With a lifelong involvement in agriculture, I have grown to appreciate seeing weedless, straight-rowed crop fields. However, I tend to find more appreciation for the parts of Iowa that look unchanged from what the state would have been hundreds of years ago. Whether it’s an established timber or a tallgrass prairie, there is something about natural areas that fill me with joy. These areas also give me hope that our state is moving in a direction that focuses less on the expansion of monocrop systems, and more towards the diversification of Iowa’s landscape.
The outdoors have always played a key role in my life. From a young age, I loved being outside. With my dad being an avid hunter and fisherman, I quickly followed suit. During the summer, we spent many Saturdays on the water seeing what we could catch. Later in the year, when the leaves started to turn and the air cooled, we replaced our fishing poles with bows and prepared for deer hunting season. In addition to hunting for deer, we occasionally hunted for something less common – morel mushrooms. No matter what we were seeking or how much success we had, we enjoyed all the new adventures.
As anyone who hunts or fishes knows, there is always the possibility you’ll come home empty handed. My dad instilled this knowledge in me from the first time I went fishing. I’ll admit that fishing wasn’t always fun. Spending a 90-degree day being swarmed by bugs and not even getting a nibble was upsetting. Fortunately, it wasn’t a total loss. Through these long trips with no success, I gained a great deal of patience. It was also during one of these slow-going days that my dad told me a piece of advice that I didn’t fully understand at the time, “It’s not all about catching fish”. As a young child, I was fairly certain the whole reason we were there was to catch fish. Looking back, I understand what he meant. Going home with fish is great, but there was so much more to fishing.
With the hustle and bustle of modern-day life, it’s easy to overlook our natural surroundings. Having nothing except water, trees, and the sounds of wildlife around you is priceless. It gives an opportunity to step away from the stresses of life and take a deep breath. Nowadays, I don’t worry so much about catching fish or filling my deer tag. I sit back and enjoy the rare opportunity to hear nothing but the natural world around me.
Iowa Learning Farms 