Snow, the Pull of the Timber, a Controlled Burn
Artifacts, a Valentine, and much more...
When I worked construction with Dad when I was a kid in the winter I promised myself that if I was ever lucky enough to have an inside job I would never complain about the weather. So I don’t. Or try not to anyway.
To tell the truth, I love Iowa winters. They make me feel alive and part of nature.
When the snow hit Wednesday overnight and into the morning I drove Annie to town to work because she didn’t grow up driving in the snow and ice, so Violet the Dog and I missed our morning walk, which was OK because driving Annie around in the snow and ice in her four-wheel drive Honda CRV makes me feel sort of important, even good, in an old fashioned manly and probably a little bit of a sexist way but I don’t care because I just might be one of the last gentlemen around, but I hope not.
When we got home in the afternoon Annie shooed us out of the house because she knew Violet the Dog and I really wanted to go on our walk, but my old one-wheel drive pickup wouldn’t make it to Cedar Bluffs, so she told us to take her Honda so we did, and the snow parted before us like a battleship through butter.
And I’m glad she did because that light, beautiful snowfall was pulling me and Violet the Dog so hard from home into the timber that I felt like I was having to dig my heels into the floor at home to stop me from the gravitational pull of the bluffs.
Above was the view from the overlook.
That’s how deep the snow was on a bench.
Before the snow fell, Mahaska County Rangers did a controlled burn on some of the prairie. Chris Clingan, the Director of the Mahaska County Conservation Board told me that the temperature and humidity were perfect and that the purpose of the burn was in part to maximize “seed-to-ground contact.” I love the concept. Chris invited me to come along, and I would have loved to be with the Rangers as they did the burn as I have reported before, but I had a meeting in Des Moines so I missed it.
Everywhere humans go we leave artifacts behind us. To archaeologists, artifacts are any object that has been made, modified, or used by humans. In the photos above, the sticks used to break through the ice are artifacts, as is the ice itself. And you can see how changes in the air and water temperature changed the nature of those artifacts as the ice froze, melted, and froze again. Ice artifacts are magically ephemeral.
As I reported recently, the gloves on the left were curated near the entrance of the park, hopefully for the owner who lost them to find, along with the walking sticks for people to borrow and return. It took about ten days for those pretty gloves to find a home. The stocking cap (the kids call them “beanies”) on the right was only curated for one day before it found a head to call home. These kinds of artifacts move around a lot.
On Monday night, Annie and I attended an appreciation dinner for all of us who volunteer for Mahaska County Conservation. Director Chris Clingan and Naturalist Laura DeCook welcomed and honored our volunteer team. There was lots of great food and lessons learned, and it was wonderful to meet other volunteers who love nature, our parks, and being part of something bigger than ourselves. We all have different interests and abilities, but we all find our place. We also find joy.
It felt like one big family.
And since this is Valentine’s Day I pulled up this old photo of a Valentine someone etched into the snow in 2019.
Happy Valentine’s Day 2025!
Thanks for reading! Here are four of my favorite nature Substacks: Larry Stone’s “Listening to the Land,” Diane Porter’s My Gaia, Al Batt’s Al’s Substack, and Jaron Sedlock’s Jaron’s Curious Adventures. Please consider subscribing. All three will entertain, educate, and soothe your soul.
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.
This column will always be free, but if you can’t afford a subscription and would like to “buy me” a cup of coffee or lunch, my Venmo account is @Robert-Leonard-238. Thanks!
That first photo (racing clouds) was magnificent. Like prairie in the sky.
Nice story