Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Another beautiful day dawns in Minnesota March 17, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:18 AM
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I raked leaves from flower beds on Friday.

SATURDAY MORNING, 7:15, and already the day holds the promise of record temperatures and of sunshine interlaced with rain showers.

I can smell spring in the undeniable, distinct scent of cold earth turned to the sun, of leaves air drying.

The morning air snaps with a briskness sweeping through the open kitchen door to curl around my bare feet.

I can hear the incessant, piercing whistle of a cardinal calling for a mate too early on a weekend.

My neighbors’ windows are still shuttered to the day, their eyes closed in sleep to this beautiful morning that unfolds.

But I’ve been awake for several hours as seems my habit these days. As I ponder the hours that stretch before me, I glance out the window, see the flashing lights of an ambulance, the golden globe of the sun, a red pick-up pulling a boat.

Turning back to my computer, I wonder what my day will hold. Yesterday drew me outdoors to rake deep layers of leaf mulch from flower beds, to clip back hydrangea. I worry that I may be pushing the season, exposing the new growth of perennials to the frost that is certain to come. Yet, I could not leave these plants buried, struggling to push through the leaves, emerging weak-stemmed and yellow.

The leaves are bagged now and shoved into garbage cans lining the limestone path my husband laid years ago from the backyard patio to the side yard gate.

Last evening we dined on the patio, at a card table topped with a vintage floral tablecloth. My husband carried out the homemade pizza and the mugs of beer, our usual Friday night fare.

As we savored the chicken barbecue ranch pizza, I considered that this must be a first for us—dining on our patio in mid March. In Minnesota.

Friday night alfresco dining in Minnesota, in March.

Around 5 p.m. Friday, I photographed the sun slipping behind the wooded hillside that abuts my backyard. I positioned myself to shoot the sun through a gap in branches on a single tree.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Take this weather, California March 16, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:10 AM
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Daffodils, the first flowers of spring in Minnesota, are springing up during this unseasonably warm March weather.

OH, HOW I TRIED, resisted, told myself not to write on this topic. But I have finally given in to an indisputable Minnesotan urge to discuss the weather.

I will not, cannot, apologize for this geographical predisposition. Weather is always a topic of conversation in Minnesota. Too hot. Too humid. Too cold. Too dry. Too wet. Just like Goldilocks, we are never quite satisfied until…we get weather like this…

…recent string of sunshine-filled mid-March days with temperatures soaring into the 60s and 70s. Typically the weather this time of year is cold, snowy and gloomy, the landscape bleak and depressing.

I suppose we would all feel more grateful if this had been a long cold winter with mountains of snow and sub-zero temperatures. Remember last winter? This season my husband has used our snowblower only once. And this week, as I survey my neighborhood, I spot not a speck of snow, not even under trees or in the north side shade of buildings.

Rather, I see joggers and mothers pushing babies in strollers and a gym class of students running past my house.

I spy tulips and daffodils poking their folded leaves several inches through the soil. I’ve tossed the decaying mulch leaves of autumn from crocuses teasing me with peeks of purple. And Tuesday evening, on a whim, I picked up a packet of spinach seeds. Tell me, is it too soon to sow spinach?

If this weather holds, I expect my crocuses will soon be in bloom, like these I photographed last spring.

I’ve thrown open the windows, allowing the fresh air to sweep indoors, pushing out the closed-up stale air of winter.

Laundry goes out on the line nearly every day now, although I must qualify that even when temps are in the 30s, I hang freshly-washed clothes outside, if the sun is shining. Nature’s dryer will dry clothes in the strong afternoon sunshine of a frigid winter day.

My son has asked me to replace the flannel sheets on his bed with light-weight cotton ones. I’m keeping the cozy flannel on my bed. He is 18; I am 37 ½ years wiser.

My eldest daughter flew out to southwestern California this morning, right into a winter storm predicted to bring significant rain and cold to the West Coast this weekend. So much for warm and sunny California.

How about warm and sunny Minnesota? Eighty degrees predicted today here in Faribault.

A pussy willow snipped on Wednesday from a neighbor's yard.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

St. Patrick’s Day at one of Minnesota’s oldest Irish Catholic parishes March 15, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:05 AM
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A sign on the old St. Patrick's Parish Hall, circa 1910, photographed several years ago.

SOME MIGHT CALL it the luck of the Irish that St. Patrick’s Church—Shieldsville, has persevered through two devastating fires.

Or perhaps St. Patrick’s, one of Minnesota’s first Irish Catholic parishes, established in 1856 in rural Rice County, could be considered unlucky given those two inferno-inducing lightning strikes upon church buildings nearly 100 years apart.

Bad luck or good luck, these strong Irish Catholics have withstood the tests of their faith, rebuilding after fires in 1888 and in 2002.

The congregation's newest church and fellowship hall, built in 2004 after lightning presumably struck and burned the previous sanctuary to the ground in 2002. The Brazil-Dudley Fellowship Hall, linked to the new church, is the site for the annual St. Patrick's Day meal.

This weekend they’ll celebrate their heritage and patron saint namesake at the annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, going strong at 18 years. Beginning with an 11 a.m. Mass, the Irish, and even those who aren’t, will gather to worship.

Starting at noon, congregants and guests will meet in the social hall for the annual St. Patrick’s Day lunch of Mulligan Stew, coleslaw, Irish soda bread, buns and dessert. All homemade.

For those over 21, “Irish libations” will be available. I assume that means green beer and not Irish whiskey.

No reservations are needed to dine with the Irish and no fee has been set for the meal. Give a free-will offering.

While I’ve never dined at the St. Patrick’s Day lunch, this may be the year to imbibe. I’m talking food here, not beer, although I could possibly be persuaded to swig an ale. I’ve been to enough church dinners to know that you’ll find some of the best and tastiest homemade food in parish halls.

For those of you who enjoy Irish music, the Twin Cities-based band, Reverse Cowboy, will present its interpretation of traditional and contemporary Irish music during a 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. concert.

The circa 1910 parish hall, photographed several years ago, once served as the social hub of Shieldsville. Folks congregated here for Saturday night dances, card parties hosted by the Ladies' Rosary Society, St. Patrick's Day plays, an annual chicken dinner and bazaar, and for other events. Confirmation classes were also taught here and grain was once stored in this building. When St. Patrick's 1882 stone church burned to the ground in 2002, parishioners gathered here for worship services.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS, if any, for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day?

Click here for more information about St. Patrick’s Church—Shieldsville. 

Situated along Minnesota State Highway 21 about 10 miles northwest of Faribault, Shieldsville is not an incorporated city, but rather a township. It was one of Minnesota’s first Irish settlements. St. Patrick’s Church is located at 7525 Dodd Road. To learn more about Irish history in Minnesota, click here. 

As long as we’re talking Irish history here, historians consider Jessenland Township north of Henderson in rural Sibley County to be Minnesota’s first Irish agrarian settlement. You’ll find St. Thomas Catholic Church here, built in 1870 and on the National Register of Historic Places. The first church was built in 1855. Click here to read more about the Irish in Minnesota and specifically those who settled in Jessenland.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Appreciating the corner gas station March 14, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:03 AM
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THERE’S NOTHING PARTICULARLY appealing about filling up with gas these days. Pull up to a generic convenience store/gas station, pump your own gas and then kiss a sizable wad of your money goodbye.

It wasn’t always that way, though, either in gas prices or service or the cookie-cutter service stations.

Maybe because my Uncle Harold once owned a gas station/garage in my hometown of Vesta, I am drawn to former full-service gas stations, specifically those angled into a street corner. My uncle’s station was neither angled nor on a street—his sat along Minnesota State Highway 19.

Most old-style corner service stations have long closed, although the buildings still exist, either vacant or re-purposed. They possess a nostalgic and architectural charm that spells magic.

Just look at this fine example in Morristown, a town of about 1,000 residents in Rice County, Minnesota, within 10 miles of my Faribault home.

The old corner style gas station and vintage Standard Oil sign on Morristown's main street.

For years I’ve passed by this building, but never once stopped to photograph it. I have recently come to realize that such a plan of inaction, of thinking I’ll photograph a scene when I have more time, is unwise. Waiting equals only regret when a structure is torn down or falls into a rotting heap.

That’s not likely to happen anytime soon at Nordmeier Brothers, in business since 1926. The sturdy brick building with the brilliant blue doors appears, from the exterior, to be structurally-stable. And although the old gas pumps have long been abandoned, Nordmeier still operates a garage and sells used vehicles.

I love how the vintage Standard Oil sign reflects on the windows of the garage late on a sunny afternoon in March. There's a modern Mobil station/convenience store next door.

Old, abandoned gas pumps at Nordmeier.

There’s much to be said for long-standing family businesses like Nordmeier Brothers that have anchored small-town Main Streets and stuck it out through economic difficulties. Not that Morristown is devoid of vacant buildings—it certainly isn’t.

But at least it has this lovely corner gem of a building, a place that hearkens to years past and the memories of full service gas stations and lower, much lower, gas prices.

I'm an appreciator of vintage signs, too. I hope the folks of Morristown value this sign.

It takes awhile to read all the window and door signage, a small-town art form of its own.

You can pick out a vehicle right here at Nordmeier Brothers in downtown Morristown. The business once was a Chevrolet dealer until GM began pulling franchises several years ago.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Poets & artists collaborate in Zumbrota and I’m in March 13, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:52 AM
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I SET A GOAL for 2012 to write more poetry. I’ve posted a contest list on my office desk and filed information in a three-ring binder. But all the best-laid plans and organizing are meaningless unless I follow through with my intentions.

Thus far, I’m doing OK, although not penning poetry probably as frequently as I should be.

Yet, I’ve already seen my initial efforts, including poetry revision, rewarded with the acceptance of a poem into Crossings Poet-Artist Collaboration XI in Zumbrota.

The exhibit, which will be installed on April 2 at Crossings at Carnegie, pairs poetry with art.

Poets were invited to submit up to three poems for consideration. Then four professional writers/poets juried the poetry—this year more than 180 poems—and selected 26 for inclusion.

I’m honored and thrilled to have my writing in this exhibit.

Marie Marvin writes in an e-mail to the selected poets: “It was exciting to receive such a fine outpouring of exceptional work from so many talented poets for this collaboration. Jurists told us they were a pleasure to read, and selecting those to be included was a difficult task.”

Additionally, Laura McDonough of Crossings tells me jurists were given complete license and no specific guidance during the selection process and did not know the identity of the poets.

But, she surmises, “They look for excellence and magic.”

Now artists, who also were juried for the collaboration, are working their magic creating  pieces of art inspired by the poetry.

Paired poets and artists will not know each others’ identities until the show is installed. Nor will the names of participating poets and artists be revealed to the public until April 2. I asked.

I’m not disclosing the content of my poem which I unsuccessfully submitted to previous contests and then reworked for this competition to make it a stronger, better poem. Yes, time allowed me to view my writing with fresh eyes and see areas where I could improve.

Naturally, I’m wondering how “my artist” will interpret my quite visual poem.

I’ll find out on Saturday, April 21, when I attend a reception beginning at 7 p.m. at Crossings at Carnegie, 320 East Avenue, in Zumbrota. Poets and artists will discuss their works. Please join me and the 25 other poets and 26 artists at this celebration during April, National Poetry Month.

FYI: MARIE MARVIN, who opened Crossings in 2001 to create an oasis for artists, writers and musicians, is the driving force behind the Crossings Poet-Artist Collaboration. She discussed her love for “mixing up the arts” with poet Beverly Voldseth and, between the two of them, the first collaboration took shape in April 2002.

The collaboration also includes publication of an exhibit book offered at a nominal cost to participating poets and artists and their families.

Crossings is housed in a former Andrew Carnegie Library built in 1908 in the Classical Revival style. I can’t wait to see the building as I appreciate libraries, history and architecture.

Zumbrota, a community of around 3,000, is located along U.S. Highway 52 about 25 miles north of Rochester.

Click here for more information about the art center.

IF YOU’D LIKE to share information about a similar poet-artist collaboration in Minnesota, please submit a comment with details.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Graphic courtesy of Crossings at Carnegie

 

An evening at the Soup-er Bowl, Minnesota style March 12, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:58 AM
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Diners lined up for samples of homemade soup in the fellowship hall of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Morristown, Sunday evening for the Cannon Valley Lutheran High School Soup-er Bowl.

“IT’S SAUSAGE, SHARON, not hot dogs.”

And so the debate waged at our table Sunday evening during the second annual Cannon Valley Lutheran High School Soup-er Bowl—Sharon, remembering how her mother stretched meals with hots dogs; others at our table laughing and telling her she was wrong about the hots dogs in the soup.

After the soup at the center of our conversation placed second in the competition, I sought out the soup maker, Bonnie Borchert, who had her hands immersed deep in soapy dishwater in the kitchen of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Morristown.

“What gave your soup that smokey flavor?” I asked Bonnie after praising her soup and congratulating her. In an agonizing decision, hers got my vote as the best soup.

“Three pounds of Polish sausage.”

There you go, Sharon. Polish sausage. Not hot dogs. No tangy vinegar either, as you suggested.

And so Bonnie took second with her Cheesy Potato Polish Sausage Soup, vying against six other soup makers.

Winner of the 2012 CVLHS Soup-er Bowl: Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup made by Steve LaMotte, representing Trinity Lutheran Church, Faribault.

Repeat contestant Steve LaMotte won the Soup-er Bowl with his Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup, the same soup which last year earned him a second place. Laced with homemade noodles and hefty chunks of chicken and vegetables, Steve’s savory and creamy soup could have passed as hotdish. It was that thick. He promises to return next year, but with a different soup.

The coveted trophy awarded to Steve LaMotte.

While the soups were the draw for those who love soup, like me, the Soup-er Bowl also serves as a fundraiser for CVLHS and as a social gathering. The din of conversation reached a deafening roar in the fellowship hall as diners filed in and settled in to sample the soups.

Good food. Lively conversation. Laughter.

What more could you want in small-town Minnesota on a Sunday evening?

Soup makers, including Steve LaMotte, right, served the soups to diners. The soup makers did not scoop up the soups they prepared. That was done intentionally to preserve the integrity of the voting process. One diner (aka my sister Lanae) voted for two soups. I considered hers a spoiled ballot.

And the kids, as kids will do, entertained themselves by running and swinging and jumping off/ on the table and chair racks under a mural of the women at the tomb on Easter morning.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Encouraging our youth in the arts March 11, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 12:12 PM
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Third grader Henry Johnson of Nerstrand Elementary School created this vivid art for the Student Art Exhibit which opened Friday at the Paradise Center for the Arts in downtown Faribault.

SEVERAL WEEKS AGO while attending a church meeting about demographics, I noticed a young girl two pews ahead of me sketching. After the drawn-out session ended, I approached her and asked to see her art. I can’t recall the subject of her drawing. But I do remember our conversation. We talked about her interest in art.

And then I asked if she also writes. Her grandpa, who’d been listening, piped up, “She’s always writing stories.”

That’s all I needed. “I’m a writer, too,” I said.

“What books did you write?” the elementary-aged girl asked, her eyes widening.

I could hear the awe in her voice before sharing that I hadn’t actually published a book, but have had my essays and poetry published in collections. I also mentioned that I write for a magazine and that I blog.

But I didn’t want this to be about me. I wanted this to be about her, the budding writer.

My writing summarized, I shifted the conversation back to her, suggesting she continue writing and drawing and doing what she loves.

Whenever I can encourage a young person in the arts, I will. Sometimes that’s all it takes—the attention of an adult—to set a child on a path to a future career or engagement in a past-time that fulfills a creative need.

Just a snippet of the art created by artists from five Faribault area schools and currently displayed at the Paradise Center for the Arts through April 7.

Last week I had a similar opportunity to encourage a home-schooled tenth grader, Claire Ellendson, whose art is currently exhibited in the Corey Lyn Creger Memorial Gallery at the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault. I could hear Claire’s excitement as we talked about her Washington, D.C., street-scape that sold days before her gallery show opening. Any artist would be elated to have a piece of art sell before opening day. Imagine how that uplifts a young person still evolving into her identity as an artist.

That brings us to today, to March, Youth Art Month, an effort “to emphasize the value of art education for all children and to encourage support for quality school art programs,” according to the National Art Education Association.

In celebration of that, an annual Student Art Exhibit featuring the art of school-age children from Faribault area schools opened Friday on the second floor of the Paradise. Five of the invited schools opted to participate.

While I got there too late to interact with the artists and with only enough time to shoot photos before closing, I still wanted to encourage these youth. Thus I’m writing this blog post.

Jeremiah Kuball, a student at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Schools, used colored pencils to draw this John Deere 4450. Among his shading techniques is crosshatching.

Artists from Jefferson, Lincoln, Nerstrand, Roosevelt and Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Schools, I’m impressed with your art. I’m impressed by the level of talent at such a young age. This is not the crayon art of my youth. This collection of some 200 pieces (guessing on that number, but each school could submit up to 40 works) includes art I’d love to hang in my home.

First grader Kyle Ernste of Nerstrand Elementary School painted this vivid butterfly which reminds me of children's picture book artist Eric Carle's art.

And, yes, I photographed more than I can showcase here, on this page. So I’d urge you to see for yourself what these young artists have created by touring the Student Art Exhibit, which runs through April 7.

For those of you who don’t live anywhere near Faribault, or even in Minnesota or the U.S.A., I ask you to find one young person who loves the arts. Foster that child’s love for the arts via praise or perhaps the gift of art supplies or an art class. Such words and actions, offered in sincerity, can be powerful.

Additionally, I invite you to share your comments here on youth art and/or how someone encouraged you in the arts.

Families peruse the student art hung in the hallways of the Paradise's second floor.

A snippet of Lincoln Elementary School fifth grader Evelyn Nigon's Statue of Liberty painting.

Fifth graders from Jefferson Elementary School infused humor into their interpretations of the Mona Lisa.

CLICK HERE for more information about the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Soup sampling at the Soup-er Bowl March 10, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:23 AM
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Some of the soups served at the 2011 Soup-er Bowl.

GIVE ME A BOWL of soup—hot, thick, cheesy and packed with vegetables or savory, creamy tomato basil—almost any type will do except oyster or clam chowder.

My friend Mike knows how much I enjoy a good bowl of homemade soup, which is why he asked me recently to prepare a soup for a soup cook-off. But I was out of town on the day of the event and had to decline his invitation.

That was last weekend. This Sunday, March 11, the winners in local soup competitions at four area Lutheran churches advance to a Soup-er Bowl finale at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Morristown.

Cannon Valley Lutheran High School, of which Mike is the volunteer development director, is sponsoring the event where diners will sample eight soups for $5 and then vote for their favorite. I will be there, as I was last year.

Let me tell you, these soup makers can cook, which makes choosing a winner difficult. This year the offerings will include cheddar broccoli, potato ham, potato cheese/Polish sausage, plantation peanut, chicken noodle, cheesy potato, white chicken chili and creamy chicken noodle.

I see a lot of chicken in that list. Just, FYI, last year’s second place winner is returning with his creamy chicken noodle soup that included homemade noodles and hefty hunks of home-grown chicken. Honestly, I am not a big fan of chicken noodle soup, but I loved Steve’s soup. That says a lot right there.

Anyway, if you’re into soup, join me at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 404 W. Franklin St., Morristown, for the 5 p.m. Soup-er Bowl. You needn’t be Lutheran—all are welcome.

CLICK HERE to read a post about the 2011 Soup-er Bowl.

And click here to read a post about an annual soup party hosted by my sister Lanae and her husband, Dale.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Musings in the Clay Center March 9, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:27 AM
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This sculpture sits in front of the Arts Center of Saint Peter along South Minnesota Avenue/U.S. Highway 169 in St. Peter. The downtown is graced by historic buildings like these across the street from the Arts Center.

MY HUSBAND AND I are nearly through the Arts Center of Saint Peter front doors when she waves us in—she being Thalia. Not a Greek goddess, mind you, rather the Greek “muse of comedy.”

She’s not Greek either, but Mexican, this Thalia will tell you and smile as she slaps a hunk of clay, working out the air, mixing the clay just like Joel Moline across the table.

At only four feet seven inches tall, she should be manipulating clay on a table half the height, living in a world where everything is lower, shorter, Thalia Taylor surmises in a voice laced with humor.

“You should see her husband,” Joel says.

“He’s seven-two,” Thalia says and my jaw drops picturing this petite woman next to a towering man.

Then this muse of comedy laughs and corrects her mistake. “He’s six-two.”

Joel Moline and Thalia Taylor knead hunks of clay.

That is my introduction to the two artists, who on this Sunday afternoon are in the Clay Center working mud-hued clay like two bakers kneading dough. When I verbalize the comparison, Joel says he’s a baker.

He also enjoys writing letters, taking on a recent challenge to write a letter daily for 30 days. He collects fountain pens. You would rightly guess that he’s penning his letters the old-fashioned way.

An example of Joel's graceful writing on the Clay Center blackboard. He could teach penmanship. Remember that forgotten art which some of us were taught in grade school?

I tell him I seldom hand-write a letter any more, instead typing correspondence on my computer.

Then we—my husband, the baker/potter/letter writer and the potter/muse—bemoan the inability of today’s young people to write by hand. Joel laments how youth are losing that physical connection to writing, to individual letters and words. We are in agreement on this topic, that the youth of today should be able to write and read cursive.

After we’ve discussed that topic, I slip two business cards onto the table where Thalia and Joel continue to pound clay.

As I walk away, Joel hints at sending me a letter scribed with a fountain pen. I tell him I would welcome such a gift. Then I shoot a few more photos before exiting the Clay Center, leaving the baker/potter/letter writer and the potter/muse to their musings.

Stacked pottery in the Clay Center.

CLICK HERE for information about the Clay Center at the Arts Center of Saint Peter, 315 South Minnesota Avenue, St. Peter.

As any inquisitive writer would do, I googled Joel Moline’s name just to learn more about this man who once lived in Faribault (where I live) and taught art at the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf. Turns out Joel, a retired St. Peter art teacher, is also a print maker. If only I’d known that when we met, but we didn’t have enough time to discuss everything… Click here to read a story about Joel  published six years ago in The Faribault Daily News.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Moody March in Minnesota March 8, 2012

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 7:44 AM
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An abandoned farmhouse along Minnesota State Highway 19 east of Vesta on the southwestern Minnesota prairie.

WINTER IN MINNESOTA this time of year and in November often seems stripped of color, a drab world of black-and-white mimicking the melancholy mood of those who wish only for spring.

So it takes some effort to appreciate this month of March which can’t quite decide whether to pursue spring or linger awhile yet in winter.

One day she’s dark and brooding, the next bright and cheery. Understanding her mood swings can be a challenge.

Sometimes you just have to accept who she is and realize that even in her colorless world, a certain sense of beauty prevails.

An aging windmill and a cluster of old buildings define this picturesque farm site along Minnesota State Highway 60 just west of Waterville in southeastern Minnesota.

The sweeping curves in the field drew my eye to photograph this scene west of Waterville along State Highway 60.

A lone tree along Minnesota State Highway 60 between Faribault and Waterville on a brooding March morning.

Farm sites mark the landscape along a back county road between New Ulm and Morgan.

All of these images were taken last Saturday morning from a moving vehicle while traveling through southern Minnesota. Each has been edited to create a more artsy, earthy feel.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling