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SEPTEMBER OUTDOOR TIPS: GARDENING!

As the month of August and summer draws to a close, September and the beautiful autumn season fast approaches.  Considering the termperatures drop and the air will feel cool and crisp, the month of September can be a perfect time for you to go out and spruce up your lawn or garden.  The fall months, especially September, are ideal for planting shrubs, trees, perennials, grass seed, and bulbs because the plants are able to take advantage of the cooler temperatures and their roots have ample amount of time to grow into the surrounding soil.  The following lists may be a helpful tool to beautify certain aspects of your yard, while also providing you some enjoyment outside.

Perennial Planting

Divide and transplant early blooming perennial flowers like poppies and bleeding hearts.  Large clumps can also be split now too into other parts of your yard.

Bulb Planting

Decide where your bulb beds will be, then build them up with fresh compost.  Beds should be deeply dug and well drained.

Plant these blooming bulbs for glorious colors next spring...

Iris

Tulips

Crocus

Daffodils

Peonies

Fruit and Vegetable Gardens

Fall crops that can still be seeded...

Beets

Radishes

Leaf Lettuce

Turnips

Use ready-to-go plants, or plant plugs, for these fall crops...

Broccoli

Cabbage

Brussels Sprouts

Collards

THE BEES ARE BACK!

Summer is in full bloom right now and the Lime Creek Nature Center has welcomed a new arrival!  Our fully operational bee hive is now occupied by hundreds of honey bees working diligently.  Special thanks to our personal bee handler, Tim Huey, for providing us with the honey bees.  Without his assistance, the wonderful display would not be available for the public.  Ever since the honey bees were placed within the hive, they have been very busy collecting pollen and nectar to keep it thriving.  Interestingly enough, honeybees are very social insects and they have a marked division of labor where each bee type has their own specific duty.  The three types of bees in the hive are worker bees, drone bees, and one queen bee.

The worker bee is responsible for completing the bulk of all the tasks to make sure the hive is fully maintained and operated.  They make up the vast majority of the hive's occupants and are all sterile females.  When worker bees are young, they are called "house bees".  These house bees work strictly in the hive doing honeycomb construction, tending to the queen and drones, cleaning, temperature regulation, and defending the hive.  When the house bees grow mature and older, they then become "field bees".  The field bees actually forage outside the hive and collect nectar, pollen, water, and certain sticky resins for the hive construction.  To complete all these tasks, worker bees have special structures all over their body; they have pollen baskets on both hind legs, an extra stomach for storing and transporting nectar or honey, and four pairs of special glands that secrete beeswax on the underside of their abdomen.

The one and only queen bee is very important in the hive; she is the largest in the colony and is considered the matriarch.  She has a very large abdomen that extends past her wing tips; this is where a pheromone is secreted so she can control and stimulate behaviors within the hive.  Also, the queen is the only female in the hive that is sexually developed so she is nurtured on a diet of strictly royal jelly.  Her major tasks are to mate with the drones and lay eggs to keep the hive thriving.  A productive queen can even lay up to 2000 eggs in a single day!

The third type in a colony is the drone bees.  They are stout, male bees without stingers.  Their sole purpose in the hive is to mate with the queen; once this is accomplished they die off.  What is really neat about them is that their eyes are noticeably larger because they can spot the queen with ease while in flight.

If you are interested in these amazing working creatures you should stop out to the Lime Creek Nature Center and check out the honey bee's hive progress.  Try and locate the three types of bees while you are here, and maybe, if you inspect long enough, you might be able to locate that one, very important queen.

PRAIRIE PLANTS

In mid-July various prairie plants were planted under the birdfeeders on the south side of the Nature Center.  The staff of the Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board decided which plants would be best to plant.  The goal for this project is to establish an aesthetically pleasing, local ecotype short-grass prairie, with a diversity of colorful and unique forbs, which bloom throughout the year.  Currently there are tongue depressors next to each plant for two reasons.  The first reason is to help identify plants from weeds at this early stage.  The second reason is to educate the visitors at Lime Creek Nature Center.  Each tongue depressor is labeled with an abbreviation of the plant it is next to.  Most of the plants will not bloom this year, but next summer the site will be a very beautiful one to see.

The following photos are a few of the plants you will find in the prairie planting:

Pale Purple Coneflower

Roadside Planting with Butterfly Milkweed, Purple Prairie Clover and

Yellow Coneflower

Local Sportsmen Receive "Friend of Lime Creek" Award

The Lime Creek Nature Center Foundation presented their "Friend of Lime Creek" award to Don Plagge and Dale Plath, both of Mason City, at their board meeting on Tuesday, April 7, at the Lime Creek Nature Center.  Plagge and Plath were recognized for their many years of service as volunteers for Lime Creek Nature Center programs.

Plagge and Plath, both avid outdoorsmen, have been assisting with the Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board's (CGCCB) annual Ice Fishing Event since its inception over 10 years ago.  At the events they drill numerous holes and help participants find fish and use proper fishing techniques.

The two have also volunteered their time for many other educational events sponsored by the Lime Creek Nature Center and CGCCB, and both have served on the nature center foundation board.

The "Friend of Lime Creek" award was created to honor individuals, families, and organizations for exceptional efforts in the area of conservation education and support of the Lime Creek Nature Center's mission, said Todd Von Ehwegen, Natural Resource Manager-Environmental Education for the Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board.

"I would like to commend Don and Dale for their service to Lime Creek," Von Ehwegen said.  "They are very skilled outdoorsmen who have done a great job of sharing their knowledge and introducing people of all ages to fishing and other outdoor activities."

Deb Tesar, President LCNC Foundation, presents Don Plagge (left)

and Dale Plath (right) with the Friend of Lime Creek Award.

MURAL IS COMPLETE!

The mural in the Lime Creek Nature Center Auditorium has been completed by Jan Kostka (see Jan's description of the mural below)!  This beautiful painting of a marsh in early September is now the focal point of the Charles E. Strickland Auditorium.  In addition to its obvious value as a work of art, it is also very educational, and will be used as a learning tool during pond study activities in the auditorium.

The Delicate Balance We Hold in Our Hands

The mural by Jan Kostka depicts a marsh in early September.  We must take it to heart to become good stewards of the land, to protect it, treasure it, love it, and educate others about conservation strategies.  (Do you see the symbolic heart of pond water in the hands?)

The artist wanted to create a scene that symbolizes the beauty found right here in north iowa.  She is very concerned about the protection of wetlands and wildlife habitat.  Even though 95% of Iowa's prairie wet lands have been drained, we must secure the future of our natural resources.

The mural was completed in February of 2009, taking 96 hours to complete.  Although not all inclusive, thirty-seven reference photographs were combined to create this representative scene.

ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PROJECT AT LIME CREEK

The Lime Creek Nature Center's wind energy project is completed and fully operational.

The latest addition, a computer touch screen display inside the center, is currently monitoring the system's wind and solar energy output and weather conditions.  This display is available to nature center visitors for a "hands-on" educational experience with the alternative energy system.  The public is invited and encouraged to stop out and give it a try!

Plans are in the works to develop a curriculum for school students to help them learn about alternative energy systems in the classroom and on field trips to Lime Creek Nature Center.

Interpretive signage will also be added to the touch screen display to make it more user friendly for nature center visitors.

The 35-foot, 2,500 watt wind turbine provides an impressive site and can be viewed at "close range" on the restored prairie north of the parking lot.  Eight 130-watt solar panels can be observed on the open air shelter located in the picnic area adjacent to the restored prairie.

These two components have been installed to create a "hybrid" alternative energy system that provides power to the Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board shop, where the power generated by this system is stored in eight 6-volt batteries.  Two 3,600 watt DC/AC inverters convert stored power from the batteries into usable electricity for the shop.

The goal is for the solar panels and turbine to provide 100% power for the shop, but the system will automatically revert to standard electricity if necessary.  The system also has the capability to run off of the batteries if the utility grid goes down.

The total cost for this project was $87,965.  Half of it was funded by the conservation board's Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) account, and the other half by the Lime Creek Nature Center Foundation's Dorothy Curtis Trust account.

The Lime Creek Nature Center's alternative energy system provides a demonstrational facility for renewable energy; specifically a hybrid (solar/wind) system to show integration into existing buildings.  This cost-effective system reduces carbon emissions and supports a healthier natural environment in accord with the nature center's educational mission.

For more information on this project, contact the Lime Creek Nature Center at 641-423-5309.

NEW NATURE CENTER SIGN

The next time you visit Lime Creek Nature Center take a look at our attractive new sign!  This unique 100% plastic sign was purchased from Wood Product Signs of Parlin, Colorado.

It is constructed of laminated plastic made from recycled milk jugs.  Purchasing products made from recycled materials is important as it “closes the loop” by creating a market for items made of recycled products.

The sign will require little or no maintenance and should last for many years.

WINNER!  Iowa’s Outstanding County Conservation Board Environmental Education Program Award for 2006.