I wasn’t in the best mood upon waking today. Luckily I checked in with Larry’s page this morning and soon all was well. I admit to being an inveterate navel-gazer, so when I pause to look around, I am often humbled by the manifestations of beauty and resilience that surround me.
I was reminded how fortunate I was to discover “the out-of-doors” as a kid at Y-camp in Boone, Iowa in the 60’s. Equally grateful that my first Jazz-Artist-In-Residence position took me to Missoula, Montana where this nature thing got real serious.
Plopped right in the middle of the Bitteroot River valley we lived in the western Montana cities of Missoula and Butte in the early 80’s. The entire western third of the state was gorgeous beyond my imagining. In time though, I grew to deeply appreciated the high plains beauty of Eastern Montana hamlets like Wolf Point and Havre where we did residencies in the schools.
(Those who appreciate classic western authors might note that while living in Butte, Montana, our house on Platinum street was just a few blocks from the late A.B. Guthrie and his family. We were in attendance when A.B. received the Governor’s Arts Award in 1981. (The immensely talented composer, pianist and former band mate Phil Aaberg was honored with the GAA in 1995.)
Something about living alongside that kind of natural beauty changes you. I never stop looking for these manifestations of life, no matter where I happen to be. Once again, thanks to IWC stalwart Larry Stone for reminding me to leave the screen and go sit by a stream.
Northern California brought even more confirmation of Nature’s springtime Celebration (from Baltimore Canyon, Larkspur CA.)
No words…just gratitude. Thanks Larry.
..and yes, it is still Jazz Appreciation Month =-)
[Photography ©Dartanyan Brown]
9:07 AM CST - Apple blossoms on the verge….In Des Moines! Spring ‘24
2:14 PM CST - …Voila. The first apple blossom! 04/14/24
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
Below is a list of the members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please support their work by sharing and subscribing. Paid subscribers are invited to attend real-time events and occasional Zoom calls among our writers. Your support keeps this reader-only supported service going.
Nicole Baart: This Stays Here, Sioux Center
Ray Young Bear: From Red Earth Drive, Meskwaki Settlement
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Tory Brecht: Brecht’s Beat, Quad Cities
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, Roundup
Steph Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston
Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake
Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley
Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County
Arnold Garson: Second Thoughts, Okoboji and Sioux Falls
Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji
Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames
Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines
Rob Gray: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny
Nik Heftman: The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilia
Chris Jones, Chris’s Substack, Des Moines
Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
Letters from Iowans, Iowa
Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Calhoun County
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Alison McGaughey, The Inquisitive Quad Citizen, Quad Cities
Kurt Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Vicki Minor, Relatively Minor, Winterset
Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines
Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids
Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines
Jane Nguyen: The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines
Macey Shofroth: The Midwest Creative, Norwalk
Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona
Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport
Kali White VanBaale, 988: Mental Healthcare in Iowa, Bondurant
Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines
Dartanyan,
You are giving Bob Leonard a run for his photography skills. Keep it up.
I am in need of inspiration today, surrounded as I am by so much hate and division. Exhausted with the Alice in Wonderland upside down current events. Perspective more elusive than it should be.