An Interview with Ann Johnson: Part 2

Tell us about the challenges of photographing dragonflies. How about the challenges of creating a laminated guide?
I really don’t consider myself a great photographer, so the images I have captured have been pure luck in getting good lighting and good composition. For the most part, success depends on just getting outdoors and making the most of your opportunities. With the advent of digital cameras, you can afford to just keep shooting and hope you have something when you get home. The greatest challenge in doing a laminated guide is to succinctly summarize the most important information. Those people I have managed to capture into the world of looking more seriously at dragonflies will no doubt find a need for more comprehensive information, but my intent in creating the laminated guide was to create an interest in these winged jewels.

What has changed in the outdoor world since your first days of enjoying and protecting it? What’s better, what’s worse?
Over the past twenty years or so, I have seen so much more activity in protecting natural areas for future generations by both the public and the private sectors. Wetlands have been restored, and grasslands and woodlands have been protected and managed for species diversity. Soil and water conservation has moved further forward in the general consciousness. But what has happened to the birds? When I was a kid, migration was a real natural phenomenon with trees full of warblers and vireos. Today the numbers of individuals seem to have dropped dramatically. Did we wait too long?

Ann Johnson, Dragonflies and Damselflies in Your Pocket: A Guide to the Odonates of the Upper Midwest

Plant of the Week

Locoweed
Oxytropis lambertii Pursh
other common names: crazyweed, Lambert crazyweed, stemless locoweed, purple locoweed
Oxytropis: from Greek oxys, meaning “sharp,” and tropis, meaning “keel,” for the pointed keel of the flower, which distinguishes this genus from Astragalus
Lambertii: in honor of Aylmer Bourke Lambert, from whose living plant collection Pursh described this species
Legume family: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)



Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

An Interview with Ann Johnson: Part 1

You’ve described yourself as a birder gone bad; in other words, you've switched loyalties from birds to dragonflies. How did this happen?
Actually, that’s my little attempt at humor. I am still very much a birder. Most birders, however, find the lull in activity between the end of breeding season and fall migration to be a perfect season to still get outdoors and really pay special attention to other critters in this big old world of ours. Butterflies and dragonflies, more winged creatures, are a logical extension of a birder’s curiosity. Some of my birding friends roll their eyes while others have jumped on the bandwagon and frequently send me photos to help with identification. Birders really are expanding their horizons.

What other insects or plants or animals are you especially interested in?
Most of my life I have been a birder, and birds will always have a special place in my life. The expansion to learning about the Odonata has also triggered a new awareness of such things as butterflies, robber flies, bees, etc. The summer I spent working on a project with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources opened my eyes to the world of herps, and the field techs actually got a photo of me holding a snake. I never thought that would happen but I now find myself trying to identify snakes, frogs, and anything else I encounter. Mammals are also fascinating, and I am still trying to see my first Iowa bobcat. Someday I really want to encounter a mountain lion, preferably at a safe distance!

Ann Johnson, Dragonflies and Damselflies in Your Pocket: A Guide to the Odonates of the Upper Midwest

Plant of the Week

Pale beardtongue
Penstemon pallidus Small
other common names: woodland beardtongue
Penstemon: from Greek penta, meaning “five,” and stemon, meaning “stamen”
Pallidus: meaning “pale”
Snapdragon family: Scrophulariaceae

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

This Week in Iowa Nature

Attend the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar early this month and hike the Sylvan Runkel State Preserve to see outstanding vistas of the Loess Hills and adjacent Missouri River valley.

Jean C. Prior and James Sandrock, The Iowa Nature Calendar

Plant of the Week

Large-flowered beardtongue
Penstemon grandiflorus Nutt.
other common names: shell-leaf penstemon, wild foxglove, Canterbury bells, showy beardtongue, pink beardtongue
Penstemon: from Greek, meaning “five stamens”
Grandiflorus: meaning “large-flowered”
Snapdragon family: Scrophulariaceae

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

An Interview with Jean C. Prior & James Sandrock: Part 3

What advice would you give to beginning naturalists?
Jean: Explore patches of nature around your neighborhood or farm that catch your eye. Watch and listen for the birds, animals, and insects that live there or come to feed and drink there. Keep a journal of what you observe or hear over a week’s time or during a season. Find a friend or a group of people interested in doing these things too. Local nature centers and county conservation boards are great places to start. Begin a collection of books that will help you identify features and inhabitants of the natural world. Iowa’s natural high points are not a matter of elevation, size, or abundance. Without dramatic mountains and canyons, midwestern naturalists have to focus closely to pick out variations in topography and habitat. Further, the Midwest is one of the most altered landscapes in the country because its climate, soils, and topography are so well suited to agriculture. Iowa’s remaining natural areas are relatively small and widely scattered. There are, however, natural gems throughout the state to be discovered and appreciated all the more.

Jim: Choose the right parents! Or relatives, friends, teachers! Anyone who will introduce you early to the outdoors and the natural world. Get outdoors early, late, in all seasons—look—listen—learn! If you find something that interests you—birds, plants, insects, lichens, rocks, clouds—get an appropriate field guide at the library or bookstore (field guides make great gifts), and read and study it. Sturdy binoculars (another fine gift) will help greatly. Go! Do! Learn on your own! There are plenty of things to see in your own neighborhood—then take on the county, the state, and the world!

What are your favorite natural areas in the Midwest?
Jean: My favorite natural areas include creeks and rivers—especially where rock outcrops occur, sites along the Upper Mississippi River valley, sites among the glacial lakes of north-central Iowa, and within the Loess Hills of western Iowa. These are places I returned to constantly for many years. Beyond Iowa’s borders, each year we return to the north shore of Lake Superior and the Platte River country of central Nebraska. And in recent years, Jim has introduced me to scenic birding loops throughout Van Buren County and Lacey-Keosauqua State Park in particular.

Jim: Whenever I can, I go to the Sand Hills of Nebraska, the Flint Hills of Kansas, the woods and lakes of northern Minnesota, the coast and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, and Van Buren County in southeast Iowa. But, hey, that’s just me.

Jean C. Prior and James Sandrock, The Iowa Nature Calendar