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.
We drove through IA on our way to AK. All i remember is FLAT. :) My friend Julie lives in IA. They are a farming family. I think I would miss the rolling hills. But still.... I love barns and farms and wide expanses of land.
ReplyDeleteOne of the real surprises happens at night, but I don't have a camera that would show it. It is the lights. I usually leave her place very early in the morning to head home and I'm surprised at all the lights I see. It makes me feel less alone as I drive through the dark. Dusk to dawn lights surround you. They look close by, but they could be several miles away. In fact, at night you can see red lights blinking on the windmills. I was stunned the first time I saw them blinking on the horizon and had to ask my daughter what the red lights were. They were 30 miles away!
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