February Hike

MINBURN, IOWA - As the winter of 2014-2015 continues on and we edge ever so slowly toward spring, it's been a lot of fun to hike around the wooded areas of the Raccoon River Valley.  I've been on the lookout for deer sheds.  After a freshly fallen snow, it's obvious there is a healthy population of deer throughout the area but I've yet to find my first shed.  Signs are everywhere - small trees where deer have obviously been rubbing their racks.  We'll keep looking on our subsequent hikes through the woods.

Sunset over the Raccoon River Valley

     Another noticeable noise as of late have been the owls - both great horned and barred.  Great Horned Owls actually begin nesting this time if year.  Most evenings, it's a regular occurrence to hear both great horned and barred owls singing.  Even during the daytime, crows occasionally uncover a resting owl and create a lot of commotion causing the owls to take off for a daytime flight.  We've also observed a screech owl who, at least for a couple of weeks, liked to perch at dusk near or on the bird feeder in the backyard.  Not sure if he ever found any prey, but he didn't stick around too long.

     I still insist that winter time is one of the best times to hike through the woods - no bugs, no poison ivy, better visibility, and the wind is usually not a problem.  It's a great way to burn off some steam and enjoy the winter season which causes may folks (myself included) to often become quite restless.

Snow

Trudging through our heaviest snowfall of the season thus far

MINBURN, IOWA - As we get a bit closer to spring time here in Central Iowa, it's a good time to reflect on the winter we've had so far.  About two weeks ago, we had our largest snow event of the season which dumped over a foot of snow here.  The snow was wet and heavy, and made for quite a serene scene in the woods.  It took some time to dig out from, and only two weeks later most of it had already melted away as mild temperatures returned for a short bit.  On a quick hike through the local county park today, snow shoes were still helpful in a few protected spots but for the most part one can hike pretty freely across most of the trails nearby.

Enjoying a view of the Raccoon River Valley

BRR Ride 2015

PERRY, IOWA - Temperatures in the upper 40's combined with light winds made this year's annual bike ride to Rippey one of the most comfortable in recent memory.  As expected, the nice weather drew a big crowd and when I returned to Perry after the 24 mile ride there were still several cyclists just leaving Perry headed up to Rippey.  I look forward the the BRR ride each year as it helps to break up the monotony of not being able to do much cycling in the winter time, plus this event is a big "boon" to the local businesses in Perry who feed, house and welcome 1,500 visitors to town for the event each year.

Participants start gathering in front of the Raccoon Valley Bicycle Shop and Hotel Pattee as Raccoon Valley Radio broadcasts live in the background.

Minutes before the starting cannon is fired and cyclists head up Perry's historic business district.

Westbound toward Rippey.  Although it looks cold, I saw some cyclists just wearing T-shirts and shorts.  I wonder if they caught a cold?

Cyclists enter Rippey's downtown area.

The Rippey Lions Club were serving chili and beef sundaes among other goodies inside their newly remodeled community building.  Here's the scene outside.

Cyclists, including this unicycle, come and go east of Rippey.