High school teams work on their designs.
It was a fascinating day. Hundreds of high school students from across Iowa gathered for a fun day of activities and competition. The students were divided into teams and each team was guided by a Graceland student or professor from the business and agriculture departments.
Kaylyn
Kaylyn is a regional director for Growing Hope Globally (see the third link below) and I was taking pictures of her addressing a local church group.
Autumn leaves, Lake LaShane. November 17, 2025.
Here in southern Iowa most of the deciduous trees have lost their leaves, and the leaves in the trees at Lake LaShane that were pretty and colorful just two days ago are turning brown. The fall color season is pretty much over. It was great while it lasted. In my head I can hear the Mamas and the Papas singing “All The Leaves Are Brown. . .”
Mercury and Venus northeast of Lamoni at 6:01 am. November 16, 2020
Exposure Data: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon EF 50mm lens. f/4, 2.5 seconds, ISO 800.
For quite some time I have wanted to photograph 8 planets in less than one 24 hour day, along with the sun and moon. It is not always possible due to one or more of the planets being lost in the glow of the daytime sun. Cloudy weather can get in the way too. Five years ago today, November 16, 2020, was the day. I finally had my chance and I accomplished my goal in 12 hours and 27 minutes.
I began with Venus and Mercury early in the morning. Click any of these images to see larger versions.
Autumn leaves, Lamoni Iowa. November 16, 2025.
Most trees in southern Iowa have dropped their leaves but a few are hanging in there.
Autumn leaves, Lake LaShane. November 15, 2025.
Fall is still hanging around at my favorite lake in southern Iowa.
Autumn leaves, Lamoni Trial. November 14, 2025.
Most of the trees on the Lamoni Trail have dropped their leaves, but this tree is still looking good.
Autumn leaves at Lake LaShane. November 13, 2025.
Fall colors are fading in southern Iowa, but there is still some color here and there.
Autumn Leaves, Lake LaShane. November 12, 2025.
A lot has changed over the last two days. The fall colors are fading in southern Iowa. The prettiest trees are starting to lose their color. A lot of trees are bare and trees with leaves are turning brown. I am still finding patches of color and a few trees that are hanging in there with some nice color. Like yesterday, two of those trees were at Lake LaShane.
Northern Lights, Home Lake. November 11, 2025.
The Northern Lights over southern Iowa were the brightest I have ever seen. A long row of cars showed up at the lake as people came to watch. The lights filled so much of the sky that I used a 15mm lens that has a 180 degree diagonal angle of view to take most of it in.
Autumn leaves, Lake LaShane. November 11, 2025.
Autumn Leaves, Lamoni Iowa. November 10, 2025.
Lamoni Iowa is alive with fall colors.
Autumn leaves, Lamoni Iowa. November 9, 2025.
Autumn colors continue to flourish in Lamoni Iowa.
Autumn Tree, Old Old Path Park, Lamoni Iowa. November 8, 2015.
One by one, beautiful trees are showing off their fall colors.
Autumn trees, Lamoni Trail, Lamoni Iowa. November 7, 2025.
Autumn trees, Lamoni Iowa. November 6, 2025.
Mother Nature shows off on the Graceland University campus, Lamoni Iowa.
Trunk or Treat, Graceland Enactus program. October 31, 2025.
I recently sent a bunch of Trunk or Treat photos to the local newspaper. I generally shoot pretty close to how I want my final image to look, and then do a bit of cropping before I send the final version of each photo to the newspaper. Most photos benefit from a bit of cropping.
Fall color, Lamoni Iowa. November 5, 2025.
Here and there trees are beginning to turn.
Fall color, Lamoni Iowa. November 4, 2025.
Autumn is arriving in southern Iowa!
Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio. November 3, 2017.
I had never been to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, so a friend and I decided to go there for the day
Sunny, autumn leaves, Columbus, Ohio. November 2, 2016.
I was walking our dog on Sugarmaple Street, which is lined with maple trees and definitely the prettiest street in our neighborhood in the fall.
Fall leaves in Columbus Ohio. November 1, 2016.
The Barbie Trunk, Trunk or Treat, Graceland Enactus program. October 31, 2025.
Here in Lamoni Iowa, it is a Halloween tradition for the Graceland University Enactus program to sponsor Trunk or Treat in the community center parking lot. Graceland and various civic organizations combined to have a dozen trunks. Each “trunk” (or the area nearby) had a different fun activity for kids to participate in and win a treat. Whether it was golf, soccer, twister, stuff the pumpkin, feed the cookie monster, scare the witches, or any of the other trunk activities, every kid was a winner at every trunk. Well over 500 people came out to enjoy the event. Click on any of the photos to see a larger version.
Fall in Columbus Ohio. October 30, 2016.
I was out walking our dog and taking pictures of the autumn leaves.
Horseshoe Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. October 29, 2012.
Trip with John, day 3. This overlook on deer mountain has a nice view of the valley (“park”) below.
Arkansas River along U.S. 50 between Salida and Cotapaxi Colorado. October 28, 2012.
Trip with John, day 2. When we were growing up, several times a year our parents would take us along the Arkansas River to get to the mountains in the west.
John (left) and Jim, O’Haver Lake sign, Colorado. October 27, 2012.
Trip with John, Day 1. My brother John had not been back to Colorado since 1969, so we decided it was time to go on a trip to Colorado and visit our favorite childhood places. The fall colors were gone, but this was the only time we could both make the trip. This sign marks a very special childhood place.
Seney National Wildlife Refuge. October 27, 2025.
Before driving home, I stopped at Seney National Wildlife Refuge which is just two miles north of Germfask Michigan. Seney is one of my favorite places on the planet. The roads that loop through the refuge close after October 20 and they are not open to foot traffic, but you can see two of the ponds from the road to the visitor’s center. I stopped to take this picture of one of them before pointing my car toward home. From May 15 to October 20 when the roads are open, I highly recommend Seney as a place to visit and take pictures.
Fall color in Michigan. October 26, 2025.
I spent the day driving from Kalamazoo Michigan to Germfask Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. I stopped periodically to take pictures along the way.
Fernwood Botanical Garden. October 25, 2025.
This is the second day of my Michigan fall color trip and my first full day. I began at Fernwood Botanical Garden near Niles Michigan.