A Diamond in the Rough.

After years of feeding the world, these Iowa farmers turn their attention to a gem that makes their corner of the earth more beautiful.

When my husband Gary attended college in Iowa, we spent many of our dating days picnicking in a forested area near the university. After graduation we moved to St. Louis but spent our weekends seeking out wooded areas away from the hustle and bustle.

Perhaps it was our country background, but we have always found a walk in the woods to be rejuvenating. Regardless of the season, it's always more romantic when you're surrounded by stately trees.

Our lives changed abruptly 33 years ago when a relative of my husband's offered to sell a farm near Griswold, Iowa, that had been in the family since it was first homesteaded 125 years ago. My husband was raised on a farm, and we made a part-business, part-emotional decision. We bought the land and became farmers.

Trees used to be considered hazardous to farming, and in many cases they still are. Combines and auger wagons don't mix well with tree branches that can snag and break equipment. Trees also consume moisture that crops need to grow. But trees have an important role to play, and farmers now are restoring wildlife habitat, developing riparian filter strips (where trees hold back sediment, helping to clean streams) and contour buffers (where trees prevent erosion), and restoring wetlands.

But farming temporarily left our minds the day our son Christopher showed us a piece of property he'd found for sale. Only a short distance from our home, it was filled with oak and hickory and it was absolutely gorgeous.

After years of sound business decisions, we made one based on pure emotion. We bought about 400 acres of what could be described as state park-quality land and named it Timber Crest.

This "diamond in the rough" is a hiker's dream filled with trees galore. Huge ravines from the ravages of former soil erosion combine with high quality river-bottom farmland.

Spurred on by the desire to create an exceptional place for future generations of our family to enjoy, Gary has spent countless hours and a not insignificant amount of resources to further enhance Timber Crest's habitat and natural beauty. He began by carving trails with a mower, making hiking through the brush possible. Accustomed to planting in acres, he's added a welcoming six acres of purple coneflower at the entry gate.

A native prairie of black-eyed Susans, Indian grass, big and little bluestem, ladino clover, and other native grasses quilts the 32 acres of bottomground near the river. Illinois bundle flower, butterfly milkweed, compass grass, and partridge peas nestle in another 20-acre plot. A donation from the local Pheasants Forever chapter helped create a food plot for the winter pleasure of pheasant, quail, wild turkey, and deer.

Last spring we went a step further, planting 10,500 trees and shrubs in a riparian buffer strip to protect a little river through the property. After years of concentrating our efforts on helping to feed the world, an admittedly gratifying job, we've turned our attention to making it more beautiful and have enhanced habitat in the process. Both endeavors have had their rewards.

Sharing special times hiking and camping at Timber Crest has given our family and others hours of enjoyment. Maybe it simply takes us back to those former days of pleasure off campus. I'm not sure. All I know is that we still find a walk in the woods to be as rejuvenating and romantic as ever.

Jackie Muller lives near Griswold, Iowa.