Sacrificial Conifers
November 23, 2017
If you are thinking about planting a native woodland of oaks, hickories, black walnut, and their associates, consider including some... Read More →
Winter Repose
November 20, 2017
This time of year is when I reacquaint myself with all my botanical friends in their winter repose. Having cast... Read More →
Autumn Bareroot Transplants Have Problems in Iowa
November 16, 2017
If you read gardening magazines and nursery catalogs, they often promote bareroot transplants of seedling trees and shrubs in autumn,... Read More →
Snakes, Security, and Common Sense
November 13, 2017
I was quite surprised when the large eastern Iowa senior high school that I attended was the focus of... Read More →
Of Bears and Bulls and Charitable Opportunity
November 9, 2017
If you are now at least 70 ½ years old and your retirement plan includes IRA investments in the stock... Read More →
The Peddler’s Pines
November 2, 2017
by Lon Drake The railroad arrived in Iowa City on the last day of 1855, which offered still more impetus... Read More →
Drizzly Afternoon Encounters
October 30, 2017
On a blustery Saturday afternoon, when the sky is marbled with clouds and the little tree out front is bending... Read More →
Evaluating Soil and Water with a Tile Probe
October 26, 2017
A tile probe is merely a slender steel rod with a cross-tee handle. The better ones are stainless steel rods... Read More →
A Local Land Ethic
October 19, 2017
Well, another Columbus Day has come and gone. Each passing year brings more attempts to recognize that in 1492 our... Read More →
What’s the Key to Prairie Diversity?
October 16, 2017
Scattered patches of blue dot the otherwise expansive green prairie. Curious, I meander over to the nearest blue patch, scanning... Read More →
