IDA GROVE, Iowa, Aug. 2, 2017 — Photographer Don Poggensee has had a busy summer, shooting around the state and beyond, but recently he was at home here in northwest Iowa.  So he “spent some time recording the giant swallowtail butterflies as they work over the purple coneflowers” in Moorehead Park, located just west of…

IDA GROVE, Iowa, May 1, 2017 — Photographer Don Poggensee says he loves the arrival of spring “with new birds passing thru,” like the northern flicker pictured here in the crabapple blossoms. Actually he was saying that he loves everything about “the change of season from winter into spring,” as he wrote from his home here…

IDA GROVE, Iowa, March 15, 2017 — Photographer Don Poggensee says “spring came early this year,” and the proof is that the annual north-bound migration of ducks, geese, eagles and many smaller birds has been “in full swing the last several weeks.”  Poggensee observes that winter “has tried its best to hang on,” and thus…

IDA GROVE, Iowa, Jan. 24, 2017 — For more than 25 years, photographer Don Poggensee has frequently traveled from his home here in northwest Iowa to portray people in several Amish communities around the state. “I have met many fine Amish during that time,” Poggensee says. “They indeed are hard-working people, and truly care for their…

IDA GROVE, Iowa, Jan. 10, 2017 — There are lots of big, loud, bad things that happen around us and command the attention of all of us.  Then every once in a while, you run across a small, quiet, good thing that’s been happening for years but it’s a complete surprise to you.  And when you figure out…