Snowshoe hike

Last month, I bought my first pair of snowshoes the day before the biggest blizzard of the winter (so far).  I've mostly been trying them out by walking in circles around my yard -- and I don't have a very big yard!  So I went on the Internet to see if I could find good places to snowshoe in central Iowa.  I discovered that the Boone County Conservation board was hosting a snowshoe hike nearby at Don Williams Lake north of Ogden.  So on a whim, I decided to check it out.

I was nervous about going, because I was afraid I'd be the only adult who showed up for the hike.  But I was very pleasantly surprised to find that more than 30 people were in attendance, and I was actually one of the younger people at the event.  I discovered it's a great exercise for all ages.

 The conservation board had snowshoes for those who didn't have their own.  Almost everyone used a pair of trekking poles as well, but I decided to go pole-less, which turned out to be a good decision because it left my hands free to take photos.

Here's the conservation specialist giving some advice on how to wear the snowshoes.  Not sure if you can tell in this photo, but her baby daughter was strapped to her chest.  She led the snowshoe hike while carrying her daughter! How cool is that?!

When we started the hike, we had to walk down a couple steep hills. That was probably the hardest part, because you're walking like a duck with the large snowshoes strapped to your feet.  The secret is to dig your toes into the snow, because the snowshoes have "grippers" at the toes for walking on ice, etc.

After a little downhill hiking, we walked out on the ice-covered lake.  I wasn't expecting to go "ice-shoeing," and I was little nervous about walking out on the ice.  But it was so much fun!  And the conservation specialist told us not to worry; the ice was plenty thick after nearly two weeks of below freezing temperatures.   (The ice isn't safe right now, however, after the warm spell we've had. So I don't recommend trying this now.)

We walked right down the center of the lake.  We could see tracks in the snow from the other critters that have been walking on the lake.

Every once and awhile, we'd see a bare patch of ice on the lake.  You could see that the ice was very clear and thick.

We ended up hiking for about an hour.  We spent a lot of time snowshoeing through the woods as well as walking on the lake.  At the end, we could help ourselves to hot chocolate at the lodge.

It was an amazing day, and I'm so happy that I decided to go on this snowshoe hike before the snow melted.

Planting tulips

 My husband and I took advantage of what may be the last weekend before the snow flies (ugh, I hope winter doesn't arrive early!) and cleaned up our garden and yard.  I planted a few tulips in scattered places around my garden, in a likely fruitless attempt to keep the tulips hidden from the squirrels.

Last year, I forgot where I planted some of the tulips, and then I was surprised when the tulips popped up in a random spot.  So this year, I tried to take photos so I wouldn't forget where I planted them.

I also planted a few new irises to add a little more variety to my spring garden.  I'm trying to stick with a yellow and purple color scheme for the spring.

I didn't spend a lot of money on tulips this year, because the squirrels always seem to dig a few up.  Is it just me, or are the squirrels being extra "squirrel-y" this week?  This squirrel was freaking out right in front of me. Either it's because the little guy is preparing for winter, or maybe because my husband saw a hawk up in our tree :)

Yep, the squirrels are already digging in the garden.

 

So far, the squirrels haven't found the tulips. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they won't!

Garden update: October 2012

The first freeze of the fall arrived two weeks ago.  I took a few photos of my garden before the freeze.  The garden looks a little shaggy because of the dry weather, but it was still a pretty successful growing season.

I picked lots of green tomatoes to save them from the frost.  They are ripening pretty quick in my kitchen right now.  We've been slicing the ripe tomatoes and drying them in our food dehydrator to use in pastas, soups and casseroles.

How did your garden do this year?  Did the drought impact the garden yields?  I didn't end up with as many tomatoes as I would have liked, but as you can see, I still had quite a few to work with.

Autumn leaves on the High Trestle Trail

I took a few days off work and spent an afternoon on the High Trestle Trail in central Iowa.  The leaves were just starting to change color, and the milkweed seeds were out. They look like little cotton balls.

I passed a couple of corn fields as the combines were harvesting the crop.  They were kicking up a lot of dust in this dry weather.  This farmer waved at me when I rode by on my bike.

I love the contrast of blue sky and golden fall colors.  It was a gorgeous day, and I'm glad I took some time off from work to enjoy it.

Did you take a road trip to see the fall leaves?  What's your favorite place to see the autumn colors?