Today begins yet another year. It may be what amounts to a mostly symbolic fresh start, but I'll take it nonetheless. As always, I'm reminded that I must always move forward and find time to be creative as much as possible. And remember to be happy, even in the face of an always-hectic world rushing by.

What follows are twelve photographs for the first day of 2012. I spent this mild, yet extremely windy, holiday in the Loess Hills region of western Iowa. I'd like to think it's a good start on what will hopefully be a fantastic year of image making and discovery.

Happy New Year, everyone.