Cataract Surgery Re-Visited

by | Dec 11, 2025 | Reflections/Profiles, Wonderment

Well, Rich’s cataract removal surgery was fourteen months ago – October 2024. How did it work out?

What are Cataracts?

 

Opaque cataract in eye

Cataract

Cataracts grow slowly. The gradual reduction in visual acuity is a little like the frog in boiling water. Declining vision is slow but relentless. When is the time to choose surgery…….and does it work?

“My vision gradually diminished. The world looked slightly foggy and I’d see sparkly halos around lights, especially headlights when I’d drive after dark,” Rich remarked.

His Ophthalmologist, Dr. Brian Privett, watched his cataracts slowly grow over several annual routine eye tests. Finally, they both agreed it was time.

Surgery

The surgery was short and easy, at least for Rich. He was lightly sedated. Dr. Privett removed the right eye cataract. A week later he did the same on his left eye. Recovery involved a series of eye drops several times a day for about a month. Then it was all over. Dr. Privett had not only removed the cataracts but improved visual clarity at the same time.

Improvements!

Rich’s vision was much improved, and the halo radiating outward from headlights was reduced. Then, over time, vision began declining. At his annual checkup Dr. Privett found cloudy substances that form under the new cataract lenses. He prescribed a simple laser procedure called a Yag Cap to remove them. One eye this week and another next week.

More than a month’s gone by and Rich says his vision is the best in his life. Driving after dark is spectacularly clear. He only has a bit of occasional cloudiness in his left eye and an occasional floater that Dr. Privett says will vanish in time.

Back Story

Rich’s vision was poor from birth. In adulthood it was around 10/600. “I would have had trouble telling Marion from my brother ten feet away without my glasses,” he said.

Laser surgery in 1997 improved his vision, although he still needed to wear glasses for light corrections. Now, following the subsequent cataract surgery and a little more laser work, he no longer needs to wear glasses. The exception is for very close up work and reading.

Here are things he’s noticed:

  • It feels strange not putting on glasses. Sometimes he puts them on out of habit.
  • For years his glasses would fog up when he’d come inside on a cold day. That’s no longer an issue.
  • Even when glasses correct vision to 20/20, they still slightly degrade vision because there’s always some glare and the lenses gather dust and dirt.
  • Because he doesn’t need to wear glasses all the time, he puts them on and takes them off from time to time. He noted, “I’m worried I might put them down and forget where….so they’d be lost.” This was never a problem when wearing them was absolutely necessary every minute.

Safety Reasons to Wear Glasses

Safety glasses prevent objects flying into the eyes.

Safety glasses

There remains a strong reason to wear glasses, even when they’re not needed for visual acuity. Safety. Rich often operates power saws, drills, mowers, and other tools.

They can flip a wood chip or piece of debris in the eyes. So, he invested in a quality pair of safety glasses. They have a bifocal type lens that allows reading or seeing things closely but no correction.  Safety glasses are inexpensive.

Conclusion

So, at age 76 Rich is enjoying good vision. The best in his life. “My original laser surgery and later cataract removal freed me from glasses and let me see spectacularly well. It’s almost miraculous,” he exclaimed.

For information:  Dr. Privett is at the Iowa Eye Center at iowaeyecenter.com.

 

 

Mural Trails

by | Nov 13, 2025 | Travel/Columns, Wonderment

Chance Encounter Leads to Wall Mural Tours*

Zing works on Fia's Finds wall in autumn.

Zing is blessed with tetrachomacy.

Rich had a fleeting encounter with a muralist in October that inspired us to explore mural trails in the Cedar Rapids area. While we have passed by and noted many on our travels and around town, we had never sought them out.

Here’s how our mural trail tours started. Every once in a while, Rich visits Fia’s Finds, a consignment store on First Avenue SE, in hopes of finding a replacement for his favored vintage coffee cup that broke a few years back.  No luck on the coffee cup but he had a delightful brief chat with Zing, a young woman creating a colorful mural on the store’s outer wall.That got us thinking more about murals.

Paducah, Kentucky’s Wall Legacy

Artist in Paducah, KY, repairs wall mural.

Repairing mural.

Actually, we’ve long noted wall murals. But this August our interest was piqued while walking along Paducah, Kentucky’s flood wall.  Crafted on the long wall were murals depicting the city’s rich history. They were magnificent art that told a story. And, they are maintained. An artist was diligently working in the summer’s heat to refresh one of the panels. He explained that is part of his job thanks to long term funding, is to keep the murals in good condition. After that, we started paying more attention to murals.

Coffee Cup Connection
Yields Invitation

Back to Fia’s Finds. In early November owner, Sophia Joseph, invited us to a reception honoring Zing (Phelps), who’ll continue the mural when the weather warms next spring.

“I’m actually a tattoo artist. This is my first mural,” Zing told us with pride and enthusiasm, evidence of her craft poking through her torn jean pants. Her comment gave us a perspective. A mural is sort of a big tattoo on a wall. When we mentioned this, she responded, “Yeah, but a mural doesn’t wiggle when you work on it!”

Street art and tattoo artist Zing poses in front of her work at Fia's Finds in Cedar Rapids.

Honored at a reception.

When Zing’s family joined the reception stories began to flow. Her mom noted that as a kid she used markers to draw. On everything – including walls! So, her mom bought her real sets of art supplies. COVID-19 restricted so much but also opened doors. Zing took formal lessons through the visual arts division, a hybrid middle school, at the Figge Museum in Davenport, Iowa. She got more excited about drawing and tattoo work and now works at Wildside Tattoo.

She connected with Fia’s Finds owner, Sophia Joseph, after Joseph posted on Cedar Rapids Support Local seeking a wall artist. “It was the first time I ever asked permission to paint on a wall,” Zing quipped. Her mom smiled in agreement.

Wall Murals Everywhere

In our travels we have seen wall art murals popping up. In 2013 we visited the Freak Alley Gallery in Boise, Idaho. A cool experience watching artists transform an alleyway into an outdoor art gallery. Yearly, the murals are changed. Nationwide, transformative art on buildings now is the rage. And, such spectacular examples abound.

Dubuque, Iowa, has wonderful street art and wall murals downtown that we admire when we visit.

 

What’s New is Old

Faded Firestone wall art.

maintanence is important.

But wall murals are not a new concept.  Decades ago, businesses used wall art to advertise their products like soft drinks and smokes. A local example that could use love is the Firestone garage at 10th St. and Second Ave SE. On the back side of the building next to PCI II is a faded image of the Firestone logo. Zing may just be the talented artist who could help revive this iconic wall art. She listens to clients, is creative and uses her gift of tetrachormacy to full advantage.

 Mural Tour

Since we met Zing, we have taken tours of wall art in and near Cedar Rapids.

Highway 30 and Mt. Vernon

Out toward and in Mt. Vernon are some dandy barn murals. Our first stop was at the Big Apple Orchard on Hwy 30 near Mount Vernon. The barn sports a big mural of the Statue of Liberty with a twist. She holds an apple in her upthrust hand. Just east of Palisades State Park on the south side of Hwy 30 is the iconic American Gothic painting and a realistic buffalo prairie scene. A variation of wall murals is barn quilts that dot our landscapes and we have featured in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

The town of Mt. Vernon is well know for its spring Chalk the Walk event where artists design and color in murals on the blocked-off main street.

Cedar Rapids

From there we visited more urban wall murals in Cedar Rapids’ Czech Village, New Bohemia, Kingston Yard, and along First and Second Avenues. Another day we stopped by Shores in the Mount Mercy University area and enjoyed two murals. We are eager to check out the new one in the Ground Transportation Center and see about a canvas one in the Alliant Tower.

They’re all colorful and fun. All tell a story. A great example is in Cedar Rapids’ Greene Square Park. Painted on an adjacent parking garage is a mural celebrating the Great America Rail Trail. It overlooks a section of the trail that will eventually stretch from coast to coast. Rich, and a friend, have bicycled portions of this trail in Nebraska.

We have visited in a small sample of the street art/wall murals in our town, and will visit more over the winter months. While the murals are fresh and vibrant now, time takes its toll.  So, we do hope businesses and street artists will maintain these unique designs that add vibrancy to any town or rural barn.

How to Find Murals/Wall Art

Murals are fun. We keep on the lookout for them and encourage you to do the same.

Want help finding them? Types of sources to help: Visit the website of the town you are interested in and find street art/wall murals/wall art examples. Locally, Murals & More is a great site to check out. The site streetartcities.com is a start but does not show all. Facebook is a source to check out, too.

We are happy to learn more about these incredible works of art and meet an artist. We will try to connect with other artists over time. Bravo to the artists, partners and sponsors who brighten up our towns and the landscapes.

  • While we know there are differences, we use the terms wall art, wall murals, street art interchangeably. While each artist defines differently, the idea is they all creatively tell a story.

Happy Yards

by | Oct 2, 2025 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Flowers/Grasses, Garden/Yard, Garden/Yard, Wonderment

Take a look around as you drive. Autumn eye candy delights and soothes us.  From small yards to acreages to vistas Happy Yards abound. Following are some Happy Yards we’ve noticed this fall. We thank folks for creating visual pleasure, habitat for small creatures that share our earth, and enhancing the health of soil, water and air.

To respect individaul homeowner privacy, we took photos that show only the beauty of the forbs and grasses.  Businesses, we stated the names and we thank for their creative use of small spaces to enhance beauty and promote healthy environments.

Enjoy the eye candy as autumn progresses and may we look forward to more come next growing season.

Readers can connect with various businesses across the country that promote happy yards. A favorite is New Hampshire Garden Solutions that regularly post fabulous photos with narrative of rambles in Marion’s native state.

We’ve written a number of posts on wondrous yards that we invite readers to look at.

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned*

by | May 15, 2025 | Preparedness, Ruminations

*Apologies to Ben Franklin*

It’s funny how quotes get attributed to people. Franklin might not have actually said the quote above, but he did have the right idea with his quote: in the 1737 Poor Richard’s Almanack: “A penny saved is two pence clear.” When you save something today, it likely will grow in worth over time.

We are on the far side of age 75 and enjoying financial security that has resulted from a lifetime of careful spending, good advice, and a bit of luck. A penny saved here and there added up.

We’re not financial experts so this is just how a lifetime of money management enabled us to emerge into good money health despite years of lean income.

Over many years of talking with people facing financial stress we often hear them say, “I need to find a job that pays better.”  Well, you might not need to do that.  You simply need to spend less and perhaps live in a more affordable geographic location. Dr. Laurie Santos, professor at Yale University, hosts a series on the Science of Well Being. She also hosts a six-week course, the Science of Well-Being for Teens. Participants look closely at their lifestyles and where they spend time and money that drain them, causing them to think they need more. Often it is not true. It’s a great course to take online.

Our Background

We worked in the nonprofit sector, which provided slim salaries and sparse benefits. We liked what we did so never felt compelled to change jobs for better pay. Rather than seek higher pay we used what money we had efficiently.

Financial Philosophy

Coins - pennies, quarters, nickels, dimes.

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

Our basic financial philosophy is that however much money a person earns, if he/she spends a little less and consistently invests the difference, financial health increases.  Of course, that was partly back in the day when financial institutions gave better interest return on money customers deposited.

 Decades Long Strategy

Here’s what we’ve done for over a half century to be financially secure.

  • Avoided compulsive, ego spending. Keeping up with the Joneses costs money.
  • Developed a long-term relationship with our bank and brokerage as partners. Their advice is free.
  • Avoided paying rent and borrowing money. Yup, we drove old cars we could pay cash for and regularly put money in the bank. This earned us interest and avoided loan interest. Then, when we needed to buy a car, we withdrew money and paid cash. We rented apartments briefly but invested in a house purchase. Because we live frugally, we were able to pay off a mortgage early. Now our housing costs are utilities, taxes, and maintenance. No monthly rent or mortgage!  It’s a pay-as-we-go philosophy.  Granted, we did not “enjoy” some of the exotic trips or coolest stuff and we are better off for it.
  • Avoided voluntary taxes. People complain they don’t want to pay taxes. (Benefits exist to paying legitimate taxes) Then, what do they do? Some buy tobacco, alcohol, and gamble.
    By doing so, they pay self-imposed high taxes and often end up with health issues. We’ve never smoked, don’t gamble, and enjoy a beer or a sip of wine occasionally. A pack of cigarettes in Iowa costs about $9. If we each smoked two packs a day, our daily cost would be $36. That’s over $13,000 a year. If we’d done this for our 50-year marriage we’d have spent far more on tobacco than to buy our home.
  • Embraced life cycle cost. For example, it’s common for the least expensive refrigerator to consume the most electricity. Life cycle cost means figuring out what an object will cost during its likely lifespan. Usually paying slightly more upfront for a well-made, efficient device saves chunks of money over time. Energy efficiency saves money! BTW, ditch the inefficient refrigerator or freezer you’ve held on to. Recycle it. Likely you don’t need all the extra stored food. Your electric bill will go down and you have more space in your home.
  • Embraced inexpensive recreation. People often carefully calculate the cost for business and home functional items, then spend ridiculously on recreation.

Hobbies

Rich’s hobbies are reading (library books are free), walking, birding, and fishing. He also scrounges and crafts items like bird feeders. 

Fishing’s a good example. It can be expensive but doesn’t have to be. A cheap rod and reel costs about 30 bucks and won’t last long. A better one costs about $100 and is durable and efficient, but the very best is around $500. Sticking with the $100 model is the most cost efficient…..and he catches fish from an ancient rowboat purchased at a garage sale. In contrast, an expensive powerboat and electronics need insurance, storage, maintenance, and fuel. Not needed for catching fish.

  • We love gardening, which helps lower food costs. Even a small patio can support vegetables you may enjoy.
  • Avoid being nickel and dimed to death. It sounds cheap. Only eight dollars a month for a streaming service. $96 a year. Multiply that by six streaming services and that $96 a month costs close to $576 a year. All sorts of other things that seem cheap per month put a constant drain on finances. A few bucks here. A few bucks there. They add up!
  • Use our credit card carefully and always pay off the balance on time to avoid interest costs.

Final Words

The upshot is, most people do NOT need to earn more money, they need to learn to use what they have wisely.

We spend carefully yet live richly and have avoided the terror of a heavy debt burden. Our financial strategy has led us in a good direction and we believe it may help others to achieve the same result.

Create Natural Beauty

by | Sep 19, 2024 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, 1080 Labyrinth Blog, Garden/Yard, Nature, Wonderment

Partnership with Sustainable Landscape Solutions Creates Natural Beauty

Prairie flowers

Brilliant flowers

When we bought our home near Cedar Rapids in 2010 we had a vision to transform the yard that had been sprayed and manicured by its former owner into a wondrous place, brimming with natural beauty and fascinating wildlife. It would be a delightful yard with prairie and savanna wildflowers bouncing in the breeze, and goldfinches and swallowtail butterflies winging over. We sought to create natural beauty.

 

 

We have years of ecological restoration experience. Rich had been restoring prairies and oak savannas since 1975 in his position as executive director of two nature centers.   Like Rich, Marion is an inspired naturalist and a labyrinth expert. Together we had managed our former home for diversity, but the new property offered more space.

Beginning almost immediately, we planted prairies in portions of our front and back yards and worked with Linn County Roads to restore prairie in the nearby road ditch. This helped hold runoff water that could percolate into the ground.

Two workers manage small prairie burn.

Working together.

Fortunately, we have experience managing fire. Rich is a former US Forest Service Hot Shot (wild firefighter) and we’ve used prescribed burns to help nurture the prairie.  Burning has helped us resurrect native plants and wildlife.

 

 

 

 

 

Mom playing with child in labyrinth

August – Joy is a part of labyrinths.

In their largest prairie Marion crafted the Phoenix Harmony Labyrinth. This is a five-circuit, dual-entry path to the center where people can enjoy a bur oak and be surrounded by prairie grasses and forbs. She welcomes people to play and encourages anyone wishing for moments of contemplation to visit and walk its curving paths between blooming prairie plants.  Her labyrinth is listed on the international labyrinth locator registry.

How Sustainable Landscape Solutions
Helped the Pattersons

Signs of Prairie Partners

Several organizations and businesses are collaborating to create and manage the prairie.

We needed help with our newer projects. “We wanted to transform a hilly patch of our front lawn into a prairie rich in wildflowers and fewer tall prairie grasses. The site was a long-established conventional lawn composed of exotic grasses,” said Rich. “That’s a challenging environment to establish prairie. I’ve established prairies on lawns before by broadcasting seeds and following up with prescribed burns. But, it’s a slow process. We wanted to speed up restoration and needed help killing the turf and preparing the soil,” he added.

In 2020 we hired Sustainable Landscape Solutions to do the prep by first spraying the existing turf and later working the soil. Pattersons took it from there and planted a seed mix they purchased from Pheasants Forever. It’s called their Leopold Mix and contains seeds of 82 species of native prairie wildflowers.

Patience

It takes prairie time to mature. A year after planting we had a few blooms. The next year a few more. In its third year, it began to look like a prairie, and by its fifth growing season, the area was a magnificent spread of colorful flowers fluttering in the summer breeze.  Alive with bumblebees, butterflies, and other insects, it was rich with life.

Next Steps

Four years later we decided to pursue a different sort of property upgrade. The 2020 Derecho did a job on a cozy nook next to the garage. “We wanted to transform a weedy nook south of our house into a delightful place to sit on cool spring and fall days where the sun would warm us.  We worked with Virginia Hayes of Sustainable Landscape Solutions to come up with a patio plan that allows us and our visitors to sit and enjoy our thriving natural landscapes.

Patience, Again

Multiple rains delayed the project as Sustainable Landscapes worked diligently to catch up on already scheduled, and now rain-delayed projects. The new patio was crafted in July 2024. “It’s an example of how our company was able to work with homeowners to create a vision and gorgeous yard. Pattersons had much restoration knowledge but we’re happy to help people less experienced transform their yards into areas of natural beauty,” said Sean Pearl of Sustainable Landscapes.

Rich sitting on bench.

Coming together

Now, in early autumn, the nook is coming together nicely and we look forward to sharing it, the yard, and the labyrinth with others.

A Little More About Labyrinths

The Patterson’s labyrinth is created in a tallgrass prairie but these can be built in many ways, including in formal landscaping.  “Many are made of bricks or pavers that enable a walker to negotiate the winding pathway,” said Marion. “Ours has a wide grassy path with borders of prairie grasses and forbs that change seasonally.” Labyrinths are structures with a path that winds to a center. Each time walkers follow the path around the center is called a circuit.  Walkers find that the winding path slows down their minds and they can settle into a more relaxed space.  Because of the natural setting, many walkers comment on how they recall times in nature as youth.  Patterson is available to help landowners create labyrinths.

Blessings of the Changing Landscapes

We welcome visitors to our Winding Pathways website and to see our prairies.