Tracks and Tales

Additional Column Posts (2 - 20 of 19) Prev Page

• A Convenient Gem

  By Pamela Holz - Jan 24
  In 1856, the railroad had reached Iowa. Crossing the Mississippi at Davenport, it took a mere 11years for tracks to stretch across the entire ...
  

• Dead Fish

  By Pamela Holz - Nov 05
  In some of the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean volcanic vents spew gas into the water. Not too long ago, scientists discovered methane-breathin...
  

• Halloween Hike

  By Pamela Holz - Sep 21
  It’s a dog eat dog world. Or so I have heard it said. Yet, as I sit here looking at it in print, it really doesn’t seem to make much sense, does ...
  

• Summer weather adventures

  By Pamela Holz - Aug 09
  “So, how’s your summer going?” Sounds like such an easy question, but without an easy answer. Not this year. The greater portion of my summer time ...
  
• 

  How do you say goodbye?

  By Pamela Holz - Jul 02
  How long is 40 years? We became a state in 1846. Through habitat loss and active hunting, we eliminated the black bear within our borders by 1859. ...
  

• Adventures on the Water

  By Pamela Holz - May 17
  You cannot parallel park a canoe. However, if the wind is strong enough and from the right direction, you actually can get pretty close. But then, ...
  

• Technology: Just the Beginning, not the End

  By Pamela Holz - Apr 05
  “Think Globally, Act Locally” spouts one of the catch phrases of Earth Day. I am beginning to see that the first part is becoming easier every ...
  

• Moon Time

  By Pamela Holz - Mar 01
  Mom, exclaims my daughter, there is a new moon tonight! I need to go find it. I hate to dampen enthusiasm, but so does looking for something you ...
  

• Tracks and Tales: Living on the Grid

  By Pam Holz - Jan 18
  Iowa is superbly organized. I have a colleague who claims that there’s a hundred and one ways to get to anywhere in Iowa. She’s probably rather ...
  

• The Prairie is Our Home

  By Pam Holz - Nov 11
  “Nothing worthy of note, it being entire prairie.” - Surveyor’s Field Notes, 1855. “Then I discovered the prairie, and a slow healing began.” – ...
  

• Following directions

  By Pamela Holz - Dec 13
  Animals can’t read. While that may sound obvious, we often forget it. Recently I heard a recording of a call-in to a radio station. The caller ...
  

• Fall at 1,000 feet

  By Pamela Holz - Oct 16
  I mean “Fall” as in the season, not as in plummet. That would be a very short article: “Splat.” Also would be kind of a depressing one. I suppose ...
  

• Monarch Wonders

  By Pamela Holz - Sep 06
  So, we measured today in gym and I’m 5’3”, announced my daughter during our latest ice cream trip. I waved it off; probably just a rough estimate. ...
  

• Are you my mother?

  By Pamela Holz - Jul 24
  “We have a bird named Pretty Boy and I am his mom and Mom is his girlfriend…” wrote my daughter in her school journal. “Very funny,” commented her ...
  

• A Fish Tale

  By Pamela Holz - May 31
  With relief, I pulled the hook from inside the fish. I looked it over and it appeared all right. That was good because killing a fish really puts ...
  

• Survival of the young and tasty

  By Pamela Holz - May 03
  A sliver of blue catches my eye. Ah, a robin’s egg. Flipping it over, I see the inside, white and clean. The egg hatched. Somewhere nearby is a ...
  

• Playing with fire

  By Pamela Holz - Mar 20
  Shh, don’t tell anyone, but I cheated once. I started a campfire with starter fluid. My daughters and I had rented a cabin and were planning on ...
  

• Tracks and Tales: Seeing spots

  By Pam Holz - Feb 06
  I blame the sun. Partly because it was convenient. Partly because I was tired of blaming the usual scapegoat: the weather. And partly because the ...
  

• Tracks and Tales: Lunar Events

  By Pamela Holz - Dec 02
  To say I am not a morning person is a massive understatement. At this time of year, I can get away with saying I don’t believe in getting up ...