Barns and Corn Fields in Iowa

As we flew over Iowa and I looked down at the patchwork of cornfields, I wondered what would keep our interest on our drive back to Atlanta.

The harvest was a few weeks away so the farms were devoid of activity and people as is often the case in farm regions I have been in.  I had my ITunes ready for a long drive with my favorite music.

We picked up some fruit, fresh bread and pastries at a wonderful and very large farmers market in Des Moines and purchased cold cuts and drinks at a local market for a picnic lunch.  We might not find a restaurant on the way back and we thought we would find a nice area to stop for lunch.  As it turned out we drove down a small country road and enjoyed our lunch along side a corn filed.  Well how appropriate was that.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t as dull as I had expected.  The beauty of the barns, silo’s and movement in the sky was mesmerizing.  As in other trips where we encountered farmland or vineyards, it is quite, peaceful and farmers have meticulous respect for the land. The clean shiny silos and white barns provided breaks of interest as well as the human element that sometimes gets lost in long distances of endless landscape.

The striking difference from the farmland I’m use to seeing in Switzerland, France, Germany and even Italy was the flat the terrain. Yet the deep green corn reaching for the sun, white barns with silver metal roofs glistening in the sunlight, and round metal silos created unique images.

Life seems timeless, as if nothing had changed.

Yet we know that these farms are hi-tech and provide food around the world. Iowa produces more corn than most countries and corn can be found in many products such as animal feed, starches, oils, sweeteners and even ethanol (Iowa Corn Growers Association).

I have found that if you look hard enough, you often find beauty in unexpected places.

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