So I have said that I love where I live many times. But it really is a gem of a place. So got off work yesterday at 4:30 and went home and loaded up my one person inflatable pontoon boat and headed out to “no tell 'em” lake in the heart of North Iowa. I was headed out to investigate a finding that I made the previous week.
On that trip fishing I found an odd red floating “thing” in the water. Looked like a little red corky, a small float about the size of your thumb nail. Didnt pay much attention to it. But after fishing a bit a started seeing them all over. Upon picking one up out of the water it was organic and like a berry. I then started seeing them everywhere and on bushes under the flooded water.
Not having any clue, my first and only thought was that they looked like cranberries. But I have wandered around N Iowa all my life, fished these lakes over and over. Never seen anything like this and never heard of us having cranberries.
After contacting our local ag extension office and a commercial grower for help with the ID they both wanted pictures. So yesterday I went back out to do just that.
Today the ag extension guy confirmed they are indeed cranberries but not the native wild one which is rare in Idaho. He said these are definitely something someone had introduced. He said historically there had been attempts to have commercial grow operations in this area as it is very boggy. But nothing was ever successful. So he believes these are remnants of that operation.
