The grass is green with summer growth. The recent storms have breathed new life into the earth.

Wildflowers, yellow, white and purple with a dash of red, appear in clumps and group together to delight the onlooker, casual, free, independent of rake and hoe.

Some fields are almost pure yellow.

Late summer adds a new dimension, delicate tan seed heads  form dancing vertical lines on the horizon.

How old are the trees that have seen many summers and experienced the naked white of winter?

They form a green barrier along the road as far as you can see and they enfold you in their strength.

Look up, look up…. The clouds more beautiful than any painted image frame the entire image.

There are rivers that hold so many mysterious  things in their depths. We passed quickly and without much thought. But then again we are traveling  in the car towards the city. soon it will all be left behind and become yet another memory.

I’m fascinated by the newly harvested hay.

Fields of bright green grass with with huge rolls of precisely bound golden hay. Just how do they do that. I wonder if the farmer  stands back after he has finished and surveys his days work with satisfaction….. Just like I do when I hang out the washing.!!!!!

Through small towns with quaint architecture and a feel of the 50’s, antiques, flea markers, churches and restaurants.

The gardens are neat as a pin and the American flag is flown from flagpoles.

I saw Canadian geese raising their young by the lakes,  a red deer emerge from the foliage and even  an  eagle with expansive wings  sliding  his shadow over the ground

Old houses, their wooden palings handled possibly a 100 years ago by energetic young men raising families stand testament to their endeavors. Big old red barns, things I had  only ever seen in movies until I came here to Minnesota.

Fields of rich green corn and sunflowers, host huge media signs that tell us you can get free wi fi  in the nearby hotels.

Each turn of the road produces new vista and the traffic gradually increases.

We stopped for lunch and a welcome break. The sun shone brightly as we went into the restaurant, and suddenly the sky turned black. I can’t believe how quickly the weather can turn.

I did some illustrations…played scrabble and wrote as we drive…

And then finally we are at the hotel…..!!!!

It was a journal led trip.