"There is a place in northwest Iowa called Island Grove and in that place there is a lake. Carved long ago by a retreating glacier, the lake is small by most standards. A person can canoe from its shore to the small island near its center in a matter of minutes. Oaks with summer leaves a shade darker than the lake itself fringe the shoreline and crowd the island. At the lake’s southern end, its waters mingle with a slough which flows into another lake. Together, these three bodies of water—separated by narrow isthmuses—form a lopsided circle, enclosing the grove at their center as if it were itself an island. A long time ago, no one knows exactly when, the lake was given the name Mud."