Royal Candy for All

The Amana Queen of Maifest dispenses royal candy to her grateful onlookers.

Angel in Amana

An angel does exists in Amana, Iowa. Made of cement and molded as a figure it stands watch over a flower garden with wings pointed east and west.

Looking Towards East Amana, Iowa

From Amana, Iowa (sometimes called Main Amana) the views are pretty spectacular. This one is looking north over society owned farmland.

A swing of the camera to the right brings East Amana into view. This is really a village with a few homes and several farm out buildings. Even in the middle of summer it is a pretty site.

Springtime Dandelions and Tulips in Amana, Iowa

Two iconic flowers emerge in April and early May around these here latitudes - dandelions and tulips. Examples of the springtime color are from yesterday's stroll through Amana as the town celebrated Maifest.

In the front yard garden of an older Amana home is a flower bed that has been in production for many years. This Spring the grasses and dandelions have started to overtake the colorful flower garden.

The mixture of high contrast colors from the tulips and dandelions not only make for a great photo but also signal warm weather has arrived and snow will be put off until November or December.

Fragments of Amana's Past Shore Up the Lily Pond

Along the shore of Amana, Iowa's lily pond there are fragments of fill material. The former wetlands depression was made into a pond when the mill run was dug many years ago to provide water power to the society's woolen mill. Among the fill material exposed is this brick and mortar material from an unknown source. Most likely the bricks can be matched locally to buildings in Amana and therefore a date can be established. If you are looking for some detective work - here's a project for you.

Iowa Byways at Amana's Lily Pond

Directly across from Amana's lily pond is this Iowa Byways sign. In the summer the lily pond looks much like the sign with blooming yellow water lilies but not so much at the moment.

A Goose in Evening Light

Evening light can be dramatic. Golden rays of the low sun angle flooded the lily pond area of Amana, Iowa yesterday. This Canada goose was in a pack of a half dozen birds who allowed me to get fairly close for a decent zoom lens shot. With so many geese like these around (and their litter) its hard to remember a time nearly forty years ago when it was rare to see them outside of migration time. Open water and more food sources available within city limits have created a situation of year round presence for the stately bird.

El Kahir Band Plays Maifest 2014

Musicians from the El Kahir Shrine play to the parade crowd gathered for Maifest earlier this month in Amana, Iowa. Annually the Shriners parade clowns, small cars, and a special float supporting a small army of red jacketed members.  

While not sporting a snappy fez, these band members provided a tight sound as if they have been playing together for a long time.

Clear Creek Amana Marching Band - Eyes Wide Open at Maifest

At Maifest 2014, the Clear Creek Amana Marching Band paraded the entire length (and back) of main Amana. Many locals have commented that the band's presence at the annual parade is a highlight and validates the occasion. The marchers may be small in number, but they certainly liven up the parade route with Sousa music. What else would you expect from the heartland of America?

Amana General Store - Working It

A favorite location for my photography is Amana, Iowa. One of the centerpieces of Main Amana is the general store. In the golden rays of sunset, light illuminates the store's peak and compliments the native sandstone exterior. The store offers many Amana-related products such as food, books, souvenirs and such. But you can also just sit outside and watch people walk along the main street. On this particular evening no one was around so I concentrated on photographing the peak. Maybe next time a live model will be present at the general store's main entrance.

Cattle Feed on Last Day of Spring Grass

In the Amana, Iowa countryside it is common to see herds of cattle munching on grass fields. Rainfall this spring delivered lots of moisture for consistent grass growth. Some fields are rotated for the cattle to graze during a particular period, then are herded to a different pasture, allowing for regeneration of food sources.

Meanwhile just a quarter mile from the above scene, a mother cow calls for her calf, who comes a running. Its a busy time as Summer begins.

A Quiet Evening in Amana

Saturday night in Amana, Iowa is pretty quiet. Some entertainment noise did come from a wedding reception at the festive hall and a live band playing outside at Millstream Brewing. However outside of the Ronneburg Restaurant there was time to relax and say 'hi' to wandering photographers.

Down the road at a flower store customers try to decide on a purchase before closing time.

Evening traffic was sparse as a rain shower moved closer. Daytime traffic in Amana is much higher on the weekends and on special occasions like Maifest and Oktoberfest.

Reclaiming Amana Bricks

Repurposing resource material is a good idea where possible. The people of Amana, Iowa repurpose all sorts of material, much of it being quite old by Iowa standards. A recent example of reuse in that community is the salvaging of bricks from a barn. The structure is either undergoing retrofitting or is being stripped of still useful material. Either way the long ago and locally produced bricks are being cleaned and stacked as they await their next supportive role.

Before Red Solo Cups

Way, way before Red Solo Cups catapulted as the de facto drinking container for casual get-togethers, the venerable Mason Ball Jars were all the rage. Guess what? Ball jars are still in high demand as drinking glasses. Blue tinted jars, from the height of canning days, are especially sought after for all occasions. Forty-some of these jars, sold at an Amana, Iowa flea market went to a bride-to-be for her upcoming pre-wedding festivities. What is old is something new. And what is something blue is apparently wedding appropriate - time to proceed to party.

Mystery Machine spotted in Amana

Zoinks! Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine was spotted on the streets of Amana last weekend. The driver appears not to be Shaggy and would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for those meddling kids!

The Many Faces of Amana's Maifest 2013 Part 2

A tale of two days. Yesterday's opening Maifest activities in Amana, Iowa were filled with clouds and hard rain during the late afternoon. Today's fog gave way to bright sunshine which brought people out to see the celebration of May including several performances by the Maipole dancers. See photos from PART 1 here.

Traditional German music played on an accordion entertained visitors throughout Amana this weekend.

Nothing like 70 degree weather to bring out families to taste Maifest's sweets.

Linda Dolph runs Country Gentleman's Horse & Carriage Service Company. They provide horses and carriages for rides around Amana at Maifest time.

Purple is IN for these two visitors. Bus loads of people from around the area came to experience the sites, sounds and smells of Maifest. The furthest bus load of travelers arrived from Corpus Christi, Texas this morning to see several sites in the Midwest. During their trip the Texans were treated to several inches of snow in central Iowa during the past few days.

The Many Faces of Amana's Maifest 2013 Part 1

Maifest, the annual celebration of Spring was held rain or shine (we had both) in the German heritage village of Amana, Iowa today. The highlight of the two day festival is the maipole dance which is performed several times throughout the two day event. Young women dressed in traditional costume dance and sing (in German) around two maipoles as hundreds of festival goers watch. Today bus loads of tourists from Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin were on hand to watch. Many people came to Amana after some events of the annual tulip festival in Pella, Iowa was cancelled due to snow received on Friday.

If you are not watching the maipole dancers most likely you are eating German food or shopping. These two antique shoppers found a Dewars Scotch wooden box that they plan to decorate. Inside the wooden crate were four blue glass mason jars. 

Face painting is always a hit with the young. This girl's face was a canvas for an intricate design. Her younger sister had already smeared half her face paint off and refused to be photographed.

By the end of Saturday, Mr. Christmas came by to say hello. Actually his name is Dave. His white beard helps him to play Kris Kringle throughout eastern Iowa. Santa's presence helped to bring snow to western, central and northern Iowa yesterday but only rain to Maifest - this time.

Amana's Hidden Cattle Symbol Visible in Plain Sight

Idyllic Amana, Iowa is the subject for photographers. From sandstone foundations and weathered cedar sided buildings to the mill stream and woolen mill, the sites are endless for the seven village communities.

A closer look at the farms surrounding Main Amana yielded something unexpected. Its a cattle impression located on a concrete floor (sidewall) of a feedlot or livestock retaining area. The image can be easily overlooked but on a sunny day the south facing wall produced a distinctive shadow outline.

Visitors can discover this symbol (which I have never seen exhibited in Amana photos) on their own journey. This weekend is Amana's Maifest celebration. Check out fun and search for the lost symbol in Amana.

Pond Art in Transition

Today a sign of Spring showed itself in the form of open water on a small pond near Amana, Iowa. Not all the surface was in a liquid state but this section did so with last season's plant stalks jetting upward. With a little post production work the scene becomes almost art-like.

Ice covers much of the pond. Canada geese warm themselves on the melting ice caps as temperatures climbed into the 30s today. Maybe next week these large birds will be floating in pond water instead of sitting and walking on ice.

A Stroll Through Grapevine Antiques

Antique stores, like Grapevine Antiques in Amana, Iowa offer glimpses into the past and what is currently popular with collectors. For some collectors it may be certain glassware types, others want to recreate what they had as a child. Still others collect for resale if the price is right.

Another feature of local antiques stores is historical local items. At Grapevine the regional reach of material can span from the Amana area to Cedar Rapids and Iowa City plus other sections of the state. A recent stop in Davenport and Moline offered another element to the regional mix – that of the Mississippi River and local rail road headquarters.

Today Grapevine highlighted a ball and claw table foot for $35, a set of old time children’s books from the 1940s and ‘50s, and the ever popular pocket knives.

Collectors look for things to start or expand their collection. However sometimes an item sells because of an emotional connection with the purchaser, but not in all cases.

A few weeks ago a women came to the store looking for a 1940s era radio for her business’ new historical display. She mentioned that the radio did not have to be functioning because she would gut it and place modern speakers in the shell to broadcast the company’s history in the display she was creating. A quick search of the store turned up no radio candidates. 

My own collection of radios may have helped but I couldn't let a fully functioning tube radio become stripped for a display.