by Winding Pathways | Mar 22, 2016 | Children/Play, Wonderment
Children learn by exploring.
Walking to and from school in the 1950s and ‘60s yielded exercise, adventure, learning and fond memories.
Rich walked or bicycled about a mile to and from school down one road, along a woodsy path, across the Rockaway River, and around a wetland to school. Along the way were frogs to catch, stones to toss in the river, and little melted snow streams to dam with rocks and watch the water flow. The trek to school may have been as educational as the classroom topics and lots more fun.
On her way to a friend’s house in Florida, Marion balanced along logs and stopped to talk with the friendly horse in a pasture. In New Hampshire she and friend, Pete Martell, opted for the hypotenuse route to school. They had just learned that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line! Instead of following the road through the village and down School Street, they crossed the Piscataquog River on a large pipe above the dam and jagged rocks connecting two factories. Half way across the pipe, the consequences of a fall dawned on her. This one-time “adventure” became a lifelong lesson in thinking through actions.
At a recent conference Blue Zones Director of Innovation and Inspiration, Dan Burden, told us the odds of a child being abducted by strangers has been dropping for years and is lower today than in the 50’s. Ironically, modern parents fear abduction and drive their kids to school, robbing them of exercise, fun, and learning.
Cedar Rapids Community School administrator, Steve Graham, told us that most school districts built schools in residential neighborhoods so children could walk. Nearby streets were never designed for the heavy traffic that now occurs each morning and afternoon when parents drop off or pick up kids, even when they live just a block or two away.
We were free range kids. Mom and Dad expected us to get to and from destinations and to exercise good judgment. We made mistakes, got skinned knees and mosquito bites, but we learned. In those delicious walks after school and on weekend rambles we invented games played in vacant lots with other kids, chased butterflies, stomped in the snow, climbed trees and experienced the world first hand. We learned.
We’re thankful our parents raised us as free range kids. Mom and Dad set some limits, but we were free to explore our world. We raised our two children the same way and were delighted when they returned from the woods tired and dirty but full of tales of their afternoon adventure shared around the dinner table.
We’re concerned that few of today’s kids have the freedom to explore that we had. Too many of today’s yards are boring, sprayed monocultures that don’t inspire kids to go outside and play. Keep visiting our Winding Pathways Website and we’ll share tips on how to make your yard a magical place for kids…..and their parents…….to play.
by Winding Pathways | Mar 13, 2016 | Amphibians/Reptiles, Birds, Nature, Travel/Columns
After an unusually mild winter we were hardly surprised by the early onset of spring’s symphony. At Winding Pathways in Iowa it usually starts on clear cold February days when male cardinals begin their beeker beeker beeker call. They were close to their normal schedule this late winter. Then red winged blackbirds arrived fully two weeks early and added their voices to roadside ditches and wetlands.
On March 7 we heard the glorious sound that truly harkens spring – Chorus Frogs and Peepers! We were driving a dirt road through southern Iowa’s Shimek State Forest when Marion heard the voices of dozens of tiny frogs coming from a puddle the size of our car.
Chorus Frogs
To naturalist Joseph Wood Krutch singing peepers heralded a true resurrection and marked the start of the warm season. Living in Connecticut he noted that they always began singing in the period of time in which Easter can fall. In other words between March 22 and April 25 .
That’s usually true in Iowa but this year they are earlier, much earlier.
Most people have heard peepers and chorus frogs but have never seen the tiny amphibians that sing with magnificent enthusiasm. The two species often live in the same places and can be easily told apart by their calls. Chorus frogs sound like a person running his finger along the teeth of a comb, while peepers make the “peep peep peep” calls that gives them their name. To hear recorded peepers and chorus frogs log in to Manitoba Frog and Toad Calls.
Frogs are far from the only animals that begin calling as winter transitions into spring. Migrating birds are already beginning to appear in yards, woodlands, and wetlands across America and often they are easier to hear than see. Some of the most melodic singers are the hardest birds to spot, and identifying them by sound is often more efficient than trying to spot a bird in thick brush. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has excellent audios of bird calls for mobile apps.
Experienced birders (and froggers for that matter) use both ears and eyes to identify species. Like many birders we started out using printed bird guides to help us learn species. Only much later did we begin learning their calls. It’s been a rewarding hobby that has a cruel catch.
Each Rich would learn new bird calls when history caught up with him. Probably due to intense noise of heavy machine guns in Army training decades ago his ability to hear many sounds, particularly those of high pitches is fading. Marion can hear birdsong he can’t. He’s investigating hearing aids that should help him continue this fascinating means of identification. Stay tuned. He’ll report on hearing aids later.
USING THE MERLIN APP
For years we lugged around bird books that were either large and heavy or compact but limited in the information they provided. They were the best way to learn new species in the field.
That’s changed thanks to the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. We loaded their free Merlin App into our smart phones. It makes identifying 400 bird species a snap. At the touch of a few keys several photos of each species appear, a range map, and……best of all…… recorded sounds of each bird.
We still carry and refer to a paper bird book but the Merlin App has become our favorite field tool for identifying birds, especially by their call.
ABOUT THE LABORATORY OF ORNITHOLOGY
We joined the Lab a few years ago and love its colorful and informative magazine, LIVING BIRD, and the many bird tips posted on their websiteChorus Frogs. The Lab has been a leader in bird science for decades and they’ve helped us become better birders and gain new insights into the lives of these fascinating animals.
by Winding Pathways | Mar 9, 2016 | Nature, Trees/Shrubs
Imagine an enormous elephant in the back yard, its huge tusks smashing a tree while it gobbles leaves, branches, and fruits. It once happened! Mastodons, mammoths, camels, horses, and sloths were once native Iowa wild animals before they slipped into extinction some 10,000 years ago.
They dined on the fruit of a long suffering tree that is getting a new lease on life because oil in its seeds promotes beautiful, healthy hair.
The humble Osage orange tree once grew across a vast area of North America. Scrubby, small, and prickly it thrived in poor soil and challenging climates. Today, its range is limited. On its thorny branches grow softball sized warty green fruits often called hedge apples or hedge balls. Without elephants to harvest them they drop to the ground and rot. Any seeds that might sprout can’t grow in their parent’s shade.
Elephants and sloths once devoured these hedge balls and wandered off, digesting the fleshy part and pooping out the seeds a distance from the parent tree. In exchange for a meal the animal planted a new tree generation. Around 13,000 years ago humans appeared and with razor sharp spears decimated the tasty animals. Lacking big mammals to spread its seeds the tree’s range slowly shrank to a small area of Texas and Oklahoma. Then people gave it a helping hand.
Farmers homesteaded the Midwest before barbed wire was invented. They needed fences and planted rows of Osage orange trees that grew into long linear impenetrable tangles. For a while the tree was valued and planted far and wide. When barbed wire was invented it rendered living fences obsolete and the hapless tree again went into decline. Then it got lucky, again.
Now cosmetologists are replacing elephants and farmers as the newest partners of this humble tree. Iowa chemist, Todd Johnson, learned how to extract oil from its seeds. When used as an ingredient in hair care products it promotes healthy hair. According to Capri College of Cosmetology Director of Education, Madison Seaborn, Osage orange oil is used in shampoo, cleansing conditioner, and volumizing gel.
Johnson buys tons of Osage orange fruits from farmers and youth groups and processes them into oil that’s sold to cosmetologists. Once again the Osage orange has value, and it’s likely that people will plant new ones as aging trees die.
Wooly mammoths and mastodons had long fine hair that kept them toasty warm in the cold glacial climate. Perhaps the oil that today is valued as a human hair care product once kept their fur in prime condition.
by Winding Pathways | Mar 5, 2016 | Bugs, Nature
Bees forage on many plants. Create pollinator pockets to help them out. Then harvest the honey from your hives.
Interest in beekeeping is heading toward the stratosphere. Although the number of bee colonies may be declining more and more are showing up in suburban and urban yards.
We kept bees for years and enjoyed watching them visit garden flowers. Their honey was delicious. We didn’t stop beekeeping from lack of interest. It simply became a time priority. Bee colonies need attention in May and June, just when we like to wander off camping, go fishing, canoe the river, or work in our garden. Something had to go, and for us it was the bees. But, we still miss them and beekeeping may be your perfect hobby.
Here are beekeeping aspects to consider
- It is fascinating. Tend a hive and you may kindle a lifelong hobby.
- It’s complex. Keeping bees requires knowledge, time and strength. Having a mentor is the best way to learn, but many organizations now sponsor classes, and books, websites, and YouTube videos abound to help with the learning curve. University of Minnesota’s Extension Office has an excellent site on beekeeping basics.
- It can be costly. You’ll need hives, coveralls, veils, smokers, hive tools, a honey extractor and bees. Bees and equipment can be mail ordered and some stores sell them.
- Honey is heavy. Plan on hefty lifting.
- With the relatively recent arrival of several new parasites, diseases, and the still somewhat mysterious colony collapse syndrome, it’s getting harder to keep colonies alive and productive. Colony death is common.
- Home produced honey is delicious.
- Bees are outstanding pollinators and may make a garden more productive.
- Beekeeping is not allowed in some towns. Check local ordinances before jumping in.
A great way to start a bee hobby is to find an established beekeeper and volunteer to help. Working with a mentor is an opportunity to decide whether beekeeping is for you before investing in equipment and bees.
An Internet search will help locate a beekeeping class in your area. Simply type “beekeeping class in (your state)” into the search engine and chances are good you’ll find a class nearby. YouTube Videos aren’t as hands on as taking a class or working with a mentor but they are helpful. One of our favorites is a 25 part series on YouTube done by Dr. Keith Delaplane of the University of Georgia. We found it at FarmUS12 on YouTube.
