Songbirds are arriving: sparrows, cardinals, blue jays, crows, woodpeckers, and more. In winter, geese dominated the lakes. Some remain year-round, but now they are joined by pelicans, gulls, and a variety of waterfowl moving through on the great migration. The number and variety of birds will grow in the weeks ahead. Spring is literally in the air.
This blog is where I write about Iowa, gardening, writing, politics, and whatever crosses my mind while walking on the state park trail.
This post is for new visitors. I have been writing a version of this blog since 2007, although older posts were taken off line in 2013. I post about whatever comes to mind, yet there will be some common themes this spring.
- Until the June primary election, I’m filling in at Blog for Iowa. Each weekend I will cross-post those pieces here. They cover what I have been doing in the Democratic Party during the previous week, along with a special Iowa politics post on Sunday.
- The ground is not ready for a shovel yet, but I’m planning a large garden. Some of my posts will be about that. I attempt to keep things different, and I’m beyond the standard photos of emerging plants and harvested produce. Growing food is one of life’s pleasures, and I’ve been doing it since the summer after my spouse and I married.
- I also write about writing. Some of my most popular posts are when I take some current writing challenge and work my way through it.
- Thousands of paper and digital photographs remain in shoeboxes and on the cloud. I started an archival process and write about it in a series called “A Life of Photos.”
- I review things — books and events I attend, mostly. I also have an informal series called “We’re Going Home” in which I reflect on generational change caused by the death of people I know or who have had a profound effect on me.
- I walk on the state park trail almost daily, usually at sunrise. Those walks give me time to think about issues, and some of those make it back to this blog.
I’ll be 75 years in December and I’m determined to make 2026 a productive year. Watch for it here.
If you’d like to know more, check the About page, located here.
Thanks for visiting. I hope you will find something and return often.
Journey Home 