When visiting various communities in and around Siouxland it’s not often that I find changes occurring in smaller communities. Sometimes, but most often they happen in the larger metro areas.
Omaha, NE is still a growing metro area in the Midwest and new construction there as well as adaptation of older buildings into lofts and other, more current kinds of usages is ongoing.
There is a blending of older and newer types of architectural structures seen in Omaha. Older buildings become dwarfed by newer buildings. No judgement, but it’s not surprising how “tastes” change over the years, decades, etc. And in some cases the cost to replicate or build some structures that were done one to two centuries ago would most likely be prohibitive.
And yet progress continues, as life, changes come, and sometimes go. Moving forward and hopefully not backward.
I believe it was in a song the phrase “I can see clearly now, the rain is gone”. On a clear day the view in Siouxland is unimpeded. During a fall outing with a photography class I teach through a Lifelong Learning program at the local community college there was still some color at a park by the lake in the community of Storm Lake. A cool day but very pleasant.
Sometimes not much needs to be said on those days, other than being thankful to enjoy such a day and walking about and seeing nature’s beauty. And of course having a camera and trying to do just that. Any season is a good season to be out photographing. Some are just a bit more conducive weather-wise. And those days will pass as nicer ones come into view.
Nature always amazes in good ways and sometimes bad and a recent outing in Siouxland brought the unexpected fun of watching bald eagles fly and fish at the spillway of Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, SD. This is a stopping off point for a variety of migratory fowl with open water most times in nearby lake areas at the Lewis and Clark Recreation area and at the dam’s spillway which regulates water flowing downstream of the Missouri River.
It’s truly amazing watching the bald eagles fly about and then dive, somewhat, into the flowing water of the river to catch fish. Sometimes it was like watching “touch and go” maneuvers that military aircraft sometimes perform during training. And as it was still during a holiday week a number of spectators came out to watch these majestic creatures perch in trees or look for food.
It was also challenging from a photographer’s standpoint in trying to follow the action which sometimes pivoted on a dime acquire focus as these creatures made their way over and near the water. Although I might be somewhat disappointed with the results of my photographic experience, I was not disappointed in the opportunity to watch these birds perform their aerial acrobatics, successes and near misses all being equal.
I could think of worse ways to spend part of a day, not withstanding with a day temperature of 45 degrees in late December.
Winter has finally arrived in the Siouxland area although temperatures continue to seesaw up and down from extreme cold to unseasonably warm. Of course there is nothing to the issue about weather and climate, and will leave that discussion to others.
During the “warmer” days though it’s nice to get out and take a walk even if it’s brief and more time is spent trying to photograph than actual walking.
Some days when the temps hit below zero with wind chill, it might be a good time to do some house cleaning and cataloguing photos already taken until more agreeable weather allows one a safer venture outside to enjoy nature and whatever might be seen to continue photographing Siouxland. Winter is nice, but spring and longer days might be nicer.
Sometimes when I am out and about and carrying a camera I will revisit a place I have previously photographed. Sometimes I can find images that are better, most times I look for images that are different. The Pioneer Courage Park is part of the “campus” of the First National Bank of Omaha. On a overcast day it takes on a different look different from the previous visit. Finding the raindrops on the faces of the statues gave them a different feel and made me think that possibly on their journey west those days it might have rained may have been a blessing depending on the territory the group was passing through. The Mormon Trail passed through some high desert country and rain storms may have been scarce certain times of the year.
And it’s a challenge to revisit someplace and look for a different image. Of course time of day, weather, time of year, all that plays into how a place might look and feel. And then one’s imagination takes over.
Finding bits and pieces of history tucked into corners and hilltops, one never knows where something of note might turn up in Siouxland. During Abraham Lincoln’s early days of politics he visited the Council Bluff’s area. From a view atop a hill he saw the expansion of the westward movement of folk and what would become a “staging ground” for the Union Pacific Railroad. The people of Council Bluffs dedicated this small park not far from the cemetery where General Grenville M. Dodge’s wife is buried. Dodge was a general in Lincoln’s army during the Civil War.
The Lincoln Monument is from where the later president saw an area chosen as the first eastern terminus for the yet to be built transcontinental railroad system. Doing even a cursory search online doesn’t really turn up more information other than Lincoln “slept here” kind of reference like George Washington. But it is an easily accessible area and a great place to take in views of the surrounding landscape and in the distance Omaha, NE, across the Missouri River.
Morning might be a better time with better weather and less haze that seems to settle in once the afternoon arrives. A small snippet of history, tucked away but with a nice view.
I always like unexpected surprises when out looking for critters in Siouxland. Finding them in places I haven’t encountered them before is such a delight. While out checking one location recently and not finding any birds I had hoped would be there, I stopped by another, Browns Lake. With the recent drought conditions in western Iowa the water level is very low and so I didn’t expect to find anything there except a frozen pond. Maybe some geese, which weren’t there either.
Walking about a bit I did spot a large object moving along a tree line and headed toward the lake. Never a Boy Scout, I guess I wasn’t prepared as I had a long telephoto lens instead of a shorter zoom and so found myself trying to adjust and my framing as a juvenile bald eagle kept flying closer, and closer, and closer still.
Just cruising. Taking in the sights below and probably looking for a noon time meal or snack. I hope it had better luck than I.
History is all around folk, even in Siouxland. Finding it can sometimes be easy, understanding it or getting more information about a person or place can sometimes be more problematic.
Information about the blacksmith shop provided online is short: “The Cook Blacksmith Shop was built in 1901 by C. O.Cook, who operated his business for over thirty years. The building is owned by the Ponca,NE Historical Society, which uses the shop as a living history museum. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, that occurred in 1974.”
The contents of the building finds time standing still with tools of another century and apparently the only heat during winter months a wood stove in a backroom. I recently re-visited the site with a photo class I teach. When I visit places like this and similar ones, I always want to know a little bit about its history, who and why and what for preceding the modern day era. Unfortunately the Historical Society volunteer who let us in had another appointment to get to so he let us wander about the shop imagining what Mr. Cook did during those years as a blacksmith when more people, farmers included, used horses for transportation and work. The way west would not have been possible without horses, and the men who tended to their needs when a “retread” or changing of a horseshoe was necessary, or to care for an animal hurt while doing its owner’s bidding.
A different time and sensibility, but important in its day.
A young deer looks cautiously from a cut path at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Friday Oct. 22, 2021as autumn leaves begin to show and a hiker appears on another path.A young deer bolts through a meadow after seeing a hiker at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Friday Oct. 22, 2021.
Some days when I am out walking about at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve I have my chance encounters with wildlife. Sometimes deer, turkeys, mostly songbirds, occasionally some raptors and waterfowl. I have learned to walk more quietly and take paths away from brisk walkers and runners out for exercise in that they sometimes scare the critters away into the brush.
Most times I get only a brief moment to take a photograph. And instead of rushing the camera and lens to my eye I try to move very slowly so that the deer become a bit more curious than bolting as what they probably interpret as aggressive behavior. Photographs I have seen other photographers have taken of these creatures in the wild, whether sitting in blinds for hours (maybe) or walking in large more heavily wooded areas that foster a greater number of these creatures I don’t know.
I just see fleeting white tails in the distance, maybe hesitancy, and then flightier my nearly made a nice photograph episodes. Hoping my settings are correct and I might take one or two decent images. I am not the kind of person who would sit in a blind for hours, but wouldn’t mind walking for a few as I enjoy the movement and seeing places. In this new year maybe that should be a resolution to take more walks in the woods and explore areas I am not that familiar with, hoping I get lucky there or learn about specific new places that might afford me an opportunity to photograph wildlife. The first resolution though, is overcoming inertia and getting out. And as the days begin to lengthen and the sunlight warms the countryside, that becomes more feasible and possible. If I plan to walk a few hours looking for critters, I don’t mind coming home empty-handed without images, I just don’t want to freeze my ass off making the effort.
During the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, no matter which one but especially around Christmas, life seems very frenetic with so many places to go, people to see and things to do. The media extolls this as does so, so many advertisers. Last minute deals, hurry.
The ultimate quandary about life is that time is infinite, yet also finite.
Jerry Mennenga
Sioux City, Iowa
And in the mix is lost the the time and opportunity to just stop a moment, relax and just enjoy the quiet of family and friends, resisting the call to go somewhere or get one more deal.
I live in the Siouxland area that encompasses a wide swatch of land in northwest Iowa, northeastern Nebraska and southeastern South Dakota. The people that inhabit this area are generous folk and your basic honest, Midwestern people you like to have as neighbors. I explore the area and share observations, mostly photographic, sometimes through video, and and short text. All images and video are copyrighted material of the author.
Jerry Mennenga, Sioux City, Iowa
jerrylmennenga@yahoo.com
lostinsiouxland 