White-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

March snow storm, downy woodpecker, Iowa City.

It’s been a while, I have been busy and Robin Deutschendorf (www.brownwingstudio.com)  has been revamping my website.  Big thanks to my son Nate Tade for setting up my original site and pushing and prodding me to use it.  Aside from editorial work this spring (I’ll post highlights in my galleries soon) here are some shots from the annual early June canoe trip to Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario (across the Minnesota border from the Boundary Waters).

It’s a good thing Spring is early this year because we are almost out of homemade raspberry jam

We saw the Minneapolis (by way of Iowa City) band The Pines last night at Legion Arts in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at their new CD “Dark So Gold” release show. Bo Ramsey, father of band members Benson and Alex, was an unexpected guest. Wow.

I was at Scattergood School & Farm, a 125-year old Quaker boarding school and organic farm near West Branch, Iowa Sunday, photographing a get-together of Practical Farmers of Iowa for The Iowan magazine. I set up my studio in the Hickory Grove Meeting House, an antique building with a very Shaker-esque interior. Four organic farm families from around the state, Scattergood, Grinnell Heritage Farm, Blue Gate Farm in Chariton and Genuine Faux (pronounced “fox”) Farm near Tripoli, have created a support group and have work days occasionally when they all meet at one farm, work all day, then share a big dinner. Lots of kids, dogs, incredible food and local wine (and home-made apple pie jam–that’s like my two favorite food groups in one jar!). 90% of the talk around the table was who was using which computer operating system, software program or how to set up computer networks on the farms. There’s so much technically wrong about the photo of the meal but I just couldn’t wait to sit down and eat.

roasted organic veggies/homemade jams in background

Fabulous weather lately after 6 grueling weeks of heat and humidity. Nancy and I took a bike ride at the Iowa City water plant this morning and although the prairie flowers are starting to dry up there’s still lots of birds, and flowers in the woods like this blue lobelia, and out in the open prairie Canadian thistle with a monarch and a bumblebee feeding on the nectar.

During a brief respite from the heat wave I photographed this dragonfly at the Iowa City waterplant prairie (8/2/11).

Oh, the horror—a veritable plague of Japanese beetles has descended on my grapes (and raspberries and roses and baby apple trees). I think Iowa needs a new outdoor sport. Forget dove hunting–someone needs to design a tiny shotgun specifically for hunting beetles (and some good recipes for preparing them).