Blog
As a curious observer of life, I blog on writing, marketing, my prairie - anything that interests me in the moment. I like to have conversations with readers, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I'll respond.
My mom used to say, “That takes the cake!” when she saw or heard something that surprised or dismayed her. An event that was beyond anything like it that she’d heard or seen before. I…
Read MorePeople who travel the rural Iowa roads are fond of saying about small towns, “Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.” A recent walk in the prairie was a lot like that. Yellow dominates in terms…
Read MoreI shared my prairie with a four year old this weekend. We took about five steps down one of the wood chip paths I’d created and he exclaimed, “It’s a jungle!” “Yes it is,” I…
Read MoreThe prairie popped with new flowers this week. Many sent me scurrying back to my Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowerbook for help with identification. This lilac beauty is one I knew – Wild Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa. Wild…
Read MoreGrowing up on a dairy farm, I had many opportunities to bring the cows up from the pasture for milking. Walking in single file, the cows headed for the barn, inevitably using the same paths…
Read MoreI took my husband with me when I walked out to the prairie this morning. I couldn’t resist having a photo to mark brilliant sunshine on such a mass of yellow flowers. And they are…
Read MoreWhen I spotted this among the coneflowers in my patio garden, I didn’t know quite what to think. The center cone is part of a purple coneflower, but only a part. Why weren’t the long…
Read MoreMy prairie is awash in Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta. The seed mix sown a year ago must have been heavy in this species. They are brightening the prairie no matter where you look. Nothing else…
Read MoreOn Memorial Day weekend 2009, I planted a prairie. It’s custom to give presents to the one having the birthday, but in this case, the gifts I see as I celebrate my prairie’s first full…
Read MoreWhat a delight to see Partridge Peas in my prairie this week! Partridge Peas were the first plant to bloom in my prairie last summer – the only one, really, if we forget the…
Read More