Nancy lived on a farm in eastern Iowa during her childhood years. Her parents raised beef cattle and feeder hogs. By today’s standards, the farm was small; it was only about 300 acres. Crops on the farm were used to feed the livestock and included corn, oats, and hay. Growing up on the farm led to Nancy’s passion for the outdoors.
Life On the Farm
Leisure Activities
Hiking
While growing up, Nancy hiked through the pastures and woods on the farm. Some of her favorite hiking adventures during her adolescent and young adult years involved morel hunting, black raspberry picking, checking the cattle, and taking hikes to the creek for a picnic or to take a dip in the swimming hole. Sometimes she would sit on a log in a quiet spot in the woods to work on her homework. Oftentimes, her dogs would join her on the hikes, but eventually, they would head home well before Nancy was ready to return to the house.
Bicycling
Besides hiking while growing up, Nancy rode her bicycle around the farm for countless hours. She would ride around the buildings and up the gravel road. On the way back while coasting down the hill, she’d feel the sensation of the wind blowing on her face. This brightened Nancy’s spirit as she rode down the hills near the farm. She felt exhilarated and enlivened.
Farm Chores
In addition to hikes in the woods and bicycling around the farm, Nancy often helped her dad with various chores around the farm. Four of her favorite chores included checking the cows, bottle feeding calves, shoveling silage, and raking hay. She enjoyed each of these farm tasks, and they provided her an opportunity to be outdoors.
Checking the Cows
First, Nancy enjoyed checking the cattle on the farm. This task, often referred to as “counting the cows”, had to be done to ensure the cattle were all accounted for. Nancy would go to the area where the cattle congregated in the pasture, either by walking, driving a tractor or driving the pickup truck. She would proceed to count both the cows and the calves.
If a cow was missing, she or a member of the family would look for it in the pasture. A cow would be by herself for various reasons. One would be to give birth to her calf. Checking on a cow at this stage is important to make sure she delivered successfully without problems. Sometimes a cow would be missing because she had perished for one reason or another. Other times, a cow would be off by herself for no apparent reason.
Bottle Feeding Calves
Second, Nancy fed milk replacer to any calves that were bottle fed. The calf’s mom most likely died while the calf was still nursing or while giving birth. Cows and calves are favorite animals of Nancy’s, and she enjoyed feeding calves. She taught one such calf, Comet, to lead with a rope. When Comet grew up and was a yearling, Nancy led this heifer up the gravel road to the nearby pasture. Her dad decided he would keep Comet and let her join his herd of cattle.
Shoveling Silage
Third, Nancy fed silage to the yearling cattle. Silage is hay that had been chopped before it dried. The chopped hay is blown up to the top of the silo. When the chopped hay is in the silo, it ferments and is used for livestock food. To feed it to the cattle, an auger moves it around so it blows down a chute. Once it reached the feed bunk, Nancy scooped the silage up with a scoop shovel and carried it to the end of the bunk. She continued carrying shovels of silage until the piles reached the silo.
Raking Hay
Fourth, Nancy helped her dad rake hay during the summer. Once she mounted one of the farm tractors, either the Farmall H or Farmall M or the Allis Chalmers D17, she felt like the world was hers. Her purpose was to rake the previously cut and dried hay into rows. Raking prepared the hay for the hay baler. One time she had trouble turning the tractor and rake around to enter the next row. It seemed jack-knifed to Nancy. There were no cellphones back then so she walked home to get her dad. In no time, he straightened the tractor and rake out. After that, Nancy continued raking until she finished the field.
Renewed Love for the Outdoors
During the summer of 2020, Nancy renewed her love for the outdoors. In April, she began to hike several times a week at several parks in rural eastern Iowa. Most of her hikes that summer were at Mines of Spain in rural Dubuque, Iowa, Swiss Valley Nature Center in rural Peosta, Iowa, and Whitewater Canyon in rural Bernard, Iowa.
Mines of Spain 
Swiss Valley Nature Center 
White Water Canyon
With a water bottle sling draped over her shoulder, flower and bird reference books, a notebook and a picnic lunch in her backpack, Nancy started on her hike. She noted the spring flowers she discovered, as well as birds she saw or heard. She photographed flowers and birds she saw. Nancy identified flowers and birds with the help of the reference books. Additionally, she noted changes in the landscape that had occurred from season to season. Often she would sit on a bench on a trail to eat her lunch while soaking in the beauty of the landscape.
On every hike, something waits to be discovered. New discoveries include new flowers in bloom, a bird she had not seen before, an animal that crossed her path, or a spectacular scene in front of her eyes. It was interesting to note how a particular landscape changed many times during the year as the seasons shifted from one to the other. These changes and discoveries inspired Nancy to write about her hiking adventures. Read about these adventures and discoveries in her blogs here.
Hiking: A Time for Reflection
While alone in nature, Nancy often becomes spiritually refreshed. For her, it feels like she and God are together on a retreat while on a hike. It is during these quiet times that she reconnects with God. Solitude with God clears her mind when there are many things going on in her everyday life. She prays and often discusses life’s happenings with God while on her outdoor adventures. Hiking helped her get through the days during the Pandemic in 2020.
Sometimes Nancy relaxes on a park bench and enjoys the peace and quiet. She often sits to listen to the sounds of nature. These sounds can be the water flowing over the shallow rocks of Catfish Creek, an owl hooting in the distance, or a songbird chirping in a nearby tree. Occasionally, she hears the bellowing of a cow that is located in a neighbor’s pasture. Listening to the sounds of nature while relaxing on a park bench reminds Nancy that God gave us this beauty. Quieting her mind in a nature setting makes it easier to listen for answers to her prayers.
Nancy often feels God’s presence when she discovers new things, such as seeing a lizard on a bench or identifying a bird she hasn’t seen before. Additionally, a spectacular scene or a natural rock formation may cause her to be wonderstruck, Moments of amazement and wonderment give her a sense of “Wow! How can this be?”. These moments remind her that God gave us this beauty. It is our responsibility to take care of the environment so generations to come will have these same opportunities to see the beauty of the earth like we are able to.
Traveling
Nancy loves to travel. Her goal is to travel in all 48 of the mainland states. To date, she’s been in 27 states. Nancy’s preferred method of travel is by car so she can drive through the backroads and take note of the scenery. The landscape in each state has something unique to see. It is all part of the beauty of nature.
Nancy’s dog Pippy used to accompany her on the trips across the country. Pippy loved to ride in the car. While loading the car, Pippy would wait at the door for his turn to be taken to the car. He knew he was going to accompany her on the journey. Through the 10 1/2 years that Nancy and Pippy were together, he was in 20 states. Sadly, Pippy is no longer with us.
Oftentimes, Nancy pulls off the highway when she sees a sign for an attraction that looks interesting. She has been to most of the states west of the Mississippi River with the exception of Washington and Oregon.
Her favorite place to visit is Yellowstone National Park. The park left her in a sense of wonderment both times she had been there. The feeling of wonder when in Yellowstone makes Nancy want to return again.
Nancy usually takes her bicycle on her vacations. Riding a bike through the countryside gives her a different view of the scenery from what she would get while riding in the car. One of her favorite bike rides was along the Pacific Ocean on the Marvin Braude Trail in Santa Monica, California, in March 2010. Although, it was a shorter ride due to time restraints, seeing the spectacular ocean view was well-worth the time!
Other Interests
Besides spending time outdoors, Nancy has several other areas of interest. One hobby she enjoys is crocheting, which she has done since she was in middle school. Several projects she crocheted over the years include afghans, kitchen towels, dishcloths, potholders, hats, and scarves. She also crocheted stuffed pumpkins, stuffed pumpkin pies, and a snowman pillow.
In addition, Nancy loves to cook and tries new recipes often. She also tends to her flower gardens. It’s relaxing to tend to the gardens. Her back yard is full of color in July and August.
Nancy enjoys folk dance music and loves to play recorder at Folklore Village dance events. She plays with the musicians at the folk dance / potluck nights at Folklore Village, near Dodgeville, Wisconsin, where she also likes to dance waltzes, schottisches, contra dance and mixers. Her favorite dance music is Scandinavian, but she also likes bluegrass, contra dance, and English Country music.
To this day, Nancy enjoys visiting the farm and seeing the farm animals, especially cows and calves. The saying is “you can take the girl off the farm but you can’t take the farm away from the girl.” This holds true for Nancy.