Heartland Awakening: The First Turn of the Soil The earth is finally waking up. After months of winter silence, the Heartland landscape is transforming as the sun breaks through the haze, warming soil that has been locked in frost since late last year. There is a specific energy to this time of season—a mixture of urgency and optimism—as the rhythmic rumble of diesel engines replaces the quiet of the dormant fields. Standing at the edge of the field, you can practically smell the change in the air. It’s the scent of damp, freshly overturned earth and the crisp breeze of a central Illinois spring. I find myself back in my element, camera in hand, documenting the stark transition from the monochrome grays of winter to the rich, dark textures of a seedbed being born. Photos by Alan Look . Soul of the Heartland. alanlook.com. The centerpiece of the scene is the machinery—a powerful tractor, tracks caked in the honest mud of a day’s labor, pulling a massive harrow across the horizon....