Farmer's Markets

Today the local bakers and produce farmers will be setting up at Heritage Park for our weekly 2.5 hour community market. Kudos to Beth Pearson, local volunteer, who created the market for Rolfe and spearheaded the effort to turn a vacant  main street lot into a beautiful park.

 In July I heard there was a man going around Rolfe telling people to trim their bushes and mow their grass. It was Greater Rolfe Days, for heavens sake! I had to wonder if he really thought the dilapidated buildings, condemned (or should be) housing, and street pot holes would really go un-noticed if our weeds were pulled. Where do you begin in an economically depressed community losing its population, schools, churches and businesses?

At various times at our market one could have bought melons, peaches, vegetables, fudge, bread (always), bird houses, soaps, hair ornaments, books, and many more wares that locals bring to share and sell. A few weeks ago I set up my grill and sold stone baked bread as it came off the grill. I sold out and had a blast doing it. It was a bit windy as you can tell from my picture but that was a happy day for me!

Beth decided you begin with 1 lot. And so we have Heritage Park. The weekly market in Rolfe is something we can brag about. My brother calls farmer's markets canine festivals and avoids them. I have to think he would be much more open to the idea if he stayed out of places like Des Moines and Laramie WY where he lives and instead went to smaller markets like we have. I must confess the week after he described markets that way, the hem of my  granddaughter's skirt ended up in the teeth of a small un-welcome dog at our market but that is a rare thing in our town. That dog was visiting from out west and they have gone home so its safe again!

Many of our local patrons enjoy our market for the socializing. There are benches, tables, and sun protection at Hertiage Park where neighbors can sit and re-connect. That is what community is all about.

The weather is warm and humid as I write this but we are staring fall in the face and the market will soon be put to rest of another season. Meantime, I for one, plan to enjoy it and celebrate the uniqueness of our market and our vendors! I know the patrons of our community will too.

Celebrating Summer

It all has to be packed in so few months in northwest Iowa! Weddings, family reunions, backyard barbecues, bicycle riding, and of course the small town celebrations. Never have we had a greater Rolfe Greater Days than this the 150th birthday celebration of the town of Rolfe. It has been buzzing this summer as residents and town leaders prepare for the culmination of 2 years of planning and working. Weeds have been pulled, houses painted, lawns mowed, bushes trimmed! Plans have been in the works for the bacon fest, wine fest, parade, rock climbing wall, lunches, dinners, dances, cemetery walk and home tour! And hats off to the town for a great weekend that was only made better by moderate temperatures, cool breezes, and over-cast skies making for great pictures and tolerable weather for a 5K walk/run. Here are a few of my favorite shots of some  parade viewers from my vantage point of my camera shooting out the sun roof of a car.

Festive and fun as Rolfe Greater Days  was, though, it didn't have the diversity of the Storm Lake July 4th celebration with the awesome food vendors displaying ethnic foods we mid-westerners and rural E-owans cannot even pronounce.  How blessed Storm Lake is to have the multiculturalism of the immigrant population to color their community and their celebrations!

Its Only Natural

"Just try to give me a natural smile" says me to the model on the other side of the camera. "No, come on. Think of something funny!" I add.

They must be growling inside as I coach my subjects to a natural look. They are feeling anything but natural. I am looking straight at them through a lens. Sometimes they hardly know me. Sometimes they don't even want to be there.

There  have been times when I have questioned my photographic skills. I have often felt that I fall short of the customers expectation of a moody, artsy, trendy, crooked, mis-colored, and over photo-shopped images that the industry demands. But one thing I think I am good at is engaging the model and finding that natural smile. Eventually with almost everyone I have ever photographed I have found something about which I can babble away and make them politely but naturally smile and then I click it!

Becca

Natural is what this beauty gave me during her session last fall and I could make her my Studio C poster child for keeping it real. That's really what I'm about. No glamour. No special effects. No over-re-touching. Just real. Real classic and real natural.

Coffee Shops

One of my favorite things to do when bumming or traveling is to drink and eat my way through the day. That is really all I need money for. I am not a shopper; I'm a looker but I do need a little money when I  find a cool coffee shop! A few days ago we took a road trip to Spencer, Iowa. Its a whole 60 miles from me and though I want an AMTRAK trip now in the worst way, Spencer Iowa is as good as its going to get. What a great day!After snooping through a fabric shop and an art gallery we braved the cold north wind to see if there was anything we were missing further down the street. And EUREKA! There were 2 coffee shops across the street from each other. Where to go??? Which one to pick?? Initially we chose the one in the old Spencer hotel building because we have fond memories of that old hotel but alas we couldn't find the entrance and the sign was unclear about whether it was open or not so we climbed some crumbly steps and entered a crumbly building and cautiously stuck our nose in the door to a warm cozy very aromatic coffee shop... named Toads. Here is what I like about Toads: 1) they roast their own beans 2) there is no pretention whatsoever to the place 3) nothing in there is new 4) they sell used books 5) its cozy and small 6) you can buy their coffee and tea in bulk 7) it was the best coffee I think I have ever had. I wish I had taken a picture to share but if you are interested you can go to their website JT Toads.com.

An inquiry on our part about the shop across the street left us little doubt that we had found the right establishment for us and the owner no doubt agreed. Heading back to the car we spotted an antique shop 1/2 block down a side street and couldn't resist. I'll have to say, if it wasn't already, Iowa is becoming a destination for antique seekers. Seems like every town has at least one, they are vendor run with weekend hours, and they are very interesting. I almost always find something I didn't know I needed! Spencer is a worthwhile stop and Toads is very worth your time as well!