McMorr's photostream  

This photo was captured one year after a previous visit. The church in the former Iowa town of Halfa has not lost any of its charm to me, though the practice of rotating crops here set it among beans this year.

As another year passes, I honour places like this in spite of my long pause between flickr posts.

sym'bol.ize' vt. 1. to be a symbol of; stand for 2. to represent by a symbol or symbols

sym.me.try n. [[<Gr syn-, together + metron, a measure]] 1. correspondence of opposite parts in size, shape, and position 2. balance or beauty of form resulting from this

sym.pa.thet.ic adj. 1. of, feeling, or showing sympathy 2. in agreement with one's tastes, mood, etc.

Many would not even take notice, few would stop to look again. I linger.

I see so much here.

Explore # 250

I haven't taken photos of these kinds of places this season; and while they call to me, I am wrestling with a variety of issues that prevent me from acting on their compelling voices.

This Emmet County, Iowa house, however, no longer calls to me...it no longer speaks to anyone.

Explore #121

This is one Palo Alto County, Iowa house I try to drive by ever month or so.

I do that with my favorites, check in or reach out to them. I want to make sure they still exist, that they are okay. Why? This house, for example, has provided me with all I could hope without knowing its whole story. It has posed for splendid portraits and allowed me to see all of it that any intrigued passer-by might ask to see.

But it has become part of the landscape for me and I find it beautiful and necessary. I long to know its story so I can understand and value it even more, but if I can't know it's story I do know for certain that I don't want it to go away. Unfortunately, I don't get to decide if it will go away. It isn't mine. Yet, I have decided that I would like it to stay as long as it can and while it's here I will cherish it's place in the landscape of my life.

So I check in on it every once in awhile, I reach out to make sure it's still there; and while it really isn't the purpose of my visit, I do still wonder if I will ever learn its story.

Explore #352