Welcome to Winding Pathways
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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Community Playthings – go Outside and Play!
Here is a great link to Community Playthings an organization that encourages families, grandparents and kids to do cool activities outside all year! Read their blog "Bundle Up and Get Outside." Winding Pathways will soon a feature a guest blogger's adventures with...
Catalogs: Think Spring in Winter’s Depth
Note: Winding Pathways is not paid by companies we feature nor do we receive any free material goods. We simply have had great results with their products in our yard. Although most of the United States is still in the grip of winter, cold weather makes thinking...
$100 – Welcome Christmas Spirit!
A guest Blog by Larry Paulsen of Ogden and Adams: "I have a unique story I’d like to share. This happened just a month ago. I own a lumberyard here in Cedar Rapids and I do most of the buying of the materials we sell. I have gained some great friendships over the many...
Best Chicken Breeds for Backyard Flocks
Mid-winter is a perfect time to order baby chicks to arrive in the mail as the weather warms in spring. Homeowners can create an international flock of six hens that will be fun to keep and produce many delicious eggs. Many hatcheries allow customers to order a...
$26: A Christmas Story
Guest blog by Jacqueline Hull about a Christmas gift in the southwest. "... told me this experience she had just before Christmas. I hope you enjoy the story.... Sometimes life, its quirks, and inhabitants surprise us in the most delightful ways." $26: A Christmas...
Tools for Every Home
Our home at Winding Pathways shares needs familiar to every homeowner or renter. Things break, new items need to be assembled and pictures need to be hung. A basic set of household tools makes common tasks easy, even for people not particularly handy. We have dozens...
Fun Winter Reading
Although electronics minded people often claim that paper books are either dead or dying, we disagree. Few things are as pleasant as spending winter hours curled in a comfortable chair by the wood stove reading a real book. Even better is sharing a book with a child...
ENJOYING THE COOL MONTHS
Outside in Fall Warm pleasant weather lures families into their yards for gardening, barbecue cooking, and simply enjoying the weather or quiet conversation. Unfortunately, most people retreat inside as soon as the weather turns cool and don't enjoy their yards until...
String Bean Labyrinth
A Kansas Couple Creatively Walk The Path by Emily and Zach Hemmerling, guest bloggers Anyone who has ever spent hours picking green beans knows it’s a thankless job. Aching backs, mosquito bites, and soaked sweatbands, all for a few pounds of produce that is consumed...
To Everything There is a Season
As November closes and late fall settles in with its grey stillness and stripped woods and fields we draw comfort from unusual sources. Read more at....1080Labyrinth.
The Best of Seeds and the Worst of Seeds
Cold weather in the northern hemisphere and the Holiday Season everywhere are upon us and many gifts for bird lovers fill store shelves. But, shopping for seeds to fill the backyard feeder can be confusing and even frustrating. Many types of seed and mixes are for...
Turkey and Squirrel Excluder
Nearly everyone who feeds wild birds sees squirrels gobbling up expensive seed. Elaborate and expensive feeders help birds eat while excluding squirrels. We use a different method. Plenty of squirrels make Winding Pathways home. So do wild turkeys. We enjoy watching...
All Saints’ Day Walk
We could not have asked for better weather, especially in November! On the first several Pilgrims walked the 1080 Laughing Labyrinth reflecting, soaking in the sun and warm air, and sharing experiences. Some left quietly. Others shared a hug and thoughtful remark....
Fall Season of Transition
One late October afternoon Rich brought only three eggs into the kitchen. In spring and summer our 15 hens normally give us a dozen beautiful eggs every day. Like so many signs in nature our chickens are telling us it is transition time. We have lucky chickens. They...
Sprucing Up Decks and Chairs
When we bought Winding Pathways six years ago we ended up with two old wooden decks and steel deck furniture. We love our decks and often enjoy meals there. Sometimes we just sit on our decks watching wildlife in the prairie and woodland. Unfortunately, our decks and...
A Cornucopia of Winter Squash
One of the most exciting times of our gardening year is winter squash harvest. Few plants are as interesting or useful. They're diverse, easy to grow, colorful, easy to store, delicious, and can be used in dozens of recipes. Winter squash were domesticated by Native...