LOVE THURSDAY

I take back country roads when I travel to my parents' home in Collinsville. Most people traveling between Kansas City and the Tulsa area would take Hwy 71 to Interstate 44, passing through Carthage and Joplin. Not me. I take U.S. Hwy 69 to Fort Scott. At Fort Scott I jot over to KS Hwy 7 and follow this to US 400. Then it's 400 to Highway 169, which I stay on all the way to Collinsville. Sure 71 to 44 has less zig and zag and 44 is a turnpike, but even though I add time to my drive, I also shave off 100 miles. Also, I'm traveling with the dog and we need easy stopping places. That doesn't exist on the 71 to 44 route. From Kansas City to Fort Scott Hwy 69 is a four lane 75 mile per hour highway, but Hwy 7 is a pure back country two lane road. It winds through Kansas farmland and passes through town squares and main streets. And though the highways get a little wider once you reach 400 and 169, they still pass through farmland and towns. It's scenic. I always see deer. This time around I saw doe and her brand new baby. He was so tiny and cute. In May, I passed fields and fields of golden wheat swaying back and forth in the breeze. I had intended to stop and take pictures, but I never did. The wheat had been harvested by the time I made this last trip down. The tall golden fields of wheat had been reduced to short needles of gold with wavy tire marks running through. Now it's corn time. Tall stalks of corn sway in the breeze. They seem to go on forever.

This time I stopped. I forced myself to stop. There were so many reasons not to. I was tired. I just wanted to get home. It was already that time a day where the sun was at it's worse for photography. I'd have to leave the dog in the car and it was hot. But I stopped. I walked right up to the corn field and could here the creepy rustle of their leaves in the wind and buzz of summer bugs in the heat. I may not have gotten the exact shot I was going for, but that's not the important part. Stopping for the intention was the important thing.

It made me feel brave.

Happy Love Thursday.