Winter Fence Post - Rural Minnesota

from flickr user Adam Johnson
Taken in sprawling Sibley County, MN, this fence line in between farms acts as a windbreak as it stops snow blowing across the open fields. Taken before our blanket of snow began to melt, there is definitely an air of peace and serenity in this winter scene.

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Hidden Granary - Renville, MN

from flickr user Adam Johnson 
With corn taller than even the tallest Minnesotans, this secluded granary near Renville, MN appears to be playing a bit of a game of hide and seek.

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Lonely Barn - North Mankato, MN

from flickr user Henry Hintermeister
A majestic, unused barn sits surrounded by new life growing all around, its past usefulness no longer relevant. There is a lot of wasted wisdom and talent that is untapped when people grow old and are ignored in families, churches and businesses.

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Minnesota Farm Scene, Arlington, MN

from flickr user Adam Johnson
A well-used barn sits among a field of bushy, green soybeans near the southern Minnesota town of Arlington. It's hard to believe that harvest typically begins a bit over two months from now.

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Rows of corn - New Rome, MN

from flickr user Adam Johnson
Rows of corn, having barely poked their leaves through the black soil near New Rome, MN, reach steadily toward the sky as the growing season shifts into high gear across the corn belt.

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Minnesota Northern Lights

from flickr user Michael Aguirre
The Minnesota landscape was alive in the predawn hours of St. Patrick's Day 2015. A Minnesota farm comes to life in the blackness of the night. It's like the Leprechauns were were spreading green upon us all!

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Grain Elevator - Sleepy Eye, MN

from flickr user Tom McLaughlin
Grain elevators like this one in Sleepy Eye, MN are a dying breed. No longer do their overhead storage bins constructed from lumber laid on its wide dimension hold enough grain to be viable. Instead, modern grain elevators consist of a row of steel grain bins of towering concrete silos connected by ultra-fast grain legs which allow farmers to unload a semi truck full of corn or soybeans in a couple minutes. These older structures are often times demolished as large cooperatives swoop in and expand with modern facilities to stay competitive and provide faster service to today's large-scale farmers. If you ever get a chance to see the inner workings of a grain elevator like the one in this photo, do it because the interior is amazing -- especially when you consider that many of these structures are nearly 100 years old.

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October rain

from flickr user Darcy
A quick rain shower moves across some southern Minnesota farm land leaving behind rich golden hues and a slightly damp landscape and sunset approaches. 

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Mill City Farmer's Market - Minneapolis, MN

from flickr user David Tinjum
This scene from Saturday's Mill City Farmer's Market has everything you'd need to make the perfect salsa including Jalapeño peppers and tomatillos. Not much longer remains to get fresh produce from Minnesota farmers so be sure to get out this week and buy it up!

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Threshing wheat in Dalton, MN

from flickr user Shane Reetz
A Case thresher separates wheat straw from the grain during the Lake Region Pioneer Threshing Show in Dalton, MN this weekend as a volunteer stands by watching the machine's progress and keeping the demonstration going for visitors of the show.

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Dalton, MN threshing show

from flickr user Jeff Terry
Steam tractors lined up at Dalton, MN, for Lake Region Pioneer Thresherman's Association show. 

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Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion

from flickr user alleyraven
Taken during the Western Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, MN, this behemoth steel-wheeled steam-powered tractor is pulling an impressive six bottom plow (if I counted correctly) which puts its power on par with that of today's small to average-sized farm equipment.

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Tiny farmers at the Minnesota State Fair

from flickr user Linda Owen
Young John Deere enthusiasts pedal around a kiddie park near the farm machinery exhibits at the Minnesota State Fair.

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Supercell sunset - Carver, MN

from flickr user Chris Lundberg
Taken as sunset closed in on the southwest suburbs of Minneapolis, this supercell was simply exploding in the distance as much of the area received some much-needed rainfall.

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Isanti, MN Sunflowers

from flickr user NCWS2005
Clinging to the roof of his Ford F-150, the photographer got truly lucky with a dramatic sunset over one of central Minnesota's only sunflower fields making for a truly striking image that is easily one of the top ten I have seen all year.

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Smoky sunset - Minnesota

from flickr user Chris Lundberg
Smoke from wildfires in the Canadian Northwest Territories are being channeled into Minnesota causing extra red sunrise and sunsets as seen in this photo of wheat being harvested by a Gleaner combine.

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June 19, 2014 flood aftermath - Henderson, MN

Now that the television news teams have retreated back to their Twin Cities offices and Twin Cities area commuters have their choice of Minnesota River crossings to drive on, all that's left to deal with regarding the 2014 June/July Minnesota River flood is the aftermath. Unfortunately, the aftermath never gets the same level of attention, if any at all, that the actual flood gets. Everyone remember reporters standing in knee-deep water but few care to get out after the waters recede and show the true damage that the rush of flood waters caused.

The first photo, shown above, is immediately north of the small town of Henderson, MN which lies on the west bank of the Minnesota River. This smaller farm field is at least half covered by sang and mud from the bluff to the west. While the water has receded (this was taken about a week ago) the mud, sand and trees remain on this farm field. The corn crop, for the most part, is a loss and I can't fathom how this can be cleaned up and returned to valuable farm land in time for the 2015 growing season.


This house, owned by rural Henderson residents Curt and Cindy Boelter, is uninhabitable after being surrounded by mudslides from the bluff behind the family's home. While nobody was injured, insurance doesn't cover the damage as it is considered a flood. The couple was graciously put up in a vacant home within Henderson but it will be a long road to recovery as the Boelters are faced with the task of rebuilding and replacing belongings lost in the mudslide.


Mud and sand from a usually dry creek covered this now-abandoned property across the Minnesota River from the devastated village of Blakeley. The family who had lived here abandoned their property after numerous floods, the last straw though was the fall 2010 flood which set a record high water mark on the Minnesota River. From my vantage point, the sand deposited looked to be about two feet deep across the entirety of the property.


This farm field, immediately south of High Island Creek (north of Henderson, Minnesota), is covered by multiple inches of mud and sand deposited by the flood waters of the Minnesota River which encroached the property from across the adjacent Sibley County 6 roadway. With the land drying out as of this morning, it is too late now to attempt to plant anything of value in the mud-crusted soil. This farmer faces a year without income from this crop land.


This road ditch on Sibley County road 6 immediately north of Henderson, MN is filled with mud deposited from both the adjacent Minnesota River and the mudslides from the bluffs to the west of this property. Cash- and personnel-strapped Sibley County has struggled to repair damaged roadways and it appears that this particular farmer had been using his own excavator to remove mud from the completely filled road ditches on his property.


Minnesota State Highway 93, the southern entrance and exit to the Minnesota River valley community of Henderson, MN, remains closed today and in a state of disrepair. The state highway closed on Thursday June 19th as water from the Minnesota River encroached on the roadway and water from the Rush River streamed across the highway. After the water receded, the damage was apparent as a hundreds foot-long section of the highway had been washed away by flood waters. No timetable has been given for the extensive repairs but rumors (as not even officials from MnDOT are communicating directly with area residents) peg the repairs as taking anywhere form one to three weeks or longer.


This is the view from the still-closed Minnesota Highway 19 east of Henderson, MN. Pavement repairs need to be made on the lower portion of the highway between the Minnesota River and the Union Pacific railroad overpass to the east but the real damage, apparently, is on the highway's ascent from the river valley to the higher ground to the east. Damaged by mudslides and apparently with the road bed weakened by the heavy rains, repair estimates range from 60-90 days or longer for a fairly heavily traveled piece of the state's highway network as this roadway connects farms as far west as South Dakota to Red Wing in the east. This is also a vital link to the rest of the state for the small community of Henderson and with MnDOT again being less than forthcoming regarding details about needed repairs and the damage that led to them, all that remains are rumors and second- or third-hand reports of unknown origin.

So, in a nutshell, this is the aftermath of the June 19th flood. Three weeks later and the story had been forgotten by larger media outlets and residents and communities are left to go it alone as they struggle to recover from one of the most damaging floods to hit the Minnesota River valley since 1965. Residents face detours for weeks more, if not months. Main Street businesses are struggling and paring down employee hours in the face of a heavy decline in tourism in the area. Farmers face tremendous levels of losses. This particular area of the Minnesota River valley will be changed forever.

Urban farmers - Eagan, MN

from flickr user Sue.Ann
The photographer says: I love how there are large areas of open space in Eagan that have not been developed. I decided to include this photo in the photo for this week in order to add context to much land is hand planted. Eagan has a Market Fest every Wednesday during the summer and early fall. I am not sure if the riches from these plantings make it to our Market fest but I would like to think so.

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Farm irrigator near Hastings, MN

from flickr user JeanneW
The weather is finally warm enough for the farmers to get to work in the fields as the greening grass adjacent to this center pivot irrigator near Hastings, MN shows.

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Obligatory farm cat

from flickr user James Billson
There is nothing that screams farm more than the always-present cat (or cats). They prowl the old (or new) buildings and circle grain bins, crawling under old and new machinery no matter its location and hunt down birds and rodents. Some look scruffy and malnourished but the cat in this photo looks friendly and healthy... likely because it has been doing its job of prowling for rodents and birds.

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