This fall I came across a small petting zoo located in a quiet neighborhood outside Siouxland in Omaha, NE. Scatter Joy Acres is a place where people can go and on a much smaller scale than the other local zoo in Omaha see animals and sometimes interact with them.
There are a variety of animals and it seems a very family friendly venue as families roamed the grounds waiting for an event to start just checking out the various animals on the grounds.
Exploring and finding new places to check out is always fun and the joy of traveling even if that means driving an hour away. Hidden gems to a visitor not familiar with the area. Sometimes these are overlooked because one is a visitor, but then that just means more exploring closer to home and a chance to spend more time on the ground looking than driving or flying.
During this long coronavirus pandemic people are looking for some kind of normalcy even in Siouxland to keep themselves from going bonkers. The Old Dominion Dance Company which promotes English country dancing held its first event in six months recently, giving members and others interested in dance a chance to enjoy a friendly activity and company of like-minded folk. Held at the Scatter Joy Acres it was just a nice fall evening with hints of a lingering summer where visitors could relax, see friends, and have a nice night out.
There seems to always be an equal amount of people who know the country dances and those who are wanting to learn. A couple practice run throughs and soon folk are “flying” over the grass reaching for a hand and performing a “line dance” albeit 17th and 18th century style.
And as night settled in and the band was reaching its stride the dancers persevered, although some took a break, dancing into the evening. No worries about tomorrow, or the fact that life is now a bit different than a year ago. Cares and thoughts were replaced remembering the left or right foot, first couple or second couple and enjoying the evening.
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
