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!

Spring blooms, part 2

I'm so fortunate to work in an office with such a beautiful campus.  The landscapers and grounds crew are always at work, trimming trees in the winter, planting flowers in the spring, planting daffodil bulbs in the fall and constantly mowing the massive lawn in a perfect checkerboard pattern in the summer. They do an amazing job, and it's definitely one of the prettiest places to work in Iowa.

I was on my way outside for lunch last week, and I couldn't get over how beautiful the crabapple trees looked.  And the blooms are so fleeting. I'm glad I took these pictures when I did, because a wind the next day knocked a lot of the blooms off.

If you live in central Iowa, then you can see quite a few crabapple trees driving through West Des Moines.  I've also heard that there is a large collection of crabapple trees in Water Works Park in Des Moines, although I've never visited the park in the spring.  My favorite place to see spring in bloom is my old alma matter, Iowa State University in Ames.  I still have a photo album with pictures of the crabapple trees from my days as a college student. (Back before digital cameras!)  Hope you're all getting outside as much as you can to enjoy this beautiful spring weather.

Garden update: January 2012

Yep.  That's right.  I'm sharing a garden update -- in January!  We've been snowless here in central Iowa, and it's been wonderful!  I actually went for a bike ride on Christmas day.  No snow or ice, plus mild temperatures, have made for a memorable holiday season.

As you can see from the photo above, the spinach I planted in late August is a little frost-bitten, but still green.  I'm betting that even after we get a blanket of snow (yes, the snow will eventually arrive) that the spinach will start growing again when the temperatures warm up in the spring.  Spinach is very cold tolerant, and it's the first thing to pop up from my garden in April.

Here's a wider view of my backyard.  Can you believe the grass looks green in January?

A closer look at my perennial garden. Looks a little messy because I thought it would be covered with snow!

Wordless Wednesday: Ledges State Park

Frost advisory

Tonight, I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Felix & Oscars in West Des Moines, with my sister and mom, who was in town for a meeting.  When I got home, I checked my Facebook page and saw that my friends were picking their tomatoes ahead of this evening's first frost of the season.  Granted, many of my friends are from northern Iowa, where temps are supposed to dip well below freezing.  But when I saw that a CSA farmer in nearby Boone was also picking her tomatoes and peppers, I realized I better save what I could, even if it was 9 o'clock at night.

So my husband and I grabbed flashlights and jackets, and we just finished picking the tomatoes and peppers worth saving (i.e., those that aren't too small or bug-ridden).  I really wanted to save the late-planted heirloom tomatoes I bought at the Osceola Community Garden back in June.  The plant had plenty of tomatoes on it, but none had ripened yet.  I'm hoping they will ripen after picking on my kitchen counter.

Looks like my gardening season is coming to an early close.  Did your gardens escape the frost?

Missouri River flooding

A few weeks back, I drove to western Iowa for work and stopped in Missouri Valley to fuel up my car.  Next door to the gas station was my favorite restaurant, Pizza Ranch, surrounded by sandbags.  The sign outside read: "Yes, we're open."

Missouri Valley is tucked in the scenic Loess Hills of western Iowa, just a few short miles from the Missouri River.

Iowa is anything but flat. It's home to one of only two Loess hill formations in the world.

Fortunately, Missouri Valley missed out on the predicted flooding from the nearby Missouri River.  I stopped in this Missouri Valley McDonald's on the way home for an iced latte caffeine jolt. The drive-thru was closed because of the 3-foot-tall sandbag barricade.

Unfortunately, many western Iowa towns didn't escape the flooding, including parts of Sioux City, Omaha and the small community of Hamburg.  The flooding started in June and continues today.  That means farmers and local residents have been separated from their homes for more than two months, and the flooding is projected to continue through October.  There hasn't been that much in the national news about this flooding, which is too bad it's not getting the attention it deserves.  Many families have lost their homes and prime farmland on an unprecedented scale.

If you want to learn more about the Missouri River flooding and its impact on farmers, I recommend visiting Sara's House HD to see aerial photos of the flood zone.  My prayers go out to all the families involved.  You are not forgotten, and you'll always find friends willing to help provide what you need.

Waiting (impatiently) for spring

I've definitely got a full-fledged case of spring fever.  I wish we could just skip April and May and go right to summer's warm temperatures and sunny days. You can imagine I was a little disappointed when I woke up last week to see this outside my window.

It's hard enough to get up in the dark every morning (I'm still adjusting to the time change) without wondering if I need to scrape the snow off the car.

I've also been super busy at work, so to distract myself from worrying about deadlines, I turn to my favorite hobbies.  I drove all over town trying to find the ingredients for these Sunflower Chip Cookies.  They just made me think spring!

Trader Joe's had a whole display of Sunflower Butter, but they were out of the sunflower seeds. So I stopped by a local Kum & Go gas station, and sure enough, I found the sunflower seeds there. That's where my husband always buys them; it's one of his favorite snacks.

Unfortunately, my hubby didn't really care for these cookies.  But I did discover that I love sunflower butter! Who would have guessed?

A couple days later, I saw another spring-time recipe for Strawberry Cake that I couldn't resist trying.  Really, I look for any excuse to buy strawberries.  And I was happy to see these were Florida-grown. Do you ever look at the country-of-origin labels on produce?  I try to buy USA-grown whenever possible. I'm a big supporter of American farmers.

Anyhow, back to the cake, it turned out beautiful.  But again, my (picky) husband wasn't a fan.  He said he expects a cake to "wow" him, and this one didn't.  I disagree, however.  I thought this was a lovely, old-fashioned cake.

One more sign of spring for me is the beginning of the 5K race season.  I ran the Iowa State University Doughnut Run 5K this weekend.  Sadly, the race was a little too fast, so I couldn't stomach eating any doughnuts while running like the college kids can.  But I got this cool glass to take home. 

How are you getting ready for spring?

Wordless Wednesday: Spring is budding

Misty afternoon

I was driving to town the other day to check out a few Presidents Day sales.  I saw these sheds out of the corner of my eye, and I had to stop and take a picture.

I've seriously driven past this old farmstead dozens, if not hundreds, of times, and I've never noticed it before.  Maybe it captured my attention because the misty weather fogged out the surroundings and made the red buildings pop from the landscape.

It's funny how we take these little barns, sheds and farmsteads for granted as we drive down Iowa's highways.  It's not something that people who live in the cities get to see everyday.  I get to drive by cattle, hog barns, rivers and corn fields each morning on my way to and from work. And usually, it's a peaceful drive.  I'm a lucky woman to live in such a beautiful, productive land.

Oh, and by the way, the snow is gone. For now.  Here's hoping we don't get another snow storm next month.

Wordless Wednesday: Blizzard of '11