Visually Subdued, Not So With Their Call

Moving around in the local woodlands are an assortment of birds I find difficult to identify. I am referring to pewees, flycatchers, and similar birds. All are gray…

Acceptable Picture to Near Tears

Early this evening I spent some time watching an area where grosbeaks, orioles, woodpeckers, and other birds were flitting around. After fifty or so mosquito bites I finally saw this male rose-breasted grosbeak pause briefly where I could sort-of photograph him. The picture is not great, but was acceptable enough that I wrapped up my efforts and headed home.

Once at home I received a request to call a person I have not spoken to in years, but we are friends on social media. With cautious curiosity I reached out, not knowing why. Our phone call nearly moved me to tears.

This person thanked me for teaching a stop-the-bleed class they had attended years ago. Today the person came upon a very serious accident and was able to render aid by using a belt to create a tourniquet. They remember how I taught them that the constriction needs to be tight, so the person and a bystander fashioned a tool that allowed them to tighten the tourniquet enough to slow the severe bleeding. Their aid was maintained until an officer arrived on scene and applied a commercial tourniquet and EMS assumed responsibility.

Over the years I have taught many stop-the-bleed classes, often in conjunction with Run, Hide, Fight trainings. I always hope nobody ever has to apply what we taught, but know that it is possible. Tonight it became clear that sometimes our efforts may not have benefits, or sometimes the benefits come later. In this case what we discussed was used and may have saved a life.

I am so happy to know what we discussed and practiced was put to use when needed. I pray the victim has a successful recovery. And, I am grateful for the unexpected call.

Thank you for doing what you did!

If you have not learned “Stop-the-Bleed” or “Run, Hide, Fight” or “CPR,” I encourage you to do so.

Now I Understand… Nature is So Confusing

For so long I have been doing my best to instill an appreciation of nature in a friend of mine. Let’s call him “Buttercup.” The process has not been easy. Where I see wildflowers he sees a need for Roundup. When I want to stop to enjoy a bird or butterfly sighting, he equates the pause to watching a snail migration. This may become a life-long challenge for me that, until today, I could not understand. Why is it so difficult for Buttercup to make sense of nature so he too develops a passion for the outdoors? Then I realized the issue… the naming of fauna and flora is confusing. Consider these two examples.

After the Burn

Just a few weeks after our prairie burn and we have some vegetation coming back. Unfortunately, much of it is thistles or dandelions. However, there are some more desirable plants showing.

Currently we are seeing “Golden Alexanders” in many areas. This plant was hosting a spined soldier bug. I suspect this bug might be related to stink beetles.

Bringing a Sparrow For Breakfast and Pretty Flowers

Over the past couple of days I have seen nice things. Quite interesting to watch (on a nest camera) was when what we believe was a…

Two Adventures!

Yesterday and today have covered the full range of emotions - from immense satisfaction to grave concern to thankfulness. Allow me to explain.

Yesterday a formidable group of volunteers provided outdoor experiences for 450 fifth graders at Alcock Park. As I have since the inception of Bremer County Fifth Grade Field Day, I taught the backpacking session. Joining me was my buddy “Brother Darrell” - a fellow who has assisted in the past. Brother Darrell knew the expectations and how to contribute to the betterment of the day.

This year Brother Darrell and I had special assistance from my oldest grandson who is also a fifth grade student, but not in Bremer County. While I was planning for this year’s event I tossed the idea out to my grandson. “Would you like to skip school and join me at…..

Wildflower Update

Blooming time appears to be progressing quickly as the woodlands are decorated with wildflower blossoms….

For those wondering, asparagus contains asparagusic acid. On its own, asparagusic acid does not smell. As our bodies digest asparagus, the asparagusic acid…

Thank Goodness For Ear Muffs

This afternoon two of my grandkids and I were sitting in the grass in our yard plinking on steel targets. To protect our hearing each of us was…

Freda Haffner Kettlehole State Preserve

For some this depression in the earth is insignificant. Others may consider this unique grassland a waste of farm ground. For me and other conservation-minded folks, the Freda Haffner Kettlehole is a unique destination where visitors can quietly explore an unusual aspect of Iowa’s terrain. If you are lucky you may also see flora and fauna.

When I visited a couple of days ago I found just one pasqueflower (bloom was gone) and a violet woodsorrel. Still, I enjoyed exploring and my hike around the depression. The tick… I would have been fine without that hitchhiker.

Terry Reekers Float and Fly

Terry Reekers was a friend to many - to public safety officials, to citizens, to motorcycle riders, to his church family, and especially to those of us in the Emergency Management field. Sadly, he was taken from us too soon.

For years before his death I made trips to check his double-crested cormorant rookery. The black, perching birds in the lake were not something Terry worried about. In fact, until I asked him about them I am pretty sure he had no clue they existed very near his home town. For me the rookery was a location of interest - not only for the cormorants but also for their…

In Search Of… Back to My Roots

Way back when, a long time ago, I began to take outdoor photography serious by focusing on wildflowers. My initial efforts centered on ordinary wildflowers. Over time I expanded my searches with my lenses beyond flowers to wildlife and scenic images. Today I concentrated…

Habitat Maintenance

During one of my travels today I noticed smoke rising in the sky on this windy day. Soon I recognized the source as a controlled grassland burn (aka habitat maintenance). Such burns happen to promote the growth of desirable plants while also minimizing woody growth. Hopefully the fire also helps control invasive plants. Done right, an occasional burn is a good thing.

While out I also saw and photographed a number of birds that thrive in a wetland environment.

Happy Sunday!

How about some wildflower pictures (and a shrub) to enjoy on a beautiful Sunday? I might have…

Squirrel Corn Status

After finding squirrel corn last spring, today three of us went on the hunt to find it again. Not only did we find the blossoms that are similar to Dutchman’s breeches, but we found…

Morning Birds

During another morning outing I saw and photographed some birds, including my first of the year white-crowned sparrow.

Hatching Happened

For the past few weeks I have been watching a sandhill crane nest with two eggs being incubated. Since I did not know the exact date of when the second egg arrived, I had to estimate hatch day. Yesterday there were two eggs, today there were only shells in pieces. Hatching of both eggs occurred over a…

A Mix of Bird Species

Since yesterday’s post I have enjoyed many interactions with a variety of bird species - from shorebirds to sparrows to blackbirds and ducks.

There is no need for many explanatory details. These were all found in wetland habitats of which I checked multiple locations.

Enjoy One, Pull The Other

In our area of Northeast Iowa the early wildflower blooming season has pretty much ended as we transition to the next grouping of blooming wildflowers - wild geraniums, phlox, wild columbine to name a few. At the entrance to the south end of Sweet Marsh I found few wild geraniums soaking in the sun this afternoon.

Wild geraniums are a popular wildflower species native to North America. Their showy blossoms attract pollinators - bees, butterflies, and other pollinating species. Wild Geraniums are a good plant to have around.

Thriving even more than the wild geraniums in the same general area are garlic mustard plants. Garlic mustard plants are non-native, invasive wildflowers that threaten desirable plants (like wild geranium).

One treatment for garlic mustard is to pull the plant, assuring all of the roots are extracted. Herbicides also take care of garlic mustard, but are not practical in the woods. For that matter, pulling is not too effective either unless you have many people pulling the plants. I do pull them when I find small patches, but I don’t know that I am doing much good. I can hope.

If you can get out, I encourage you to enjoy the wild geraniums and pull the garlic mustard plants.

A Mediocre Salvage Effort

Some days, no matter the effort, your end results are not up to standards. Outside factors - like no time to shoot, darkness, and strong winds - simply are not conducive to producing the image you had in mind. The best you can do is try to salvage some part of a composition to make a somewhat pleasing image.

Tonight was such a night. In fact, even now I am tempted to go out after dark looking for something photo-worthy. Instead I will share my mediocre photo to show that I do not always have great photo days. I too strike out.

Tomorrow will be a fresh start. I am hopeful for something better.

The wildflower in this image is prairie smoke (AKA: Grandfather’s Whiskers).