Monday, October 29, 2007

A Train into the Forest

An excerpt from an email that Howard and Donna shared on their recent California experience.

The Skunk Train out of Fort Bragg, California we boarded one fine day in October. I will never forget the people on board a tour bus of energetic elderly people, some middle aged people and one couple that I will never forget as the husband had so many stories to tell about being a test pilot for the USAF. None of us knew each other but we were there together to experience this wonder of going up through a foggy valley in Mendocino County. Our conductor had lived here some eons ago in this canyon far away from civilization. It was very cool and the open railway car was occupied by curious people from many places. As they gazed in wonder at the huge trees, I felt as if I had been lifted in time to a place that was once a dream world filled with spirits and messages from another world.

Our conductor told the story and history of this special place. I smelled the fog and fresh odor of the Redwoods and caught glimpses of a hint of blue sky above. Huge stumps some 20 feet in diameter with fairy rings of younger trees only 100 to 200 feet tall stood holding hands around them as if paying homage to their ancestry.

TO BE CONTINUED . . . . . .

Friday, October 12, 2007

Ion Exchange joins Iowa Native Plant Society


We at Ion Exchange are happy to announce we have joined the Iowa Native Plant Society. The more we learn about our environment the better it will enable us to care for it. Preserving and protecting our native plants should be important to all of us. We can each do our part to restore areas of beauty using the wildflowers, grasses and trees that are native to where we live.