A flyover state, Ioway
Bahkho-je tribe
distant fields of stubbled corn, bull
thistle, white tailed deer.
“We’re friendly”, insular with
tranquil town squares, and
backroad diners that say,
eat cheap, “Eat Maid-Rite (since 1926)”
Soybeans and corncribs
The Grain Belt buckle
flatland? not as flat as
you think, darn
nice place to
raise kids and
horses and corn.
here. John Deer
sweet-smelling alfalfa
cool farm ponds and
ruby ripe tomatoes
Cornsilk, goldfinch, sweeping
dark tornadoes.
Raccoon River.
Corn stalks.
A slow sort of country, “our
liberties we prize and our rights will maintain”
Farmland, bottomland…
Family pride.
You have captured the Iowa that I do miss. After living in Switzerland for 34 years, and visiting Iowa every once and awhile… when I do go back, these are the things that make my heart sing.
Thank you for stopping by; we are enjoying the crisp, cold air and wide horizons of the Midwest
Nice one, Monica, you have captured the essence of the corn belt states… not only Iowa.. Great pics too! You gotta visit here again… we be the wooded states.. ah. Mike
Love rhe post and the pics. Most favorite time of the year.
Miss the walnut, chestnut and weeping willow trees of my Michigan, too!
Wow- beautiful photos- as always. I love to stop by your blog and seee what you are up to:) Thanks for the inspiration…
Same here, Amanda! I'm glad to connect on FB too; I run into Melissa from time to time as well. Love it.
I remember being so blown away the first time we drove across Iowa, really taken by surprise by the beauty ~ you certainly captured it here in these gorgeous images!
Thank you, windrock. We spent Thanksgiving in Iowa with family; we rarely go back during the busy holiday times, but anymore, the airlines are packed no matter when you fly. Sprawl and malls…but still some beautiful farm land left.
Beautiful images of a land I love. I was born and raised in central Iowa. I buried my mother there a year-and-a-half ago. After the small ceremony, the family gathered at the Maid-Rite to share memories, including those of my dad. Already 30 years in the cemetery, he took me fishing as a child, on the Raccoon River.
I've always known the place formed me. I'm just learning its values still inform my life.
Agree. I believe we are deeply influenced by the land we inhabit; it shapes us in ways we may not be conscious of, until we take the time to ponder and consider its influence. Thank you, shore acres.