Annual Report: Lon’s Butterfly Plantation 2016
December 15, 2016
You perhaps already know that in 2010 I began planting some of our rarest native trees, shrubs, and vines, whose... Read More →
What Good is Boxelder?
December 8, 2016
By Lon Drake Our native boxelder doesn’t get much respect, even from conservationists. But it’s a fast-growing, sun-loving pioneer, and... Read More →
The Strange Tale of Sassafras
December 1, 2016
By Lon Drake In 1586 Sir Francis Drake returned to England from Roanoke Colony with a load of sassafras roots,... Read More →
Roots are the Foundation to Resilience
November 24, 2016
by Susan Spears With Thanksgiving coming up and the holiday season not far behind, this is the time of year... Read More →
A Designer Frog Pond
November 17, 2016
By Lon Drake In my part of western Johnson County, we usually encounter seven frog species. Four are little guys... Read More →
Wetland’s Keystone Species: Our Resilient Beaver
November 10, 2016
by Lon Drake The beaver has always been a homebody and very territorial, thus easy to trap. By the time... Read More →
Land is My Soul
November 7, 2016
by Tammy Wright “Smack dab in the middle of our country is the nation’s breadbasket. They call it the breadbasket... Read More →
Lon’s Folly, AKA the Wildlife Observation Tower
October 31, 2016
By Lon Drake In 1972, I converted an old hay wagon into a firewood wagon, and used it until about... Read More →
Ask Me Anything: Bikes on Trails? Why or Why Not?
October 25, 2016
by Tammy Wright A couple weeks ago, we had a huge cyclocross event in Iowa City, with cyclists from all... Read More →
