Draco Hill is bursting with activity of both the human and natural kind!

We’ve hosted 20 writers from the University of Iowa International Writers Program, including accomplished playwrights, fiction and nonfiction authors from Indonesia, Portugal, Ivory Coast, Russia and many more countries.

We’ve also had some great conversation while getting lots of work done with our latest WWOOFer, this one from Israel, Itamar. He leaves us today to hitchhike across the country and we wish him the best.

It’s been an amazing month showing people around prairie that is bursting with Indiangrass and Round-headed Bushclover, a garden that is now referred to affectionately as the “Tomato Hornworm CAFO” but is also supplying us with Cherokee corn, lots and lots of peppers and watermelons galore!

Maximillian sunflowers have been my only success on the edge of the driveway, but they’re making up for other efforts.

The insect world has been enjoying the last summer here as well. Can you count the number of bees in this one photos? It’s flabbergasting.

And of course, butterflies…

Finally, turkeys have been showing up more…

and our old favorite autumn olive –  or what’s left of it after our years of reducing it – will become jam again this season.