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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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May in Northeast Iowa

May in Northeast Iowa

May is about the most exciting month to travel and camp out in Iowa.  We took in the Driftless area of Iowa and Wisconsin where we learned more about mounds at Effigy Mounds National Monument, ate at funky Café McGregor, took in Starks and Cabelas in Prairie du Chien,...

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Spring Inspirations by Readers

Spring Inspirations by Readers

We invited readers of Winding Pathways blogs to submit a photo and short description of a favorite spring scene. The response spanned from the Pacific Northwest to Canada and from the Desert Southwest to New England. Enjoy readers' reflections on our emerging spring....

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Sterno – Great for Emergencies

Sterno – Great for Emergencies

At Winding Pathways we wrote periodically about preparedness.  Usually, it's related to the potential for seasonal weather-related events. Almost every day someone somewhere suffers damage from a tornado, hurricane, ice storm, blizzard or some other natural disaster....

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Magical Mayapples

Magical Mayapples

Early each spring we look forward to the appearance of hundreds of Mayapples in our small woods.   They appear like magic, usually after a few warm April days. Only a couple of days after their first shoots poke through the ground our woods are carpeted with...

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Call for Photo and Write-ups

Call for Photo and Write-ups

First submission in! Hey all, on Facebook Winding Pathways invited folks to submit a favorite spring photo - tree, scene, flower, animal - with a short write-up of why you like that picture. And, Kansas readers Emily and Zach Hemmerling have already replied! Way to...

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Best Birding in the Yard

Best Birding in the Yard

At Winding Pathways, we venture into our yard nearly every day, even if it's raining, windy, or frigid out. Of all the times, early May is our favorite to linger outdoors. Why? It's the best birding. Very late April and the first couple of weeks of May boast normally...

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It’s Night Crawling Time!

It’s Night Crawling Time!

There's lots going on out on the lawn every dreary drizzly spring evening. Don't miss the annual night crawler mating season. Night crawlers are a species of earthworms. Crawling is a fun family activity that only takes a few minutes and yields great fish bait.  Night...

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Canada Geese Life Rhytym

Canada Geese Life Rhytym

Rich made a New Year's resolution to walk around Cedar Lake at least 100 times in 2017 after making over 90 lake circuits last year. The 60-acre lake is near downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and  features a 1.7 mile long paved trail following its shore. Every day...

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Pileated Woodpecker on Suet

The pileated woodpecker checked out the suet and finally flew to the ground then up to the feeder to hammer out chucks of suet. Then, off to the tree where a female played hide and seek with it. [playlist type="video"...

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Save Baby Chicks From Certain Death

Save Baby Chicks From Certain Death

We weren't worried when a 37-degree north wind took to blowing on Saturday, March 25th.  Our chicks were safe inside the barn brooder.  Then, our electric power went out.   Normally that wouldn't be a problem. Our wood stove keeps the house warm without electricity...

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Turkey Time!

Turkey Time!

Well, the turkey characters are at it, again! Up they come each morning even  before sun up, looking quite fit and hale, and gobbling for breakfast.  At Winding Pathways we get a kick out of the web pages and sporting flyers that detail all the equipment one needs to...

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Cold Streams, Warm Memories

Cold Streams, Warm Memories

March is the perfect time for kids to slop around in puddles, intermittent streams, and small creeks.  We get filthy, soaking wet, and learn! How ice forms. How it melts. Where critters live in the deep freeze. Balance teetering on rocks. Using sticks as levers to pry...

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Bald Eagle Parents

Bald Eagle Parents

We're lucky to have a pair of bald eagles nesting within walking distance of our home. Occasionally we clamber through the woods to check on the couple, but we're careful to not disturb them. We stay a hundred yards away from their nest tree and spy on them through...

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26 Hours Old: Baby Chicks Arrive

26 Hours Old: Baby Chicks Arrive

Baby Chicks Find a Home at Winding Pathways  The call from our post office came at 6 a.m. “Could you please come soon and pick up a box of peeping baby chicks,” requested the pleasant postal worker. Soon we were in the car en-route to retrieve the babies. We were...

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Box Elder Bugs

Box Elder Bugs

Lots of box elder bugs are traipsing through homes this winter to the consternation of human occupants. This amazingly common and crafty insect is a true bug named for common box elder trees. You don't have to have box elder trees nearby to “enjoy” visits by the bug....

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Empowerment

Empowerment

The world seems stressed now and yet, the tools we can use to help center and calm are sometimes gathering dust as we try to "figure things out."  In this time of Lenten Reflection and approaching Passover, Sheryl Crow's song and lyrics resonate with me.  "Out of Our...

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