SOMETIMES I NEED JUST to get out into the countryside—to reconnect with the land, to see the sky, to feel the pulse of the earth.
I need to see farms,
follow rural roads,
hear the crunch of tires upon gravel,
pass by rows of grain bins,
notice the oddities of signage,
the art of the land.
All of this I need to satisfy that part of me which misses rural life. I shall always retain my farm girl spirit, my connection to my rural roots despite my now decades-long absence.
Note: All photos are edited to create a more artsy look. All scenes were photographed in Le Sueur County, Minnesota.
© Copyright 2018 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
It just looks cold to me. 🙂 Pretty but cold. Bring on spring.
It definitely still looks and feels like winter here in Minnesota. More snow mixed with rain forecast for the weekend. We missed out on last weekend’s storm. But my hometown got nine inches.
Those are some great last of Winter shots!
Thank you. I hope it’s “last of winter.” Soon, anyway. I had a little fun using editing tools. Gotta play occasionally.
Love to see all these things too – but we could do with a little less snow.
I won’t disagree with that.
You can take the girl out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the girl!
You are absolutely right on that. It’s good to hear from you, Susan.
Love these photos, Audrey. So white and clean. I’ve been driving over to Iowa the last couple of weekends, and love the rural scenery there too.
The landscape of Iowa would definitely be similar in many places.
…and I love to do the same, but when it’s been awhile I can always count on you with a new post of country and all the beauty in it! Thanks for sharing Audrey, I gotta get out soon! I do love that first photo of the lone barn. It reminds me of the one that sits on the farmstead on my Great Uncle Grants land, down near Mabel.
I’m delighted to have taken you for a drive in the country today.
Love that very first photo! They’re all good, but that one really grabbed me with its starkness. Glad you got to reconnect.
“Starkness” is exactly what I saw and intended to capture in this image. I’m not surprised you came up with that word.
I want to reconnect too! Mountains and such are great but……….there’s no place like farms and prairies for this ol Minnesota boy! Your pictures always bring me back home and can’t wait to once again drive the rural roads.
And we’ll welcome you back to Minnesota with arms stretched prairie wide.
I love the photos of the mid-western barns, farmhouses, silos, and country roads – all which bring up deep memories of my childhood.Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome.
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Beautiful pictures. You can almost hear the crunch of the snow and the smell of decaying leaves and grass
I’m glad you get that strong sense of being there from these photos. That pleases me.