Slithery Things!

                                                                    Iowa  Prairie Kingsnake

Our Spring has brought slithery things of various sizes out...This is the largest one I have seen so far, the little ones have been in the 6" - 8" range and a different species in our tall grass around the homestead.

Caught this particular creature laying long ways across the county road in the westbound lane as I headed into a little town of 239 souls....more or less. It decided that maybe the coil would be safer when a few vehicles started encroaching on it's solitude. I was the first to so rudely  interrupt the glorious fore-noon sunbath.

Partial Eclipse of the Sun

Last night Hubby and I pulled out our lawn chairs to become witnesses to the partial eclipse visible to us here in central Iowa. The moon moved over 2/3 of the sun starting at 7:23pm and we stopped watching at 8:17pm, when the sun went out of clear viewing below the horizon.

We had forgotten to look for the UV filter to go on the camera earlier, so Hubby figured out an alternative solution. He wears glasses and uses non-prescription clip-ons. Well, in a pinch they made for a good camera filter.

The suggested method for safely viewing the eclipse - poking a hole in a piece of cardboard, and focusing on another, was the first used since the sun was still too bright to look at directly.

Miss Kitty made herself right at home when we brought out the lawn chairs taking over my place. Sadie sat for a little while until her nose took over and scents were there to be explored.

Good News! We get to do this again in two years...

Northeast Iowa Bear Sighting 2012

This past week, Tuesday, May 15th, Northeast Iowa, specifically Ridgeway ,11 miles east of Decorah, found themselves hosts to another uncommon sight.

You ask what sight that might be??? Well,it happens to be another Black Bear sighting.

Picture owned by: Terry Hovden       Black Bear leaving  Ridgeway, IA

In the last three years Iowa seems to be witnessing an increase in transient Black Bear visits. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources have stated that verified statistics list 30 Black Bear visits since the 1960's,or should we be increasing that number?

Another bear was seen wandering north of West Union early Friday morning, it was believed to be the same bear first seen at Rideway earlier in the week.

Later Friday, after the Fayette County Sheriff's department searched the area, they located the bear not far from the North Fayette County High School. The officials locked down the school until the Law Enforcement people escorted the bear to a wooded area northwest of town.

The warning remains to Northeast Iowa citizens by the Iowa DNR - if you should see a bear leave them alone and they will usually exit the area without incident...

Alcoa Eagle Cam - Davenport,IA

The Alcoa Company in Davenport,IA, is helping the to promote a safe environment for our a nesting couple of our national birds, south of the more familiar Decorah Eagle cam. 

In finding out more about the second Eagle couple they have been nesting together at the Alcoa plant for the last three years, but have only become nest cam stars in the last two. 

The Company is asking public assistance to name the three eaglets for this season...joining their parents Liberty and Justice. 

Stop over to watch the little eaglets too and add your suggestion for names...

Burial of the Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew

In the ninth hour Jesus yielded up the ghost. The evening was approaching, the Jewish Sabbath was about to begin...

La Via Dolorosa

Mark Chapter 15: 16 - 21 (King James Version)

16. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium: and they call together the whole band.
17. And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head.
18. And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!
19. And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshiped him.
20. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.
21. And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian,who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander Rufus, to bear his cross...



Sandi Patti - La Via Dolorosa - The Passion of the Christ

Mark 15: 25-26, 33-39

25. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
26. And the subscription of his accusations was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
33. And when the sixth hour was come, there was a darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
34. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice,saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
35. And some of them stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias.
36. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.
37. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
38. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
39. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

In remebrance of my Christian heritage I want to share with you the events of the Lord's death, burial and Resurrection....


To be continued...

Tulips Arrive 1 Month Early In Pella - Video - KCCI Des Moines

Pella. Iowa will be experiencing their tulips a month earlier than usual. Pella Tulip Time scheduled for May 3rd - 5th will have a different perspective...Even though the blooms will probably be faded by then, you can still count on lots of Dutch heritage activities to keep you busy.


Tulips Arrive 1 Month Early In Pella - Video - KCCI Des Moines

Earl Wagner - Sprint Car Racer

While out exploring in a little Iowa town recently. I came across a mural painted on the side of a main-street building, just across the alley from the United States Post Office.

After seeing the mural in passing on another occasion this was the day I got the chance for a closer examination.

                A tribute to a  local legendary individual in Midwest car racing named Earl Wagner

Significant Career Accomplishments from 1958 - 1973

 

A beautiful tribute to Earl from the community where he was a longtime resident and public servant...

My Favorite Coffee Bean Provider

Smokey Row Coffee Company

 Last Saturday, I was out and about in the South Central part of Iowa, Pleasantville to be more specific.

Having some time to fill before attending a family Bridal Shower, I drove around town looking for a few things to capture on camera.

Ah,yes! And to stop by a coffee shop  for which I had become familiar through a retail grocery store in Des Moines, and then online. 

I like grinding my own beans fresh every morning, mid-morning, and um yes...just after noon. You could call me a caffeine junky.

I am not into the sweet coffee mixtures,except maybe a splash of cream, and some stevia occasionally - brew it for me mild roast, please!

My Preferences at the Moment
 

From left to right: Peace Organic Blend, Ethiopia Yergacheffe, Organic Green Truck and Tanzania.

There is one other I have used, but need to wait to bring it back into the cupboard. It is also another organic blend called "Blue Truck".

So, if you enjoy trying new coffee, stop by the shop, or visit them online.


This is simply my take on a product I enjoy...

Afternoon Timber Walk

Today turned out to be another beautiful day! Extremely windy, but temperature wise we had another absolutely gorgeous day!!!

This morning I removed the memory card from my trail camera to check the activity and  took some pictures on my other camera before reaching the trail camera.So I ended up bringing both cards home before lunch to transfer pictures to the computer.

This afternoon before the day got totally gone I headed back to get the memory card situated in the trail camera for the night.

Thinking back to a couple of my trips last week I saw turkeys in fields to the south and got some distance shots - might decide to share them later. It probably would be a good idea for me to put more time in between visits to pick-up the memory card. Too much traffic might be causing the turkeys to seek more privacy elsewhere, because I haven't seen them for a few days. All is quiet where they are concerned.

Trout Lily

Last week I saw the mottled leaves for the White Trout Lily erupting out of the ground and remembered a post by Casey Harn at Wandering Owl Outside. He has moved over to The Countryside Round now...still enjoy his posts when he has time to publish.

Turkey Vulture

The Turkey Vultures came back a couple of weeks ago. I told you I would keep you informed of their return, they seem to be one of indicators that the weather should remain good.

I didn't have my camera in hand this morning, or I would have had a picture of one riding low on a thermal over the house.

Last year I had some good photo ops with one that I will post some time in the future.

On my walk this afternoon I caught an extremely sweet scent wafting on the stiff winds - I would prefer the poetic lilt of gentle breezes, but that wouldn't describe the West winds at 18 gusting to 26.

The trees have been rocking all day - The Ides of March?

Timber Violet

Antler Shed

Kneeling on a deer trail to get pictures of the two White Trout Lillies, I wasn't concentrating on anything else. Sadie came up beside me, that is when I looked to my right. Another shed! Wouldn't you just know it, after I had quit looking for them. This one is really a victim of chewing.

I brought it back to the house to see if it matched anything I already had in my inventory. No, it doesn't seem to correspond to those already in my possession...

The trail camera should prove a valuable tool this summer. Maybe, I will get to see the owners of the sheds left behind.

Virginia Bluebell

All the flowers in bloom now are leading up to another yearly event, that of morel mushroom hunting. The only flower yet to open up is the Mayapple. I am told that is another flower that helps indicate the right conditions for the search to begin.

We need more rain to get the mushrooms to pop. The heat is already here...

Iowa's relative of the Prairie Dog -Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel

Isn't that  a cute little face?

Popping out of the burrow to check on Passersby

                                              

Adaptation for Camouflaging

This morning I caught this individual as it turned it's back on me. Color adaptations for remaining illusive seems to be working here. These little four footed creatures have taken over from one end of the crop ground/pastures to the far ends of the timber.
 
It is hard to believe that they can be so prolific with the predators and raptors that call this area home.

Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel Doe  

This picture was taken September 28th, 2011 along our drive as I went to pick-up the mail. She sat and stared - changing position occasionally. Tiring of my visit she returned to the safety of her burrow.

Statistically they say the little does have one litter of pups a year, in the spring.

My curiosity about how the family units and individuals are titled sent me on a web search.

I found out that the babies are called 'pups, kit or kittens'. The female of the group is called a doe, the males are bucks. Goodness! They sure do have a size difference from Whitetails we usually associate with does and bucks.

With the unseasonably warm temperatures I am wondering if they will start their families soon?

A few years ago I started hearing what I thought was a different bird around the house, only to find that it was their call, a high-pitched trill. I now know what to look for when I hear it...

This collection of ground squirrel mounds is only a small representative of the total picture. I have discovered they like the shorter grass of the lawn along the drive.

Their burrowing has created some slow going when driving in a strip of ground between some  fields. It is wise to drive at a snails pace in case the opening have been covered by taller grass growth...don't want to flatten the tires.

The ground is lacking in moisture and makes digging a very easy task...These are freshly disturbed openings to additional tunnels. New mounds in the spring are the first indications they are waking up for the season.

Our property is also host to the Ground Hog, which I had associated with some of the larger holes. However, my observations revealed a different story.

As strange as it might seem these little Ground Squirrels are related to the Prairie Dog,

I had the opportunity to catch this Prairie Dog sunning in a colony, while my Hubby and I drove through the Black Hills of South Dakota, back in September of 2007. They too had created some problems for farmers and animal grazers at the time of our last visit. It appears maybe now they have gained some acceptable populations.

I am always grateful for October to arrive in this case, because the Ground Squirrels, cute as they might be, disappear for a few months...

Shed Hunting Comes to an End

Yesterday was the last day of shed hunting here at Timber Life.

We found our last antler on Monday, along with the top side of  a canine skull. I may have seen it last year in my rounds, but left it. This year I brought it back to the house to do some research to define which predator species coyote, or fox had found it's rest among the trees.

Coyote Skull - 6 3/4" from back to jaw tip

Back to the final tally for the active shed hunt season: Sadie- 2 - CDGardens - 3, plus 3 in cooperation for a total of eight. I would see something, head in that direction to check it out, and Sadie would run ahead to confirm it with the sniff test.

I have four antlers in good shape and four antlers in various states of gnaw or rub damage. I stated it was the ratio of three good and five damaged on another website, but looking things over again, I need to readjust the number by one.

Now that I have recorded the take Sadie will get to add the damaged ones to her stash of chew sticks for as long as they last.

Plans for antler art = chandelier are coming together with each yearly addition...

Happy St. Patty's Day!

How many years ago was it now that Michael Flatley and Jean Butler were on tour with Riverdance? It never gets old...

I want to share a toe tapping start to St Patty's Daywith you!

Movin' On Down the Line

I am sure you probably have opportunity to watch trains glide through your area...You too might wish that they weren't cutting your path in half.

This was the second time in that week that I had to wait for a train to get through the same crossing. The time of day didn't make a difference. I don't know if they have a schedule that you can set your watch by or not. It was just interesting that the two times I came past that week I got to sit  for a few minutes, and wonder how far they would need to go to reach their closest destination...