Sandy Dyas at the Englert

You are cordially invited to the Englert Theatre Gallery Reception tonight from 6-7 pm, in the theater's 2nd floor Douglas and Linda Paul Gallery prior to Greg Brown's performance, honoring local photographer Sandra Dyas. The gallery show will feature some rarely seen pieces from the project that lead to her beloved collection of photos featured in the University of Iowa Press publication Down to the River. Ms. Dyas will be at the reception and the music of those featured in the book will be playing. Hors d'oeuvres will be served, with a cash bar. Free and open to the public.

If you're interested in seeing more of Sandy's work, check out Down to the River. It documents the area’s vibrant live music scene, with its distinctive combination of folk, blues, roots/Americana, and rock sounds. The sixty photos in Down to the River capture her twenty years of photographing live music venues and shooting portraits of musicians in and around the city, resulting in a collection of images as compassionate and honest as the music itself.

Tree of the Week

Austrian Pine, Pinus nigra Arnold

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS: Leaves in bundles of 2, stout, 4 to 6 inches long, rather stiff but resisting breakage when bent in two. Buds coated with a white waxy substance. Cones 2 to 3 inches long, falling intact (i.e., basal scales not missing); scales with tiny deciduous prickles. Bark divided into large, dark gray plates, more or less covered with lighter-colored scales.

SIMILAR TREES: Red pine and ponderosa pine are the only other pines planted in Iowa that regularly have leaves more than 4 inches long. Red pine has brown buds and, when mature, reddish bark. Ponderosa pine has at least some bundles with 3 needles. Fallen cones of both species have missing basal scales. (Small Austrian pines sometimes have needles that are shorter than 4 inches. These trees might be mistaken for Scots pine, but Austrian pine has fat whitened buds and Scots pine has slim red-brown buds.)

IOWA DISTRIBUTION: Planted throughout the state.

Forest and Shade Trees of Iowa (Third Edition), by Peter J. van der Linden and Donald R. Farrar

Gardening in November

Monday, November 13

I've been sorting through my two plastic cartons of CURRENT VEGETABLE SEEDS -- A - O and P - Z. From Arugula to Zucchini, looking first for the sure keepers, the ones that did so well this year and before (if I've grown them before) that I plan to grow them again. Like standard arugula. Greencrop, Jade, and Rocdor beans. Green Comet broccoli. Cashmere cauliflower. Cross Country picklers. Ichiban eggplants. Tres Fin endive. Buttercrunch, Simpson Elite, and purple oak leaf lettuce. Ace and Biscayne peppers. German Giant radishes. Sunburst pattypen. Space flat-leaf spinach. Ruby Swiss chard. Big Beef, Brandywine, and Enchantment tomatoes. Tokyo turnips. Burpee zucchini. Also though I didn't grow it this year, Ambrosia cantaloupe. For taste, abundance, hardiness, and beauty, those are the best I've seen. As for the rest, the sure losers and the possible keeps, it's time to consult the Vegetable Review Committee. For in just a few months, the time will come to be ordering and starting seeds for the spring garden.

Carl H. Klaus, My Vegetable Love: A Journal of a Growing Season

This Week in Iowa Nature

November 16—19: Away from city lights, scan the eastern horizon for the annual Leonid meteor shower, bits of cosmic debris streaking through the night sky.

The Iowa Nature Calendar, by Jean Prior and James Sandrock