Download or read book Land of the Fragile Giants written by Cornelia Fleischer Mutel and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Not since the early nineteenth century, when George Catlin and Karl Bodmer thoroughly sketched the area, have the rough-textured Loess Hills of western Iowa been artistically interpreted with any intensity. Now, inspired by this rugged landscape of steep-sided ridges and bluffs, Land of the Fragile Giants offers a collaboration of contemporary artists, scientists, and humanists all creating their interpretations of today's Hills. Looking at the natural and the human features of the renowned Hills, personal essays blend with works of art to create a verbal and visual panorama of the Loess Hills and a multidimensional view of a region that makes a deep impression on each visitor. Working closely with Iowa State University's Brunnier Art Museum, twenty-seven professional artists from Iowa and the Midwest visited the Loess Hills at various times throughout 1993 to gather insight for their projects. The result: a dramatic exhibition of paintings, sculpture, prints, and photographs that beautifully complement this volume's literary works. The twelve essayists also have strong ties to the Loess Hills. Each author has spent a significant portion of her or his life in the Hills. The scientists reinterpret their research within the framework of their experience; the humanists provide background and context for the scientists; the artists illuminate the whole. The art and essays in Land of Fragile Giants bring a meeting of broadly diverse minds and talents to an appreciation of the multitude beauties of Iowa's premier natural area. This striking and colorful volume will appeal to all those captivated by the Loess Hills and all general readers with interdisciplinary interests.
Download or read book Fragile Giants written by Cornelia Fleischer Mutel and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Loess Hills lie in a narrow band just east of the Missouri River and define most of the western boundary of Iowa. This is the natural history of these hills of wind-deposited silt. Some 100 illustrations (eight color and 60 b&w photos) enhance the text. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portl
Download or read book The Emerald Horizon written by Cornelia F. Mutel and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2008-03 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Emerald Horizon, Cornelia Mutel combines lyrical writing with meticulous scientific research to portray the environmental past, present, and future of Iowa. In doing so, she ties all of Iowa's natural features into one comprehensive whole. Since so much of the tallgrass state has been transformed into an agricultural landscape, Mutel focuses on understanding today’s natural environment by understanding yesterday’s changes. After summarizing the geological, archaeological, and ecological features that shaped Iowa’s modern landscape, she recreates the once-wild native communities that existed prior to Euroamerican settlement. Next she examines the dramatic changes that overtook native plant and animal communities as Iowa’s prairies, woodlands, and wetlands were transformed. Finally she presents realistic techniques for restoring native species and ecological processes as well as a broad variety of ways in which Iowans can reconnect with the natural world. Throughout, in addition to the many illustrations commissioned for this book, she offers careful scientific exposition, a strong sense of respect for the land, and encouragement to protect the future by learning from the past. The “emerald prairie” that “gleamed and shone to the horizon’s edge,” as botanist Thomas Macbride described it in 1895, has vanished. Cornelia Mutel’s passionate dedication to restoring this damaged landscape—and by extension the transformed landscape of the entire Corn Belt—invigorates her blend of natural history and human history. Believing that citizens who are knowledgeable about native species, communities, and ecological processes will better care for them, she gives us hope—and sound suggestions—for the future.
Download or read book Iowa s Geological Past written by Wayne I. Anderson and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Iowa's rock record is the product of more than three billion years of geological processes. The state endured multiple episodes of continental glaciation during the Pleistocene Ice Age, and the last glacier retreated from Iowa a mere (geologically speaking) twelve thousand years ago. Prior to that, dozens of seas came and went, leaving behind limestone beds with rich fossil records. Lush coal swamps, salty lagoons, briny basins, enormous alluvial plains, ancient rifts, and rugged Precambrian mountain belts all left their mark. In "Iowa's Geological Past, " Wayne Anderson gives us an up-to-date and well-informed account of the state's vast geological history from the Precambrian through the end of the Great Ice Age. Anderson takes us on a journey backward into time to explore Iowa's rock-and-sediment record. In the distant past, prehistoric Iowa was covered with shallow seas; coniferous forests flourished in areas beyond the continental glaciers; and a wide variety of animals existed, including mastodon, mammoth, musk ox, giant beaver, camel, and giant sloth. The presence of humans can be traced back to the Paleo-Indian interval, 9,500 to 7,500 years ago. Iowa in Paleozoic time experienced numerous coastal plain and shallow marine environments. Early in the Precambrian, Iowa was part of ancient mountain belts in which granite and other rocks were formed well below the earth's surface. The hills and valleys of the Hawkeye State are not everlasting when viewed from the perspective of geologic time. Overall, Iowa's geologic column records an extraordinary transformation over more than three billion years. Wayne Anderson's profusely illustrated volume provides a comprehensive and accessible survey of the state's remarkable geological past.
Download or read book Your Fragile Legacy written by and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Gardening in Iowa and Surrounding Areas written by Veronica Lorson Fowler and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the East Coast, so the story goes, newcomers are asked where they come from; on the West Coast they are asked what they do for a living; in Iowa people ask them, "How's your garden doing?" Maybe this is not a true story, but it does epitomize the importance of gardening for Iowans, blessed as they are with the rich glacial soil so hospitable to corn and soybeans. Rural and urban Iowans alike start planning next summer's garden in midwinter, when their plots are still snow-covered and deep-frozen; by state fair time their trees, shrubs, vegetables--including the ubiquitous zucchini--and flowers are thriving. Veronica Fowler's month-by-month guide to gardening in Iowa is a concise, valuable resource for all novice and experienced gardeners. Beginning in January, Fowler presents a monthly checklist to allow gardeners to prioritize seasonal tasks. Her winter chapters focus on garden design, cold-weather gardening, and starting plants from seeds; in spring she moves into soil preparation, shopping for plants, wildflower and rose cultivation, and lawn care basics; summer brings landscaping, flowers for cutting, and organic gardening; and fall involves cold frames, winter-harvest vegetables, forcing bulbs and perennials, trees and shrubs, and ground covers and vines best suited for Iowa's climate as well as information on mail-order suppliers, gardens to visit, where to go for help, and garden club memberships. Tips from some of the more than two thousand members of the Federated Garden Clubs of Iowa round out this plentiful harvest of useful advice. On a day in February when the wind chill is, well, chilling and the forecast calls for more of the same, the arrival of the first garden catalog of the season brings warmth to any gardener. Veronica Fowler's accessible, information-packed book will become part of every gardener's life both indoors and out.
Download or read book The Shape of Agency written by Joshua Shepherd and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers an account of agency which explains the control agents have over their behaviour, the nature of intentional action, the nature of skill, and the role that knowledge plays in extending the reach of an agent's action and skill.
Download or read book Global Giant written by E. Paus and published by Springer. This book was released on 2009-06-22 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume contains essays from outsourcing experts that explore the current state China. The essays cover everything from China's rapidly increasing demand for imported energy to global warming to the question of whether China is or is not rapidly becoming a world class power in military, economic, and 'soft power' terms.
Download or read book Fragile World written by Kerby Rosanes and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-03-16 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *A National Bestseller* From the internationally bestselling artist Kerby Rosanes, an extraordinary coloring book celebrating some of the incredible animals and landscapes that are disappearing around the globe Fragile World is a coloring book to savor, exploring fifty-six endangered, vulnerable, and threatened animals and landscapes—from the Tapanuli orangutan to the hawksbill turtle, from Philippine bat caves to the Baltic Sea. The illustrations are intricate, detailed, and unforgettable, both magisterial and whimsical. And the result is a stunning tribute to Mother Nature. Fragile World is a coloring experience that is at once vintage Kerby and unlike any other.
Download or read book The Nature of Nebraska written by Paul A. Johnsgard and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Where the eastern and western currents of American life merge as smoothly as one river flows into another is a place called Nebraska. There we find the Platte, a river that gave sustenance to the countless migrants who once trudged westward along the Mormon and Oregon trails. We find the Sandhills, a vast region of sandy grassland that represents the largest area of dunes and the grandest and least disturbed region of mixed-grass prairies in all the Western Hemisphere. And, below it all, we find the Ogallala aquifer, the largest potential source of unpolluted water anywhere. ø These ecological treasures are all part of the nature of Nebraska. With characteristic clarity, energy, and charm, Paul A. Johnsgard guides us through Nebraska?s incredible biodiversity, introducing us to each ecosystem and the flora and fauna it sustains and inviting us to contemplate the purpose and secrets of the natural world as we consider our own roles and responsibilities in our connection with it.
Download or read book Daddy Long Legs written by John Price and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2013 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Struggling to support his family and cynical about the state of the natural world, chronicles the author's efforts to appreciate the good things in life following a heart attack scare, including parenthood's unique joys and trials.
Download or read book Wildland Sentinel written by Erika Billerbeck and published by Bureau Oak Book. This book was released on 2020 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Wildland Sentinel, Erika Billerbeck takes readers along for the ride as she and her colleagues sift through poaching investigations, chase down sex offenders in state parks, search for fugitives in wildlife areas, haul drunk boaters to jail, perform body recoveries, and face the chaos that comes with disaster response.
Download or read book The Vascular Plants of Iowa written by Lawrence J. Eilers and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 1994-11 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anyone who works with the vascular plants of Iowa—researchers, conservationists, teachers, agricultural specialists, horticulturists, gardeners, and so on—and those who are simply interested in knowing more about the state's plants have long felt a need for a comprehensive flora of Iowa. This meticulously researched volume is a giant first step toward such a flora. This book consists of an extended essay on the natural history of the vascular plants of Iowa, a discussion of their origins, a description of the state's natural regions, and a painstakingly annotated checklist of Iowa vascular plants. The data, which apply to over 150 years, took more than 15 years to collect. All known vascular plants that grow and persist in Iowa without cultivation are included in the checklist. These are native plants, primarily, but a large number of introduced species have become established throughout the state. Also included are Iowa's major crop plants and some of its common garden plants. The lengthy checklist provides an accurate and up-to-date listing of species names and common names, synonyms, distribution, habitat, abundance, and origin; county names are given for very rare species, and the most complete information has been provided for all rare plants and troublesome species. The wealth of information is this well-organized, practical volume—which describes more than two thousand species from Adiantum pedatum, the northern maidenhair fern of moist woods and rocky slopes, to Zannichellia palustris, the horned pondweed of shallow marshes and coldwater streams—makes it possible to identify Iowa plants correctly. All midwesterners will want to own a copy of The Vascular Plants of Iowa.
Download or read book Iowa Underground written by Greg A. Brick and published by Big Earth Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Take a mysterious and fascinating tour through Iowa's underground treasures. This guide will reveal the state's subterranean attractions including show and wild caves, springs, mining sites and other geological and man-made sites. If you are a sport caver, a scientist, or curious tourist, this guide will give you all you need to know to begin exploring Iowa's underground world. IN THIS BOOK YOU'LL FIND - Detailed directions with helpful tips and precautions. - Descriptions of various lead- and coal-mining museums. - Fun stories and legends, including cave fairies, trolls, and ghost towns. - Additional information about Iowa's coal-mining past. - Facts about underground biological life. "A uniquely written perspective on the underground wonders of Iowa, by a premier Midwest cave historian." --Gary K. Soule, Speleo Historian and Trustee, American Spelean History Association
Download or read book Under Prairie Skies written by C. Thomas Shay and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2022-07 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Writer and anthropologist C. Thomas Shay traces the key roles of plants since humans arrived in the northern plains at the end of the Ice Age and began to hunt the region’s woodlands, fish its waters, and gather its flora.
Download or read book Time written by Briton Hadden and published by . This book was released on 1925 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Deep Nature written by John Pearson and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2009-10 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Photographers Linda and Robert Scarth have an incredible eye for that magic moment when small becomes beautiful. Matched with patience and skill, their eye for magic produces dazzling images of Iowa nature up close. Revealing the miniature beauties hidden among the patches of prairie, woodland, and wetland that remain in Iowa’s sadly overdeveloped landscape, the seventy-five color photographs in Deep Nature give us a breathtaking cross section of the state’s smallest inhabitants. The Scarths’ close-up images of showy orchis and northern monkshood, great spangled fritillary and painted lady, red-breasted nuthatch and eastern wood-pewee, ornate box turtle and gray treefrog, big bluestem and cotton-grass, and many other natural wonders look more like paintings than photographs. Beginning with an iridescent fly hovering over a neon-purple fringed gentian and ending with their iconic image of coneflowers refracted in dewdrops, they have created a sparkling jewelbox of images that will make us look at the small world around us with renewed appreciation. Attending to the small things in the fabric of nature is the Scarths’ source of artistic inspiration. Taking Walt Whitman’s “every leaf is a miracle” as their beginning, they celebrate not only each leaf but each feather, insect, dewdrop, flower, lichen, and intricate organism in the evolving web of life.
