The Green, Green Grass of Home.

Well, of Todd's hometown anyway.

One of the days that we were back in Iowa for Thanksgiving, my sweet, very patient husband took me out for a drive in the countryside. We had no firm plan other than to find some cool stuff to photograph. It was c-c-c-cold and somewhat rainy, so my sock monkey hat and mittens had their job cut out for them. We turned off the highway onto an unknown gravel road and picked our way along by whim and wisdom, and found enough cool stuff to shoot that I filled a whole 2GB card! Graveyards, barns, windmills are the stuff that makes up the Iowa countryside. Here are several of my favorite barns.

This is the first farm we noticed. There's something about red barns and windmills that is so picturesque. Maybe it's the contrast to the green grass, but it just seems so peaceful and homey.
At this little set up, I was greeted by a very friendly golden retriever, who gave up and left me alone when he found I had nothing of interest for him.
This cow, whom we affectionately named Trey (you know, for the 3 distictive spots), got photographed simply because we liked his spots. He lived down a "minimum maintainance" dirt mud road. I really wanted to test out the landyatchs 4-wheel drive, but Todd's experience on such roads won out and we turned back. It was probably a good thing because we nearly got stuck trying to turn around! I guess when the county posts a sign that reads, "Enter at your own risk" it really is a good indication that you should steer clear (pun intended!)!
I don't know about you, but this barn just makes me want to host a Ho-Down! It just looks like a warm inviting place to have fun.
As we got closer to home I caught these next 2 pictures on the fly. I just love how the firewood is stacked so neat and orderly. This place was clearly Amish.

Beautiful. This jewel is just around the corner...
...and has an Amish neighbor across the way.
And this set wouldn't be complete without a picture of the family homestead. The fondations of this house date back 200 years. Todd's aunt and uncle currently live here. I think the trees are as impressive as anything.