A Grandmother's Joy in a Water Fountain

On the tenth day of Summer 2013, this grandmother took her 1-1/2 year old grandson to play in Iowa City's pedestrian mall water fountain. Jets of water spray patterns at different intervals allowing the two to enjoy several minutes of watery fun. Grandma Lonnie told me that she looks forward to spending time with her first and so far, only grandchild.

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Out of the Dust, Back into the Mud

The Iowa Department of Transportation in the 1930s touted the saying, 'Iowa- Out of the Mud' to attract drivers to roll through the state on fresh concrete roads. Prior to that time the image of a Model T slugging through axle deep mud was all too common a sight here in the tallcorn state. Today miles of gravel roads help tie rural Iowa with towns and cities. Its very common to see this sight (above) of a vehicle churning up rural roads and producing lingering plumes of fine partical dust. Overly abundant rains this year make this scene a rareity and may signal a return to mud conditions for some roads during this wet period.

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United Express Continues Long Tradition of Air Service to KCID

United Express routinely flies into the Eastern Iowa Airport (KCID) generally from Chicago and Denver hubs. These photos of arriving and departing aircraft are from last week's visit to the airport when a special NASA jet flew in for avionic testing. 

United Express flies Embraer ERJ-145s planes in and out of the major hubs to spoke metro markets like Cedar Rapids.

In the foreground is a waiting area where departing planes stop to receive final permission to get airborne. I'm no expert but believe that departing pilots talk to both the Cedar Rapids tower and regional control in Chicago for the go-ahead to fly.



Arriving aircraft make their way past the tower and eventually to the passenger terminal. In years past United Airlines flew 737s to Cedar Rapids. Now smaller capacity, but higher occupancy aircraft continues the decades long tradition of serving the City of Five Seasons.

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How to Authenticate an Old Aermotor Windmill

Out here in the Midwest, Aermotor windmills can still be seen on many farms. Several farm windmills are not in running order anymore; some are kept for display, but a few can still pump water or generate electricity by utilizing wind. This Aermotor is part of the Vinton, Iowa train depot museum display, so it's likely to have been brought to town from a country location.

To authenticate this as an official, old time windmill just observe the fin. In this case you will notice two bullet holes - which oddly confirm the structure as an old windmill. Some people love to zero-in on the fins for target practice. Maybe it was a fad or something done out of sheer boredom. In any case the quarter-size portals provide a rustic look to the fin but corrupt the intended aerodynamic qualities.

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Haying Time in Ioway

Don't know if this is the first or third or tenth hay cutting of the 2013 season. Plentiful rains this year created several opportunities for harvesting hay and other forage plantings. What is visible in this photo from south of Lisbon, Iowa is the baled hay, the growth of the next round of hay, knee high corn (dark green) and tall grasses in the field's waterway and in a roadside ditch (foreground.) Last year at this time, fields were so parched that hay was stiff, crunchie and yellow in color. Quite the opposite this year.

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Just Around the Bend

One line of the CRANDIC bends southward along the river road near East Amana, Iowa, close to mile post 17. A grain bin (for corn or soybeans) is one of many in the area - as you might guess for rural Iowa. The line was recently reworked between Cedar Rapids and Amana.

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Cattle Feed on Last Day of Spring Grass

In the Amana, Iowa countryside it is common to see herds of cattle munching on grass fields. Rainfall this spring delivered lots of moisture for consistent grass growth. Some fields are rotated for the cattle to graze during a particular period, then are herded to a different pasture, allowing for regeneration of food sources.

Meanwhile just a quarter mile from the above scene, a mother cow calls for her calf, who comes a running. Its a busy time as Summer begins.

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