Looking Forward to Spring

Obviously, this photo wasn't taken recently. The leaves on the trees and the lack of snow are dead give-aways.

For all my previous rambling about what can be accomplished in winter, I really would like Spring to just hurry up and get here. If for no other reason, it's just easiuer and more comfortable to move around and enjoy oneself when bitter cold isn't an issue.

This shot is of the old... and still currently used... courthouse in Mitchell County up by the Minnesota border. It's sort of amazing than an old and dated building such as this still functions in a modern society.

While doing some research of Iowa courthouses a couple years ago, you could tell when each one across the state was constructed simply by the architectural style. In my modest opinion, almost no courthouse constructed after 1910 is worth looking at. This one dates from 1858, and is relatively simple in design, but the "grand era" of courthouse construction seemed to be between 1880 and 1910.