Is this Heaven?

We lived in Iowa for three years and I still miss it a little every day. There's something about the sight of freshly turned soil in the spring that quiets my mind. Acres and acres of the richest black soil I have ever seen. I sometimes dream about gardening in Iowa and I can almost feel the moist warm soil in my hands. The sight of winter wheat coming up out of the ground is a reassuring sign that even in the coldest winter, life continues. Since I realize that most people don't get as excited as I do about the agricultural wonders of the midwest, there are other things to see and do in Iowa, just in case you'd like to take a break from I-80. If you want to spend the day admiring the countryside and need some reason to be just driving around, try exploring the famous covered bridges in Madison County. Early Summer is the best time to go since the corn isn't tall enough to block your view at intersections and it's not too hot. While in the area if you are a quilter you shouldn't miss a trip to the Fons and Porter quilt shop. Those ladies are famous in the quilting world and if you're lucky you'll meet them in person. If you'd like to see Iowa the way it existed before it was covered with corn take a drive to Prairie City to see a fabulous prairie preserve. If you are there in the spring don't miss Tulip Time in nearby Pella (yes like the windows). One of our family favorites in Iowa was going to a minor league baseball game in Des Moines. The good seats are cheap and the cheap seats are fun. If you're lucky you'll catch a hot dog or a t-shirt shot out of the cannon between innings. With all those great things about Iowa the thing that made us really love it were the people we knew. Our neighbohood was the kind of place most people can only dream about full of kind, helpful, but not too nosy neighbors and houses that were 80 years old and ready to stand for another 80. Iowa really was our field of dreams. Stop by and see a piece of heaven sometime.