Home Is Where Your Heart Is

I mentioned, in a previous post, the reality of our lifestyle finally started to sink in on our return to Iowa in April. As we worked our way back we had a deep awareness of the impact of our decision and our status as virtual vagabonds. Yes, Iowa is home in the sense that it is where we have lived our lives as a couple this past 16 years and we both grew up there. It is home in that all three of our kids reside there with their families. The only family we have that is not located in central Iowa are three aunts and a handful of cousins. We consider ourselves lucky in that way.

If you are contemplating this lifestyle and all your social fabric and family are near your current home be prepared for a huge change when you come home the first time.  19 years ago, my first husband died unexpectedly and I learned through that process that a major life change occurs on many planes.  Every relationship you have before the change must also evolve with your changed life. Most of us don’t see it happening. We get caught up in whatever the catalyst is and don’t see the process. We notice after the change has occurred and are often blindsided by it. That is the nature of this beast. I’m not saying it is a bad thing but it is certainly impactful. People go on with their lives, without you present on a regular basis, and before you know it you are a guest in the former space you once occupied in their lives.

When you live the full time RV lifestyle, the whole point is to move around and experience different places. The people who are close to you and supported your decision are faced with the reality that you will return from time to time but those returns will always be followed by an inevitable departure. It’s like the giant purple elephant in the corner of the room when you are ‘home’.

Our experience this summer has been a real eye-opener to the fact that we have chosen a very different path for our life than anyone else we know.  We work our hours here at Saylorville, attend and host family gatherings as we did in the past but we also have a stark reminder of what we missed over the winter. Like the winter birthdays. I figure the adults can deal with it but when your 5 year old grandson starts grieving your inevitable departure in July months before you are scheduled to leave and has trouble warming up to the idea that you won’t be at his birthday party in late November the heart strings pull painfully. We visit our former camping group when they gather in a local campground but we are guests at their site, much like our friends who don’t own RV’s were when they visited our weekend encampments and listened to our stories of the weekend and happenings since the last gathering of campers. We have become guest in our former lives.

During my banking years I had several conversations with snowbirds who had to stop going south for the winter for one reason or another. They said things like, “all our friends are in Arizona” or “our whole social life is there”. I never quite grasped it since I knew everyone they had known throughout their lives and their kids were here. I get it now. Everyone you meet on the road is in the same boat as you.  People become close very quickly. For two reasons, I think. One, you are like minded. Two, you are not in your ‘home’ space. You build ‘home’ around you, in a given place for a given time.

I haven’t been brave enough to have this conversation with anyone this summer, to see what it is like for them to know we are here for now but will take off again. The emotional experience is a little like the grief cycle. Denial, “Maybe they won’t really miss us.’  Anger “ We are outsiders now” Bargaining, ‘I’ll give the kids with winter birthday’s big presents this summer so I won’t feel so guilty for being gone this winter” ( I’ll still feel guilty as hell) Depression “ We are outsiders now.” and Acceptance, ‘This is what we chose and we still have these wonderful ties to come to in Iowa for even if the vibe has changed.”

The Full time RV lifestyle is full of rewards and challenges but so is any other lifestyle. Is it hard to accept some of the changes? Sometimes. Have I cried about it? Yep. Do we regret our choice? Not for a minute.  Someday, when this chapter ends we’ll have heads and hearts full of people and experiences we would not have otherwise had. We will still have our close relationships with our kids, siblings, friends and extended family. Like I said, we are very fortunate to have them all in the same geographical area. We see them 6 months straight each spring/summer.

My paternal grandfather was a snowbird throughout my childhood. I knew he would leave each winter. I loved when he came home in the spring and I’m sure bugged him constantly since he lived nearby. I hold in my heart two memorable trips to Texas in the winter to see him.  I always felt close to him despite his seasonal absence. I hold onto that when I think of our own young grand kids experiencing one set of grandparents who leave in the winter.

We depart in three months, almost to the day. We are very excited to see friends we made in Texas last winter, my Aunt Pat and cousins that we haven’t seen in a year or so on the way south and of course we are very excited to miss another brutal Iowa winter.  We’ll complete our first full year around the time we leave in October. The sociologist in me is looking forward to a little field research this winter among other snowbirds who go home to their families in the summer. I’m not sure how to approach our close family and friends about these feelings, maybe next year. Strangers hearts are much safer to explore.

Until next time.....

 

 

 

The Other Side of Saylorville

I’ve mentioned before that we are learning there is a great deal going on behind the scenes here at Saylorville, than we ever would have imagined the past 15 years of sitting around the campfire, boating on the lake or going for walks. It is so easy to be in your own ‘back yard’ and never really know all the things the area has to offer.  This past winter a very common conversation starter at the Visitor’s Center at Balcones NWR were local people coming in saying,  “ I’ve lived here all my life and never been out here.”  We hear the same thing here. and I'm guilty of it myself. Locals come in and discover all that has been here for them all along.  We get busy with our everyday lives and routines and forget all the intrinsic benefits of our hometowns. Everyday I get more excited and fall in love a little more with one of my favorite local campgrounds. Here are some of the reasons why.

I have learned that Saylorville Lake is an Internationally recognized Important Birding Area. That means that the ecological diversity and the aggressive habitat management taking place behind the scenes here create areas that attract not only one of the most diverse bird populations in the Midwest, but we are located on a major migration route and Saylorville acts as a giant rest stop area for birds to stop and feed on their journey each spring and fall.

As avid boaters, we have always been disappointed that the lake level north of the  bridge, where we could once navigate our boats up into the Des Moines river for a pleasant day of boating, has dwindled over the years and we can no longer access the area. I have learned the reason is that the area called the mudflats is now a managed area for migrating waterfowl and raptors,

[caption id="attachment_313" align="alignright" width="300"] American Pelicans in morning fog[/caption]

including the American White Pelican that come by the thousands on their trek from the Gulf Coast to points north from Iowa and back. The Rangers lower the lake several inches around this time of year and areal seed Japanese Mullet that will grow to maturity by the late summer migration to provide food for the resting  birds. It’s an incredible site to see the Pelican numbers peak in late summer. We've experienced this boating. Now we know why they come here and how important this area is to their migration. Having been born with the heart of a conservationist, I can appreciate their efforts and am happy to share my boating activities in the summer with the birds.

[caption id="attachment_321" align="alignright" width="300"] Fish pond at Sandpiper after the release into the Lake[/caption]

The small ponds around the Sandpiper boat launch area are not storm run off as we have always assumed, they are fish stocking ponds. They released babies into the ponds early this spring around the time Champ and I  arrived, and just this past week opened the gate and released the, fry sized, wipers, striped bass and largemouth bass into Saylorville. It will take some time for the pond to refill on its own. But now we know why it mysteriously drains from time to time.

Throughout the 26,000 acres of Corps managed land that make up the Saylorville project there are a number of specific habitats being actively maintained, including Oak Savannah (what most of Iowa was before the westward expansion)  prairie grassland, woodlands and wetlands. All for the purpose of promoting safe habitat for native animal species. There are bobcats, coyotes, deer a wide variety of other woodland creatures and of course the birds. This is their safe haven in the middle of the voracious urban sprawl that is consuming once rural land in Des Moines and the surrounding communities.

I learned just last night from Will and Judy, 15 year Natural Resource volunteers, that the fields I see them plant throughout the area are not all native grasses as I had assumed but some are things like peas, turnips, kale, sweet grass planted for the express purpose of providing food for the wildlife.

The most remarkable thing to me is that this is all occurring in an area that is visited by over 1,000,000 people a year. We boast 4 campgrounds with over 500 campsites, dozens of day use facilities 2 beaches and even with the heavy public use the Corps and the DNR are having consistent success maintaining and improving populations of a number of wildlife species both flora and fauna. This link will take you to their website if you want to read more about the efforts here.  http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Saylorville-Lake/Natural-Resource-Management/

[caption id="attachment_332" align="alignnone" width="300"] Me talking to a visitor about the bike trail[/caption]

I’ll end with some pictures of what I have noticed as an active volunteer this summer. If you are in the area, by all means come out to the Visitors Center. We work every Monday and Friday 10-2.  I’d love to share this special place with you.

[gallery ids="330,329,328,327,326,325,324,322,320,318,317,316,315,314,309"]

 

The Other Side of Saylorville

I’ve mentioned before that we are learning there is a great deal going on behind the scenes here at Saylorville, than we ever would have imagined the past 15 years of sitting around the campfire, boating on the lake or going for walks. It is so easy to be in your own ‘back yard’ and never really know all the things the area has to offer.  This past winter a very common conversation starter at the Visitor’s Center at Balcones NWR were local people coming in saying,  “ I’ve lived here all my life and never been out here.”  We hear the same thing here. and I'm guilty of it myself. Locals come in and discover all that has been here for them all along.  We get busy with our everyday lives and routines and forget all the intrinsic benefits of our hometowns. Everyday I get more excited and fall in love a little more with one of my favorite local campgrounds. Here are some of the reasons why.

I have learned that Saylorville Lake is an Internationally recognized Important Birding Area. That means that the ecological diversity and the aggressive habitat management taking place behind the scenes here create areas that attract not only one of the most diverse bird populations in the Midwest, but we are located on a major migration route and Saylorville acts as a giant rest stop area for birds to stop and feed on their journey each spring and fall.

As avid boaters, we have always been disappointed that the lake level north of the  bridge, where we could once navigate our boats up into the Des Moines river for a pleasant day of boating, has dwindled over the years and we can no longer access the area. I have learned the reason is that the area called the mudflats is now a managed area for migrating waterfowl and raptors,

[caption id="attachment_313" align="alignright" width="300"] American Pelicans in morning fog[/caption]

including the American White Pelican that come by the thousands on their trek from the Gulf Coast to points north from Iowa and back. The Rangers lower the lake several inches around this time of year and areal seed Japanese Mullet that will grow to maturity by the late summer migration to provide food for the resting  birds. It’s an incredible site to see the Pelican numbers peak in late summer. We've experienced this boating. Now we know why they come here and how important this area is to their migration. Having been born with the heart of a conservationist, I can appreciate their efforts and am happy to share my boating activities in the summer with the birds. 

[caption id="attachment_321" align="alignright" width="300"] Fish pond at Sandpiper after the release into the Lake[/caption]

The small ponds around the Sandpiper boat launch area are not storm run off as we have always assumed, they are fish stocking ponds. They released babies into the ponds early this spring around the time Champ and I  arrived, and just this past week opened the gate and released the, fry sized, wipers, striped bass and largemouth bass into Saylorville. It will take some time for the pond to refill on its own. But now we know why it mysteriously drains from time to time.

Throughout the 26,000 acres of Corps managed land that make up the Saylorville project there are a number of specific habitats being actively maintained, including Oak Savannah (what most of Iowa was before the westward expansion)  prairie grassland, woodlands and wetlands. All for the purpose of promoting safe habitat for native animal species. There are bobcats, coyotes, deer a wide variety of other woodland creatures and of course the birds. This is their safe haven in the middle of the voracious urban sprawl that is consuming once rural land in Des Moines and the surrounding communities.

I learned just last night from Will and Judy, 15 year Natural Resource volunteers, that the fields I see them plant throughout the area are not all native grasses as I had assumed but some are things like peas, turnips, kale, sweet grass planted for the express purpose of providing food for the wildlife.

The most remarkable thing to me is that this is all occurring in an area that is visited by over 1,000,000 people a year. We boast 4 campgrounds with over 500 campsites, dozens of day use facilities 2 beaches and even with the heavy public use the Corps and the DNR are having consistent success maintaining and improving populations of a number of wildlife species both flora and fauna. This link will take you to their website if you want to read more about the efforts here.  http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Saylorville-Lake/Natural-Resource-Management/

[caption id="attachment_332" align="alignnone" width="300"] Me talking to a visitor about the bike trail[/caption]

I’ll end with some pictures of what I have noticed as an active volunteer this summer. If you are in the area, by all means come out to the Visitors Center. We work every Monday and Friday 10-2.  I’d love to share this special place with you.

[gallery ids="330,329,328,327,326,325,324,322,320,318,317,316,315,314,309"]

 

Settling In

We’ve been here a full two months and are feeling very at home in volunteer village. We have already had to say goodbye to Bob and Janice.  I met them through our blogs this past winter and we had a great time being ‘neighbors’ here until they left last week, to spend the rest of the summer visiting their kids that no longer live in Iowa. We’ll look forward to seeing them here again next summer.

[caption id="attachment_305" align="alignright" width="300"] Hosting Happy hour at Volunteer Village[/caption]

Summer is in full swing, the container garden is flourishing and producing food. Work at the Visitors Center is easy and fun. The weekends are long days in here but it’s a good gig overall. Shortly after we arrived it became apparent to the Rangers that we had skill and desire to work outside. Bob, our neighbor, worked with the Natural Resources team and immediately began ‘recruiting’ Champ.  As it turns out the team has been short a couple of people in recent years.

[caption id="attachment_308" align="alignleft" width="300"] 2017 Volunteer Breakfast[/caption]

At the annual volunteer breakfast, Bob told the Ranger we were interested in working on the NR team next year.  Later that afternoon I got an email from her asking if we were indeed interested and asking if we were willing to work an extra day here and there to become familiar with their projects and other team members. She expressed her ‘sadness’ that we wouldn’t be in the Visitors Center but agreed that we were a good fit for Natural Resources as well.  So, 2 months in we are already evolving into another role.

I figured out pretty quickly, that I had a more idle time than I really wanted, so decided to look for a part-time job. I looked up an old friend to has a local business that includes a retail location and in a few minutes I had a summer gig lined up. I’m working for my friends Jeff and Cindy at their store Strawberry Patch a few hours a week in Ankeny.  It’s a good outlet for me and will give us a little mad money to blow on our 2-month hiatus between Saylorville and Texas Parks and Wildlife this winter.

Champ started working on Tuesday’s with the NR team. He is loving it. Doing man’s work cutting down trees, trail maintenance and a host of other things. They found out he has many years experience operating heavy equipment in his former work life and will be getting him formally certified to operate their equipment. One of the staff shortages is their former operator. Needless to say, Champ is quite pleased that operating an assortment of loaders, bob cats, large ag tractors and the like will be his new ‘job’. Very manly!

I am going to take a more laid-back approach. We talked extensively and I think my role here at Saylorville will not be as a full time NR volunteer but rather, keep with my butterfly garden adoption, be a part time weekday volunteer at the VC.  That way I’ll get my mix of people contact and good old fashion manual labor, both in small doses, that make me the happiest. If Jeff and Cindy want me from year to year I’ll probably do that as well when I come back.  The adaptability and variety of volunteer work still amazes me at these early stages.

[caption id="attachment_309" align="alignright" width="300"] Trail leading into the woods next to our RV[/caption]

It goes without saying, we are quite happy with our decision to go nomadic.  A year ago, I was not working, we were still waiting to get an offer on the house and there were still a number of unknowns. This life was still a fabrication of our imaginations and conversations with seasoned RV volunteers. Now a mere 9 months into what we hope will be a 20 year adventure we can’t imagine living any other way. It is simply a perfect fit for us both. We know there will be bumps and challenges and maybe even a tragedy or two along the way, but such is life weather you live in a brick and mortar house or live like a nomad in your RV.  This life isn’t for everybody and we weren’t even positive it would be right for us. We couldn’t let the opportunity pass without at least trying and we couldn’t be happier or more content.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite mantras:  If you can dream it, you can do it.

Until next time…

 

 

Hello Summer!

Summer finally arrived in Iowa. If you are from the Midwest, you are well acquainted with the feeling in mid spring when the weather waivers between cold and wet to almost warm. Your rational mind knows summer will return but part of you starts to wonder if you will ever shake the chill in your bones. Then one day you wake up to 65 degrees at 6 am and the temps soar to 90 degrees with around 70% humidity and summer is upon Iowa with its usual vengeance and unrelenting humidity for the next three months.  I welcome the hot sticky air, many run indoors to hide in the conditioned air. It’s almost like Mother Nature says “oh crap I forgot about Iowa”, and flips a switch to turn on summer. Even though we are all begging for it, our bodies aren’t quite prepared for the initial assault and we wilt a bit the first few days.

[caption id="attachment_295" align="alignnone" width="300"] Old and sturdy[/caption]

Right after we got back I bought a bike from a Craig’s List ad. I love the old thing. It’s a Raleigh 10 speed probably nearly as old as me. The guy I bought it from was younger than my kids I’m sure, and apologized throughout our interaction for its age and the fact that it was made of steel and heavy by modern standards. I looked at and said' it’s perfect.' The color, which happens to be Drake University Blue / White and Silver (another perk) appealed to me and it has been impeccably maintained. I gave him the $40 he was asking he gave me a bunch of extras and let me know it had new wheels and he had just had the brakes and gearing tuned at Kyle's Bike Shop in Ankeny.  Even better! We loaded it up.  Saylorville boasts 13 miles of one of the nicest bike trails in Iowa so I have plenty of safe pleasant trail to ride along the lake and through the timber.

[caption id="attachment_297" align="alignright" width="300"] Morning me time[/caption]

Our RV pad is large and backs up to woods. My new morning routine, now that the weather has turned the corner, is to go for a ride in the early morning, then do my yoga practice outside on the patio, with the sun coming over the tree tops and the birds singing.  A very Zen routine for this old hippie. I couldn’t be happier.

The container garden is underway and doing well. I bought a book years ago for my mother, called “The Bountiful Container". At some point she gave it back to me and it sat on my bookshelf for years collecting dust. It was one of the few books I kept when I unloaded a car load of books at a donation site last fall. It was a good choice!  The authors, Maggie Stuckey and Rose Marie Nichols McGee, did a great job and I highly recommend the book for anyone who is planning to try their hand at growing vegetables in containers. I won’t have the large harvest I’m used to in late summer but there will be plenty of fresh, organic goodies for me to eat. I have been eating spinach and lettuce since March and will get a few more weeks before it is too hot for it to thrive.

I’m getting as much time as I want with the kids. The grandkids have visited regularly and we’re seeing friends and socializing as normal. Like every other summer, plans are starting to take shape and dates on the calendar are filling up. Before we know it, we’ll be hooking up and heading back south to a 2 month break from ‘work’ and then on to another Volunteer gig further south in Texas where the  winter days and the people are warm.

Until next time…

Dirty Laundry

I’ve written a good deal about my thoughts on this wonderful lifestyle and shared the fun projects we’ve been a part of so far. This time I decided to be more practical and address the oft-brought-up issue of laundry.

One of the few things about the full-time RV lifestyle that poses a challenge to almost everyone is laundry. Not only the dilemma of whether or not to give up coveted closet space to install the compact, relatively inefficient washer/dryer, but the larger question, “what does one do with all the dirty laundry before it is washed?”.  Even a weekend warrior has this issue. Sitting by the campfire, fishing or swimming in a lake will produce some pretty rank clothes!

Let’s face it, worn laundry stinks. No matter how inoffensive it seems when you first take it off and throw it in the basket, cumulatively, dirty laundry stinks.  Only one of the five 5^th wheels we have owned over the years came with a laundry drop built in.  However, Champ has built one in all our campers and has perfected his design over the course of the other four, including the one we currently call home.

One of the perks of a 5^th wheel is the large storage area under the ‘upstairs’.  It is almost always located directly under the bathroom / hallway area and at least the front part of the bedroom. Therefore, the solution is simple in most cases.  Those of you in travel trailers and motorhomes will have to get more creative or trade for a 5^th wheel!

He puts his talent for using vertical space to work in a wonderful way when he builds these.  Usually the floor under the sink is the ideal place.  In our beloved Puma that we owned for many years he cut a hole in the floor in front of the stool and made a lift up hinged, trap door out of the flooring he cut out. A strap for a handle and the bathroom rug over the top and no one, but us, was the wiser.

[caption id="attachment_290" align="alignright" width="300"] Under the sink chute[/caption]

In our current Montana under the sink was the sweet spot. He used the section he cut out of the floor to make a partition around the whole. It not only keeps things from falling through but it creates a ‘chute’.

In the compartment area below the hole, he built a raised platform to set the basket on. This way you don’t lose valuable storage space for things like chairs, tools or whatever you store in your front  compartment. The pedestal is made from a steel plate with a flange bolted to the floor and PVC pipe as the vertical lift.

[caption id="attachment_122" align="alignnone" width="300"] Raised basket in front compartment[/caption]

The platform itself is made from OSB and some 1” x 2” trim to keep the basket from sliding off. The whole thing is painted gray.  In the picture shown the lift has a bend. That was designed for our previous RV that had an obstruction to work around. If it is a straight shot from the floor to the whole you can simply make the lift a straight vertical line.

Another hack I came up with is the issue of line drying. Some parks won’t allow you to dry laundry outside under any circumstances. Even the weekend warriors face this issue with wet swim towels and suits. Or, if you’re lucky, the kids come up from the lake or creek muddy from head to toe and you literally hose them off in their muddy clothes before you let them inside. Those clothes need somewhere to go. Enter the shower rod. I bought a simple $10 tension shower rod. If fits nicely on the top lip of the walk-in shower enclosure and will also work with a small tub style. If you have a corner shower it won’t work very well.  Clothes can hang entirely inside the tub or shower to dry without dripping on the floor.

[caption id="attachment_291" align="alignright" width="300"] Shower rod between the slides[/caption]

If you have two slides on the same side, like many do these days, and the campground isn’t snobby about drying things outside, the rod fits nicely between the two slides and acts as an easily removable outdoor drying rod. Some small sections of 1" foam pipe insulation fit perfectly around the rod and keep space between the hangers so they don't blow together in a clump if it's windy.  The fancy clotheslines that mount to the back of the camper are expensive and can only be used outside in the place where you permanently mount it. This is cheap, easy and flexible. Favorite adjectives of all RV’ers.  After living in ours for a couple of months and dealing with doing laundry in public machines that tend to fry the clothes dry we opted to install a combination washer/dryer with a vent-less dryer.  For the most part it works well. The big challenge is not overloading it. Even what we consider a small batch is a bit much sometimes and the dryer doesn’t dry the clothes completely. Partial line drying speeds up the process of getting multiple loads done in a single day or couple of days.

There you have it.   Our dirty laundry solution, perfected over the course of 15 years and 5 campers.   If you want more detail on how to do this send me a question!

Until next time…

Planting for Butterflies

I have said, many times, one of my apprehensions about launching into the Full Time RV Lifestyle was giving up my yard and gardens. Gardening has long been a preferred method of therapy and I get great joy and satisfaction doing yard work and planting gardens that both feed me and make my surroundings pretty.  Our lifestyle decision has not only allowed me opportunity to continue to get my hands in the dirt, it has actually opened the door to even more opportunity than I had as a homeowner.  Who have thunk it?

My latest gardening adventure is adopting a bed in the Saylorville Butterfly

[caption id="attachment_285" align="alignright" width="300"] Entrance to the Gardens[/caption]

Garden. I have always known it was here but never fully understood the scope of the project, it's mission or how many people it takes to make this little corner of  Saylorville Lake the butterfly paradise that it is. A couple of other ladies who also live in volunteer village  this summer also adopted beds so it has become another way to get to know my volunteer companions and engage in a activity that we all enjoy.

The gardens boast over 30 beds that hold varieties of flowers both perennial and annual as well as herb gardens. I'm learning very quickly about the difference between host plants for the caterpillers and nectar plants for the butterflies to pollinate.

[caption id="attachment_284" align="alignnone" width="300"] Blank canvas[/caption]

The best part so far has been getting to take an empty garden and design it the way I wanted to. The ranger gave me a list of recommended plants and I let my imagination take over from there.  I adopted a large triangle shaped bed in the middle. The only thing growing in it was some chive and some sunflower volunteers coming up around the chive. I went out early one morning as the sun was starting to get high in the sky and got inspired to do an entire bed in yellow and orange like a sunrise or sunset since the location of the bed will be bathed in both early morning and late evening sunlight.

Volunteering to garden here is like having a fairy god mother for the garden.  I turned in my plant order and the plants arrived a day later ready to plant. I think Champ appreciates that I am satisfying my gardening itch without the long list of charges on my Discover bill that normally accompany this time of year.  There is also a watering fairy in the form of an irrigation system. All I have to do after planting is keep it weeded and looking nice.  I know that sounds horrible to some, but I really like the work.

This morning the sun came up, it started out about 50 degrees with no wind. I took my I-pod and blue tooth speaker to the gardens and went to work planting my bed. I can't think of a better way to spend a morning.  I set Tangerine and Yellow Primrose varieties of Marigolds, Lantana, Cosmos, Black Eyed Susan's . I also sprinkled a couple of Rosemary and Fennel plants to give some nice fragrance to go with the splash of yellow and orange.

[caption id="attachment_286" align="alignnone" width="300"] Just planted[/caption]

One of the things in Texas that was really amazing to me was the astonishing variety of butterflies.  In my yard in Iowa, I only saw an occasional Tiger Swallowtale, or a Sulfer.  Of course the Monarchs migrate through Iowa late summer and I always had milkweed around and planted Coneflower to entice them to stop at my yard on the way by.  Living in an area surrounded by cropland, the use of pesticides has severely impacted the butterfly and bee populations. Not to mention, the lightning bugs are all but gone in Iowa.

I am excited to see the flower gardens thrive and grow through the summer months, but more than that I can't wait to see what variety of butterflies will call this little corner of Iowa home. This will be a good place to hang out with my camera later this summer.

Until next time...