“Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher ‘standard of living’ is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free. For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, … Read more
Mark Twain and Muscatine Iowa have a bit of a history. In 1853 Mark Twain’s brother Orion Clemens became a part-owner of the newspaper. Beginning when he was eighteen years old, Twain’s contributions to the Journal represent his earliest attempts at travel writing. Twain once remarked that he remembered Muscatine for its summer sunsets. I’d suggest that the … Read more
An older image but one I don’t think I ever posted on this blog. This image has won a few prizes for me in the past…appropriately I got some expensive, arctic gloves and liners…problem is it’s never been cold enough to use them since I received them! Figures…you are most welcome you happy, warmth-loving, Iowans!
Crab apple fruit is not necessarily finger food. I spent some time this fall studying what type of crab apple trees these waxwings tend to frequent. In some cases it was a matter of how ripe the fruit got…the softer the better it seems, but also the size mattered. Too big, and well, you know, … Read more
I’ve been waiting for some appreciable snow for at least the last month. I’ve gotten no sympathy from any friends or family for my unfulfilled wish. Shocking. But today, snow was in the forecast and with high hopes, I went looking for some Cardinals which always get very active with the flurries. But alas, most … Read more
Compared to last winter, when this picture was taken, we have had a really mild winter. I know many who are quite happy about that. We set records for snowfall in January of 2019…and I suspect we won’t even come close this year. Still, a bit of snow, a time or two, isn’t such a … Read more