Saturday, 26 January 2013
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Saturday was a great day for photography. A smokestack at an ethanol plant on the west side of Dyersville, Iowa shows just how windy the westerlies were blowing. While the contrast of white smoke, silver stack and blue sky made for an interesting composition, those power lines made no positive contribution to the scene. Maybe some talented artist can Photoshop the lines away.
Sunday, 20 January 2013
For all the years that I have traveled eastern and central Iowa I apparently have not been to every location - shocking, yes. Yesterday for example the 42N staff was out on a drive enjoying the last day of this week’s January thaw. So it was up to Manchester , Iowa
A sign posted a few miles southeast of town on county road D22 points to the state’s trout hatchery. I hadn't been to an open hatchery in decades so off the beaten path we went to investigate.
Along the way the land turns from relatively flat farm fields to hilly, timbered and with a spring-fed creek running along the road. At the Iowa DNR hatchery location there are a few one story buildings which are like extended ranch houses. In the hatchery’s open area tall fences surround holding ponds where you can see swarms of growing trout. Visitors can feed the fish using a bucket of fish food and Dixie cups available at the fence’s corner. Just pour a little in your hand and throw it over the fence, then watch the water boil in activity as the trout youngsters race to claim the food pellets.
On the west side of the parking lot a clear creek flows. There you can see freed trout in the stream which is only a few yards wide. We observed two anglers, one leaving and the other preparing to fish. The man dressed in waders walked down to the bridge, turned and began throwing a trout line upstream. A sign posted nearby proclaims any caught trout under 14 inches in length must be returned to the water immediately. By just glancing at the stream’s population of trout it appears that nearly a third of the fishes are over that minimum. Wednesday, 16 January 2013
The last bit of December's snowfall was still evident on January 1st at this Kalona, Iowa area barn. The December 19-20th blizzard was this region's only snowfall this season - so far. Last week's January thaw melted most of the snow in eastern Iowa. Sounds nice but we need more precipitation. Bitter cold air is predicted for this area on Monday. How many days until Spring?
Sunday, 6 January 2013
Two and a half weeks ago eastern Iowa and parts of surrounding states received a first taste of Winter. Locally about a half foot of snow fell on green dormant grass. The quick freeze of rain turned to sleet, then turned to snow with 45 mph winds snapping tree branches and limbs. For 19 days the temperatures have stayed below freezing. This week air temperatures are expected to change upward. We may even see 40 F plus temperatures by the end of the week. Perhaps the severe winter weather is done for the season - but probably not. Sounds great but we really need participation. Year two of the drought continues without signs of abatement locally.
Yes, Iowa was once covered by a shallow marine sea. Today the result of that long ago sea are layers of limestone found just under the prairie soil. Some of the rock contain fossils of small marine creatures like coral, snails, fish and a few larger marine creatures.
To see these suspended whale bones you need to visit the Natural History Museum at Macbride Hall on the University of Iowa's main campus. A Right Whale's skeleton was collected early last century on a North Carolina shore and brought to the university for study and eventual display. Many a schoolchild and adult has marveled at this creature's size and bone makeup. The whale is located in the museum's mammal hall section. The other side of the building contains bird hall and is filled with all types of feathered creatures including a detailed observation post of a remote Pacific island sanctuary visited by UI researchers a hundred years ago. The lower middle portion of the building houses the third section of the museum and features a walk through Iowa's pre-history. Come check it out. Admission is always free.
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Simplicity exists in 2013. East of Kalona, Iowa, in Amish country, a functional one room schoolhouse shows buggy marks in the snow and decorative snowflakes on the windows. On New Year's Day the building was closed for the holiday while a mile or so north a group of Amish children played Ring-Around-a-Rosie outdoors in the near 20 degree weather.
Ironically to document this simplicity, a digital SLR camera was used to photograph the scene (aside from the travel technology used.) Then the file was uploaded to a PC, then sent to an online photo editor and later housed on Flickr. Ultimately the blog was assembled on blogspot and published. Simple.
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