Milkweed

A Winter Wren, Venus, and more

Milkweed seeds are dispersed by wind. The seeds are attached to small threadlike features called “floss.” In this photo, one can see small spikes/hooks on the pod that make me wonder if those protuberances may become attached to larger mammals and dispersed that way also.

milkweed (n.) 1590s, from milk (n.) + weed (n.); used in reference to various plants whose juice resembles milk.

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On Monday morning I heard my first Winter Wren of the season.

A secretive little bird of dense woods. It often creeps about among fallen logs and dense tangles, behaving more like a mouse than a bird, remaining out of sight but giving an occasional kimp-kimp callnote. Usually, Winter Wrens live close to the ground; but in spring in the northern woods, males ascend to high perches in the conifers to give voice to a beautiful song of long-running musical trills.

Above is where the winter wren was found above the creek. Winter Wrens are uncommon in Iowa, and I presume it was migrating.

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On Saturday morning at about 7:30 a.m. at the pond, there must have been a sparrow convention. I heard a Swamp Sparrow, a Chipping Sparrow, a Song Sparrow, a Savannah Sparrow, and a White-throated Sparrow in a little over two minutes.

I also heard an American Robin and a Yellow-rumped Warbler during that time.

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I’ve been going out very early some days, so it’s difficult to take photos and very few birds are awake. Occasionally I hear Barred Owls, Killdeer, and Geese. The above two photos captured the Moon and Venus.

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Violet the Dog seems apprehensive about following the path in the dark.

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I tried to capture the beauty of the clouds around the Moon and the vegetation highlighted by my headlamp, but it didn’t work very well. Notice the ethereal whisps in the right-hand photo. It looks like ghosts are emerging from the surface of the pond, but in reality, the night setting on my camera captured the condensation of a breath I exhaled. It’s still sort of cool.

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The above image probably captured it best.

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To brighten things up a bit as we close, I really like this image of the shadows of the trees on the harvested cornfield.

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If you enjoy Cedar Creek Nature Notes, I encourage you to subscribe to my friend Larry Stone’s “Listening to the Land.” It’s fantastic. Larry has forgotten more than I will ever know about our outdoor world.

For another glimpse of the wonders of the Iowa outdoors, Diane Porter’s My Gaia is another Substack I enjoy. It’s full of observations on nature and is ripe with wisdom.

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I’m a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Please sample the talents of my fellow collaborative members. If you can afford to be a paid subscriber, that would be great. If not, the vast majority of content is free. And here is a link to the Iowa Podcasters’ Collaborative, should you be interested. Check out my Substack Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture if you aren’t already a subscriber. My Iowa Revolution podcast with award-winning broadcaster Spencer Dirks can be found here.