We have this typical End-of-May-weather, with the occasional thunderstorm and quick changes between sun and rain. An open area is better suited to tell the story about it than our woods here in the Little Maquoketa Valley. The Deere Marsh, located between the big John Deere factory and the Mississippi River, just north of Dubuque, Iowa , is a place that gives a sense of the marshy backwaters and leaves enough open space to let the clouds tell the story. The Little Maquoketa River actually helped to shape this landscape. It joins the Mississippi just behind the bushes on the right in this picture.