Walking There - For the First Time

It has been a slow Spring in northeast Iowa this year, but the signs that things are changing are becoming more and more obvious.  Crazy Maurice, the willow tree, is sporting the bright yellow stems that precedes bloom and green leaves.  The forsythia just erupted with their yellow blooms on the farm a couple of days ago and there are some Pasque flowers blooming here as well.

Tammy and I are hoping to continue being purposeful in our efforts to visit the beautiful places that are not really all that far from the Genuine Faux Farm.  Last Fall, we made sure to visit Backbone and Malanaphy.  But so far this year, we haven't done much.  I suppose it is partly due to the weather.  But, I think it mostly has to do with how we feel we are managing all of the things we need to do from day to day.  Or more accurately, how we feel that we are failing to manage all the things...

Happily, we managed to take ourselves on a short "get away" to Paint Creek and the Yellow River Forest.  We have been there before, but the area covers enough ground that we were able to go places in the forest that we have not visited.  We couldn't "walk there again," because we hadn't walked there before!
 

There are some really nice overlooks in the Paint Creek section of the Yellow River Forest.  One of which is fairly easy to get to if walking is not something you are able to do much of.  Others require a little hiking, but that was fine with us.  Although, we both will have to admit that we're a bit out of shape for this sort of thing.  I guess we'd better do this more often then!

As you can see, the forest is still waiting a bit to green up.  We saw plenty of evidence of swelling buds, so it won't take much for scenes like this to change dramatically.  It's almost tempting to take a drive up in the very near future just to see it as the landscape alters its ornamentation.

While I probably should have known this, it was interesting for me to take note of the variety of forest management practices being used in this state forest.  The area we walked in was being managed to be an oak savanna.  I was aware of the oak savanna restoration in western Iowa's Loess Hills, but I should not have been surprised to find efforts to create this sort of habitat in the Yellow River Forest too.  The predominant trees in this section were oak and shagbark hickory - and we did see a fair number of woodpeckers, especially Red-headed Woodpeckers.  That alone is a pretty good indicator that the forest management for the area is on target.

There were also areas that have been, or are being, replanted.  I suspect there will be even more of this in the near future given the significant number of ash trees that are showing signs that they have been compromised by the Emerald Ash Borer.  

I admit that the part of me that wishes for more wild areas bristles a little bit about the nice, straight rows of trees.  On the other hand, I fully understand how rows make management so much easier.  After all, that's what we do on our farm too.  So, it's a matter of give and take, I guess.  Part of the management goal of the Yellow River State Forest is to maintain several types of habitat.  This is great - but it underscores how much of the REST of the state we have removed from available habitat so it could be tilled for corn and soybeans.

Suddenly, we have to cram all of the wide range of habitats that were once in the state (or could be in Iowa) into a small corner - just so we have some of it somewhere.  I know, this is a cynical look at a wonderful area, so I'll back off of my indignation and return to my appreciation for the beauty of nature.

We were able to see a wide range of bird species, including a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (first time for either of us to see one clearly - only ten feet away).  We were able to observe two eagles that must have been near their nest and we got some good looks at Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.   All in all, it was a good visit with nature - and we would like to walk there again.

We were also able to enjoy some of Paint Creek that actually lies outside of the state forest area because the place we stayed was not far from the banks of this stream.  It was pleasant to listen to the constant discussion the stream had with the rocks and creek-banks - all while various birds called to each other, working to establish this year's territorial boundaries.  The the sun fell behind the ridge at the end of the day, the birds settled down a bit and the frogs began to tune their voices for the evening concert.

All in all, it was a good day.  Even the robins agreed as they sang the melody to the frog's background vocals.