This blog includes The Law, Equipment, and Ways to Process a Deer. The next blog...
Late Summer and Early Fall Insects
As summer winds down, our warm weather has continued in the upper Midwest and insects are having a heyday. Cicadas still call and Katydids make quite a racket at night. Behind all these summer sounds is the high pitched "cheek-cheek-cheek" of crickets. Mosquitoes...
Spiders in the House
Every once in a while an enormous wolf spider startles us when we go downstairs and flip on a light. We call him “Wolfie”. Fortunately, most of the time he (Wolfie might be a she) stays out of sight and is helpful because (s)he eats other critters that inhabit homes...
Hurricane Harvey’s Lesson
Images in the nightly news from Houston during and after Hurricane Harvey are heartbreaking. It will take years for flooded communities and families to recover. Harvey reminds us that disasters can happen anywhere at any time. Some are relatively predictable. For...
Pilgrimage to Muscatine Labyrinth
Sometimes the experiences that yield the greatest learning are the ones that don't follow our expectations and desires. A group of labyrinth enthusiasts joined me on a pilgrimage to the Muscatine Labyrinth in the Arboretum on Harmony Lane. Tucked into the "elbow" of...
What We Love About Summer!
Winding Pathways asked for reader submissions on what they love about summer and here is what folks shared. Dan P was the first. with this short, pithy remark: "Summer = it's not cold ;)" And here is the back story on that. As a kid and teen until his Junior year...
Total Eclipse of the Sun 2017
Even though clouds and rain dominated the central Midwest on Monday, August 21st, we took in and enjoyed our Eclipse Trip 2017. We drove major roads to SW Iowa and cut over to smaller state and county roads where the views were more intimate and traffic less. Rolling...
Stump Gallery
A creative family on 29th St. Drive SE decorated an old Stump over a period of months. The stump even survived the first round of construction and then, had to go. It's kind of sad because the stumps livened up our drives to and from work. So, here is a memory lane...
Enjoying Rhubarb
About seven years ago we moved from a small house near downtown to Winding Pathways. We looked forward to our new home but didn’t want to leave some plants we’d cared for in the former yard. One was rhubarb. Fortunately, our move happened in early spring, so we were...