Holiday Conservation Crossword Puzzle
The holidays often find us sitting around, idling on the tarmac at O’Hare, grounded in Bali because the volcano erupted, waiting for friends to send our bail to the Tijuana jail, or just peacefully recovering at home from a full house of kids and grandkids.
So here is a conservation crossword puzzle for that holiday slack time when there is not much worthwhile on TV (which for me, is most of the time). Some of the clues are easy, some difficult, a few are devious. If there’s more than one word, the space is not included. The completed crossword will appear as a blog in mid-January. Good luck!
ACROSS
1 the carp woman
3 spreads drops of fire
7 woolgrass is a _____
9 color of freshly cut mulberry wood
10 big frog
12 slender clonal willow
14 has tiny yellow-green flowers early
17 a quarter-chain
21 the butcherbird
22 our largest local woodpecker
24 the bone mineral
25 groundwater seep wetland
26 butterfly obligate to redbud
28 tree with alligator bark
33 chainsaw brand
34 famous conservationist from Burlington
38 clean charcoal is made of ______
39 linguistic source of word “prairie”
41 Iowa’s largest carnivorous burrower
42 most adaptable fishing fly
45 invasive bittersweet
46 local hardwood in the teak family
47 Bur Oak Land Trust land manager
48 a female moth
49 small fierce mustelid
1 the carp woman
3 spreads drops of fire
7 woolgrass is a _____
9 color of freshly cut mulberry wood
10 big frog
12 slender clonal willow
14 has tiny yellow-green flowers early
17 a quarter-chain
21 the butcherbird
22 our largest local woodpecker
24 the bone mineral
25 groundwater seep wetland
26 butterfly obligate to redbud
28 tree with alligator bark
33 chainsaw brand
34 famous conservationist from Burlington
38 clean charcoal is made of ______
39 linguistic source of word “prairie”
41 Iowa’s largest carnivorous burrower
42 most adaptable fishing fly
45 invasive bittersweet
46 local hardwood in the teak family
47 Bur Oak Land Trust land manager
48 a female moth
49 small fierce mustelid
DOWN
2 a group of eagles
4 longest outer flight feathers
5 coarse rock for erosion control
6 our smallest bat
8 overharvested woodland herb
11 beautifully infected maple
13 common name for peregrine falcon
15 our state rock
16 first xeric prairie flower to bloom
18 distasteful hickory
19 autumn leaf release
20 our only local native conifer
23 edible yard weed in spring
27 our deepest local aquifer
29 annual crop of nuts
30 nearby town named for wetland plant
31 the root growth mineral
32 dinosaur eggshell mineral
35 our most thorny native tree
36 wetland at junction of Iowa & Cedar Rivers
37 our native wild raisin
40 cloud made of tiny ice crystals
41 quaking aspen’s cousin
43 a group of otters
44 best species for pine needle tea
2 a group of eagles
4 longest outer flight feathers
5 coarse rock for erosion control
6 our smallest bat
8 overharvested woodland herb
11 beautifully infected maple
13 common name for peregrine falcon
15 our state rock
16 first xeric prairie flower to bloom
18 distasteful hickory
19 autumn leaf release
20 our only local native conifer
23 edible yard weed in spring
27 our deepest local aquifer
29 annual crop of nuts
30 nearby town named for wetland plant
31 the root growth mineral
32 dinosaur eggshell mineral
35 our most thorny native tree
36 wetland at junction of Iowa & Cedar Rivers
37 our native wild raisin
40 cloud made of tiny ice crystals
41 quaking aspen’s cousin
43 a group of otters
44 best species for pine needle tea
