Iowa Photo Essay

Until Janice married and moved to Iowa, I had never been there. In my mind's eye, the view was limited. I pictured flat land covered in corn. Most of all, I pictured a land far from where I lived. 

Since then, I have discovered my car can find the way to Iowa, no matter where I start out from. It has gotten me there from Florida, from Pennsylvania, and now, from Georgia. 

And I've discovered the corner of Iowa that she lives in.

The first thing I learned was that I was right. Iowa is flat.

And there are corn and soybean fields for as far as the eye can see.

But each time I return, I discover the little things that make Iowa special. 

I love walking down the gravel road at the end of the day. 

As I walk I notice things.

Like the textures in the fields.

In summer the roadside gives way to green soybean fields. 

In the fall, as I walk, my eyes are drawn to the rows, weaving their way into the distance. They are no longer green, but dry, and ready for harvest. 

But if you come earlier, when they are changing, the fields are bright gold, and the leaves remind me of gold coins fluttering in the breeze. I think I've found the pot at the end of the rainbow.

I am always drawn to the out buildings, sheds and old barns. The peeling paint, cracked windows and leaning timbers tell a tell of history. They have been here a long time. If only they could talk.

(No worries, though. The farmers have plenty of tales to share when they have time to sit and talk.)

An old pump rises above the weeds.

Shadows follow me on a late afternoon walk. But I love how the light glows on the buildings at this time of day.

An early moon rises over the corn.

An old fence still lays claim to an abandoned homestead, keeping the fields at bay.

Winter, 

Spring, 

Summer,

or Fall,

the charm of the mid-west may be more subtle than the grandeur of the Rockies,

but it is just as enduring. 

So each year I come back to see my family. But with each visit, I am captured once again by the landscape. 

And I look for new ways to rediscover her part of Iowa.

Kittens, Kittens, Everywhere

Hanging out with the big guys. Can you find 6 cats? 

In both of my last 2 posts about the cats at Janice's I've referred to the kittens. Well, here they are in all their adorableness. When we first arrived, they had just turned 4 weeks old and had escaped the birthing box, to explore the porch. They've grown a bit now and are venturing outside, but here is some of the cuteness I had to endure while I was there. I love kittens, but between my husband who is more immune to their antics, and my other daughter who is allergic, I've had to enjoy them vicariously.

They live on the porch and have full run of that space. Walking in and out is a dangerous sport, both for them and for us. The other night, one got its paw caught in the door as I was closing it. He limped for awhile, but I was relieved to find him running and climbing the next day as if nothing had happened.

Thank goodness at least with this litter I can easily tell them apart. Tiger Tom's genetics are apparent and this litter has 2 tiger kittens.

Tiger is my favorite. Even at 4 weeks he was adventurous, but sweet when I picked him up. He was calm and relaxed as I held him against me. The others dug into my shirt, holding on for dear life while mewing frantically.

Tiger is a true tiger with no special markings.

Tiger in a box!

Mittens is the tiger kitten with 4 white paws.

Tuxedo is a black kitten with a white front and 4 white paws.

                    

Bob is the all-black kitten. Which means, in another 6 months I won't be able to tell him from the others.

The kittens are adorable. As the weeks have passed, they have become ever braver, and more playful.

At first, just looking over the step was a challenge.

    

Now they are climbing on top of chairs, into boxes and getting just about anywhere they choose.

They are beginning to venture outside a little bit. Tuxedo seems the most interested, which is good, because he is also the least interested in using the kitty litter on the porch! However, as cold as it's been in Iowa this week, it may be awhile before they can live outside. But as you can see from the first photo, they definitely have a family group to snuggle up to when they finally do move outside.

As cute as they are, none left with me in the RV when we started home on Monday.

And fortunately, there weren't any hitchhikers UNDER the bus either! Georgia is a much further ride, then heading over to the next farm.

Sorry Jan. We left them ALL for you!

Mama Kitty and Stubs

When Janice first moved here, there was a sweet black and white cat she nicknamed Mama Kitty, for good reason. Mama kept them well supplied with little black and white mouse catchers.  


The cats lived in barns and out buildings and except for coming to the house for food or water, they kept to themselves.

When Mama Kitty was nursing her kittens, she kept her distance from Jan, but when she wasn’t caring for little ones, she was friendly enough to accept some petting.  

Papa Kitty was a black cat with stubby, flat ears named Stubs. Mama Kitty and Stubs had an interesting, and rather unusual relationship for a pair of barn cats. Stubs would disappear when the kittens had grown big enough to fend for themselves, but when Mama Kitty was caring for babies, he was always around and helped her take care of them. Although Stubs accepted Jan and the family, he was never friendly enough to come up to them. And the youngun’s followed suit. They would scatter when people came near.

Oftentimes a cat would hide under a vehicle in the yard, but most were wary enough of humans, and when someone walked toward the car, there would be a flash of black and white shooting away into the bushes. Sometimes, though, they would perch on the undercarriage out of the wind, perhaps to get closer to engine heat. And that would lead to new adventures for an unsuspecting, but very agile kitty. I’ve mentioned before that farm cats come and go. Several of Janice’s cats have managed to hitch rides to new places, on the family car.

Last fall, Janice took the kids to an orchard 50 miles away in order to go through the corn maze. When we got out of the van, a woman said she thought she heard a cat. As Janice leaned over to check under the car, a black and white cat shot out from the undercarriage and dashed away into the field. He had ridden the entire way under the car!

On more than one occasion Mike has discovered a black and white cat from home hopping off from under the car, at his workplace 30 miles away.

And Susie, the black cat that is currently living here, hitched a ride on someone’s car from a neighboring farm.

Mama and Stubs aren’t here anymore. Last winter, Mama moved to the farm down the road. I can only hope that Stubs is somewhere around there.

Susie now reigns as the kitten producer. Tiger Tom is co-producer. But he’s not the faithful father that Stubs was.

Susie is sweet and the kittens are adorable, but I have to admit that I miss seeing Stubs and Mama Kitty. They really were a special pair.

Black Cat Farm

When we arrived at Janice’s house a week ago, we were greeted by a bevy of cats. This is a great change from years past, when I would drive in and the cats would scatter. 

Janice’s cats were typical farm cats. Farm cats come and go. They are outdoor cats. Some are wild/feral. Some are just wary. They roam from farm to farm. They take off for parts unknown. And unfortunately, coyotes help maintain the population.  Janice’s cat population used to be black and white cats. That has changed, as well.

Last winter was exceptionally cold. Most of her cats usually found shelter in the various barns and out buildings, but a few were very young and were living more or less out in the open. When the temperatures plummeted well below zero, Janice piled some old blankets on the enclosed porch and caught as many of them as she could. Most of the cats were happy to sleep inside at night but scampered outside first thing in the morning.  One black cat, a single young one, liked the porch and was always ready to come back in at night. ‘Susie’ had found a home. And then, Susie gave birth to 4 black kittens. The kittens grew, stayed and are now happily ensconced in their surroundings.

They hover near the door when the wind blows.

They roam around the yard when the weather’s nice and hide under the trees at night to sleep.

They guard the place from various perches.

Warren was very happy. Warren loves cats. By the time the weather warmed up, and the cats could go outside, a very happy relationship had been solidified between the cats and the family, especially Warren. The end result of that cold winter was a new crop of tame farm cats.

The cats have names. Kisser is Warren’s favorite. (He’s a licker.) Susie is mom to several of the others.  And Scar is the one with the single white whisker! To Larry and I they all look alike. And noticing one white whisker takes a pretty good eye.

Susie has apparently found a beau. The porch is currently home to 4 adorable little kittens; 2 tigers, and 2 (more!) black cats.  The population may change in the future. But for now…..

Welcome to Black Cat Farm.

 (By the way, all of these pictures were taken at the same time. They are not the same cats! I've counted 7 so far, but who really knows....?)