90 bucks

Adjacent to the Steam Power show was a flea market area. This vendor offered a mounted deer head for 90 bucks.



Some amateur radio operators set up a tent, but they didn't seem to attract much of a crowd.



This dealer was offering ecletic merchandise - a crocodile head and old golf clubs.

feed the beast

The big steam tractor is put to work driving a threshing machine.

The tractor is positioned a distance away from the thresher and a long belt (shown here in the foreground) is attached to both machines. The steam engine drives the belt and the threshing machine does it's work.

It's an extremely dusty and dirty operation - chaff is flying everywhere, mingled with the smoke from the engine.

concentration

The operator of this steam tractor concentrates on the task at hand - getting from one area of the show to another where his tractor will be put to work.

The huge tractor is a big lumbering mass of iron, burning coals and boiling water and steam - perhaps a disaster waiting to happen in less competent hands.

I know the difficulties encountered by my friends who collect and restore classic cars, but I can't imagine the conversation when someone tries to explain that they're bringing home a multi-ton fire breathing dinosaur.

Mike Mulligan....you've got some 'spaining to do.

the shovel

The big surprise at this years Stem Power Show was the appearance of a steam shovel.

This lumbering piece of machinery resembled a dinosaur blowing steam and gobbling up gravel. This is a two-man operation, but from this angle you can't see the second man who is in charge of the boiler. The shovel operator works a series of handles and levers.

It was absolutely fascinating to watch. I can't imagine the work involved in keeping this monster going.

tractors

In addition to the steam tractors and engines, there's always a large display of later era tractors, including John Deere, Farmalls and more.

It's a veritable Parade of Tractors!

steam power

The Taylor Marshall farm in nearby Sycamore once again hosted the Steam Power Show & Threshing Bee. This was the 50th annual year of the event, and it was bigger than ever!

There are acres and acres of cars parked in a field, and the steam and smoke created by the leviathans can be seen from miles away.

What a fantastic piece of history brought alive by the collectors and preservationists involved with keeping these machines in working order.

Here we see a field being plowed by a steam driven tractor. Certainly the steam engine can beat the one-man and oxen team which could plow an acre a day by hand.

There were some suprises at this year's show, so watch all this week for photos!

whitewash

The tiny old farmhouse literally glows in the late afternoon light. It reminds me of those villages in Greece, glowing white under the clear Mediterranean sunlight.

And what you can't see is the carpet of McMansions just behind the lovely little house with it's cheery windowboxes. I bet the rooms inside this home are cozy and warm.

move

We've been following the fate of this farmhouse. Honestly, I never much noticed it as I passed by each day. It was a nice farmhouse surrounded by large trees, barn and outbuildings. Then one day the developers cut down all the trees and the house stood shockingly exposed to the elements. It was a very dramatic event.

Next the earthmovers came in and began transforming the acreage from soybean fields to barren landscape. The barn was razed in a single afternoon and the land was neatly carved around the house leaving it to stand like a stranded white wedding cake. At this point it was obvious, and a local resident confirmed to me that the house was to be moved to a nearby location.

The house movers arrived to remove the foundation, leaving the house to stand for awhile on stacked timbers. Somehow the structure was mounted on wheels and it now awaits moving day. I'm not quite sure when this will occur, probably on a weekend. It would be fun to photograph, as I've already captured a large country store that was moved down our road.

I'm happy that the home will have a new life, hopefully surrounded once again by huge oak trees.

commute

I can honestly say my commute each morning is a joy. Twelve miles of rural roads and only one stop light bring me to my job at the newspaper, which lies at the outermost edge of what we'll call the civilized world known as Chicagoland.

There is some traffic to be sure, maybe a car or two at the juncture of the main road heading east. Other than that you'll need to be on the lookout for wildlife - deer in season, foxes, pheasant, a coyote late at night. Miles and miles of corn and soybeans have a calming effect.

The only time I didn't enjoy the commute was in the dead of winter during a white out. This road was a nightmare, with nothing close enough in the dense fogged out snowstorm to provide a point of reference. Snow and fog had obliterated the landscape. Snow was falling so heavily you could not distinguish the roadway from the field from the sky. The fence on the left was barely visible, it's faint outline giving me a point with which to mentally compute the location of the road on which I was driving! By keeping notes in my head about the distance the fence should be from the road, I was able to keep from driving into a ditch.

nectar

Bees were working a patch of bee balm just outside the window. I grabbed the camera and stood outside in the patch for about 15 minutes watching them gather the nectar. I've never been afraid of bees and never been stung.

They went about their work, seemingly unfazed by the invader or the camera. Then.....POOF...they were all gone in an instant, flying off as if the 5:00 whistle had announced the end of the work day.

the kid

The rail line running through tiny La Fox, Illinois is a major transport line. It's been said that 120 trains pass through here everyday. I'm sure the folks that live in town, near the tracks can attest to that number.

They've just installed a new set of crossing gates that include an artificial bell sound that can only be categorized as annoying noise. This train included many, many graffiti covered cars including several that were virtually right of the production line - brand new.

I'm not an art critic, but it seems to me that "The Kid" lacks talent. Perhaps he could improve with some practice....maybe on his own home?...or his car?

condensation

The tall corn all but hides the cooling towers rising in the distance. The Byron nuclear power plant sits in the middle of an agricultural area. The condensation plumes are visible from many, many miles away. Some days they are more dramatic than others.

long day

Earlier in the day we'd passed two women who had set up a sweet corn stand on the side of the road. They'd chosen a good spot on a well-traveled road in the tiny town of Kings, Illinois. The speed limit drops considerably and people have to slow down just before the sweet corn stand. They seemed to be doing a brisk business earlier, but we passed by as we were late for a birthday party.

I made a mental note to stop on my way back through Kings, but we were tired and so was she! It was evidently a long, hot day selling sweet corn. $4.00 a dozen seemed a little pricey when the grocery stores sell sweet corn, 10 for $1.00. But the grocery story corn cannot compare to something freshly picked from a Illinois cornfield.

elegance

This week we discovered one of our satellite channels is rebroadcasting one of our favorite science shows, "Cosmos", hosted by the late Carl Sagan. I miss the old lineup of what I'd call "science superstars", working scientists who were also able to teach via the medium of television. The shows were all well written and we always looked forward to the next installment.

There were several, including Jacques Cousteau, Jane Goodall and of course, my favorite, Sagan.

Who can forget his enthusiasm and how he continued to exude wonder at that grandeur of nature. "Billions & billions of stars...." rings in my mind.

He spoke of the elegance of nature and this scene of cornstalks reminded me of that elegance. "Billions and billions of corn cobs...."

rough road revisited

We've visited this sleepy lane before. I never tire of looking down this road with it's arching, leafy bower. It's a peaceful sight to see in any season. The road rises and dips and you're always left wondering what's just out of sight.

meltdown

The heat must have a negative effect on diesel engines. This was the second truck I saw pulled over with the hood popped open. I can't imagine what they were tinkering with and the other poor guy was blocking the busiest intersection in the county.

The hot and angry drivers were not happy.

fresh eggs

Rural commerce is as easy as this:

Take the fresh eggs from the fridge in the shed.

Leave the money in the box.

riders on the storm

The heat and humidity have been oppressive the last couple of days. The heat index reach 105 degrees today. We all watched the weather report with a mixture of hope and dread. This afternoon it was reported that a cool front would be moving in this evening, and that can mean serious trouble. Deadly hot weather followed by a cold front spawns tornados.

A couple hours ago lightning appeared in the distance, growing ever closer. Thunder rolled across the fields of corn. Lacking the thousands of dollars of lightning-triggered camera gadgetry I propped my camera on a clay pot aimed at the neighbors house and shot frame after frame after frame after frame. Well, you get the idea.
A little shaky effort, but this will give you an idea of the drama of the light show.



The following photo is not what it appears.



It is not a twister bearing down on the neighbors house. The air was calm and this triangular shaped cloud was backlit by the lighting bolt.

The evening is not over, and we never quite sleep soundly on a night such as this. We're listening for freight trains.....

invader

A quick trip out to the garden last night revealed a Japanese invader, the Japanese Beetle or popillia japonica. They're very interesting looking and equally destructive. Gladly they're busy destroying a weed.

If you look closely you'll see somewhat of a self portrait in silhouette in the beetles shell.

silk

Nothing to do in this heat but duck quickly into the cornfield and take some photos. No extended picture taking excursions this weekend.

The heat actually helps to produce a good corn crop. The corn needs moisture and heat to develop properly. It in the state of reproduction now. The silk is luxuriant and spouting like fountains from the top of the husk. The pollen grains are falling everywhere and you can see one sitting on the leaf. It's the rod shaped structure.

brace roots

Brace roots form at the bottom of a corn stalk. These roots will continue to grow, turn downwards and establish themselves in the soil. They help support the plant and scavenge top levels of soil for moisture and nutrients which are used during the plants reproductive stage.

Beyond that, they're very cool, and all thats left when a field has been harvested is a short dried stalk and the brace roots.

construction

We drove along my daily route, but I had forgotten that my husband hasn't been this way in quite awhile. When we crested the rise on Keslinger Road he looked to the right and with a great amount of shock in his voice queried, "What's THAT?"

Well, last year it was a soybean field, but now from our high perspective it resembles the beginning of a strip mining process. These large earth movers darted back and forth across the acreage, kicking up huge amounts of dust. The rich black topsoil has been stripped away and the underlying dry layer creates mini dust storms. New residents, fleeing the city for a bit of the country life write letters to the editor, bemoaning the fact that they need to dust their solid cherrywood dining tables twice a day. Once when the farmer tills the field to the north and once when the earth movers create the newest enclave to the west.

I instruct my husband to roll down the window and snap the photo as we pass.

the edge

It always seemed to me that the edge of a cornfield would be a wonderful place to play. There's some shade and the corn rows make cool tunnels. G.I Joe would have some places to hide or Barbie could ride her ATV down the shallow ditch. Mostly you could think of things to do without Joe or Barbie. The leaves could be pulled into thin strips and braided, or you could pull open one of the ears and check on the development of the kernels.

Certainly there are bugs crawling around to study. Or you could simply lie on your back and look at the blue sky and listen to the corn squeak.

Don't go too far down the corn tunnel, you might never find your way out.

cancelled

Several times a year the county comes around and does a brush pickup. If memory serves me well, they actually tow a large wood chipper and dispatch the branches into a large truck and haul it all off somewhere to be used as wood mulch.

These hand stenciled signs appeared all over the area about a week ago. It seems the brush pickup has been cancelled by the U.S.D.A. Ash borer beetles have been found about a mile from here and this action is in an attempt to keep the damage from spreading.

the farmers dog

There's not been much photoblogging around here the last couple of days. We've been busy trying to spoil rotten acclimate the farmers new dog.

Technically the photo would be the farmers daughter and the farmers dog.



Pancho, born on....what else but Cinco de Mayo, the 5th of May. Yes, he's a Chihuahua. Ears haven't perked up yet, but we like floppy eared Chihuahua's anyway. Don't laugh, a neighbors Chihuahua single handedly kept a 1,200 pound bull from escaping when a gate was accidently left open.

Yeah, he's bad.....bad to the bone.

slow

I've made it a habit of leaving early for appointments. There's a reason, as evidenced by today's experience.

This was the tail end of a string of three slow moving farm implements. Actually, they're outfitted for mowing. The fact that there were three made it impossible to pass.



So you simply take a deep breath and drive slowly, looking at the scenery. If you're successful it has the effect of lowering the blood pressure instead of raising it.

Five minutes later you find yourself behind this -



What's a person to do? Nothing, drive slow, look at the cows in the field on the right.

knee high

The old saying goes, the corn should be "knee high by the Fourth of July".

At the beginning of June that was in doubt. The corn wasn't growing very fast. But recent rains caused a growing spurt.

My good intentions were to get a young child to stand in the corn field for a photographic shoot. Pictures of corn mean nothing scale-wise unless there's some point of reference. A cute young kid would have been a great reference. The nieces and nephews were otherwide engaged in fun Fourth of July activities. Likewise the neighbor kids, although I can imagine the parents pondering the request....."You want to drive my kid over to the Swanberg cornfield and do what?"

Lacking any outside cooperation I set the camera on the timer, propped it on the trunk of the car and pushed the shutter. Next I ran across the roadway and attempted to position myself in a pose with the corn. What am I looking at? I'm looking at the shallow ditch at the edge of the field. This soon-to-be-60-year-old is trying not to fall in the attempt at photo taking.

Anyway, here's the corn. I'm 5 foot 6 inches tall, so as you can see it's certainly bigger than knee-high. Here at the Farmers Wife we will probably spend alot of time in the next couple of months watching the corn grow. Regardless of what you might think, it's an exciting activity.

Here's a Corn Cam - bookmark it and watch along as the corn grows!

Corn Cam

o beautiful

My belief is this - when all else fails, and you haven't an image in mind to fill the days posting.....

amber waves of grain will always be appropriate.

lunch at alice's

I've taken you to Alice's many times, but we're never visited inside. If you go for lunch you order at the window and take it to your car, or you can sit inside on one of the 7 stools.

The kitchen is just behind the counter and you can watch as your food is being cooked. That kitchen is the size of the closet in your first apartment - you remember your first apartment, don't you? You remember the closet...behind the bifold or sliding mirrored doors. Yes, that's a very small kitchen.

I had my favorite - mini tacos with sour cream and salsa. This gentleman was having an area favorite - Chicago hot dog and chili cheese fries.

running

The biker attempts to outrun the approaching rain.

My riding days are now over and the bike is long gone. This is one part of riding that I did not enjoy. Many hours were spent over the years sitting under bridges waiting for the storm to pass.

art

Oregon, Illinois has a long history of connection with the fine arts, beginning in the early 1900's when sculptor Loredo Taft founded an art colony along the Rock River. Today the area is home to several foundries that cast bronze statues.

This week including the field art and scultures, artists lived on the farms and created a body of work based on their experience. These large canvases were produced by artist Bill Stone. His work is very interesting, being created by broad stroke with a pallette knife. He focused on the farms cattle herd.



One of the existing statues is in Mix Park. It's 13 feet high and depicts Abraham Lincoln and Chief Blackhawk. This is a detail of the statue. Chief Blackhawk clings to a buffalo robe, the only covering left to him.



I thought this artist quite brave to transport his work (lifesize) to the park for display. This will soon be cast in bronze. Even in it's clay state it's beautiful. It depicts Demeter, the greek goddess of the bountiful harvest.

the fields project

For those city dwellers who believe there is no cultural outlets in rural America, take heart. We do indeed engage in music, theater and art. This past weekend was the culmination of a 9 day art extravanganza.

Visiting artists from all over North America descend upon the Rock River Valley, living with local farm families for nine days, immersing themselves in rural culture and beauty. They paint, photograph or sculpt, interpreting their experiences in whatever medium they choose. It's an attempt to combine art and agriculture.

One of the more ambitious design tasks is the creation of "Field Art". Four designs are chosen and carved into a 15 acre farm field, using mowing equipment and a GPS system. It's kind of a purposeful crop circle endeavor. Local art students from either the high school or community college are given the task of creating at least one of the designs.

As you can now understand, the field art is visible only from the air. Area pilots offer plane rides to view the field. The cost? $25 for about a half hour in the air - What a bargain!

Three stalks of giant corn are visible in the field below:



One of the other designs is a Kokopelli:



The other two designs are a man in the moon and this year's Field Project logo. Keep in mind that an airplane window does not lend itself to creating good photos.

The weather is moving in fast from the west and after a second turn around the field pilot Darryl Jensen heads back towards the airport.



He takes me for a turn around the town of Oregon, Illinois - that's the dam at the top of the photo. We fly over my sisters house and my mom's house too!



On the way back to the airport we pass over the most awesome sight of the day. A peek in the clouds casts a beam of sunlight down on one of the farms.



We come in for a landing on......yes.... a grass covered landing strip. Quite plush and quiet, soft landing. Another plane is waiting to take off.



Read more about the project: The Fields Project

Come back tomorrow and see some of the other art that was created during the week.

flying

Early Sunday morning was overcast and raining. It wasn't apparent whether the flights would actually get off, but I left after 8 a.m. to make the hours drive out to Oregon, Illinois. The weather cleared up along the way and I arrived in time for my reserved 9:30 flight, just as another front began to move in from the west.

Here are the ladies that were inside the building at the airport. That's Dixie on the right, and her friend. Sorry I didn't jot down her name. They were selling bottled water and Pringles.



After checking in I proceed back to "Gate One", and just beyond my chariot (a Piper) awaited.



The pilot introduced himself and launching into my interviewer-mode I determined he'd been flying since the '70's and he really liked this new plane he'd purchased - more horsepower! He'd flown over from Freeport to offer rides for the day.

I've been in alot of small planes in my day, some while traveling in Central America that literally had tape holding some instruments from sliding around on top of the cockpit dashboard. But most of the planes I've flown in had a high wing, I think that's what's it's called. This plane required that we step on a small bar, grab a handhold and walk up on the wing to climb into the very small cockpit area. There's two seats in the back - for some very, very tiny people.



It's so interesting to be in the cockpit and watch the instruments and take off and landing, which is something that never happens in a commercial jet.



My pilot, Darryl Jensen, banks to the left after takeoff and we head south towards the reason for my trip - the Fields Project.



Come back tomorrow and find out more about high culture in the middle of a 15 acre farm field.

plane rides

Here at the Farmers Wife we spare no expense to bring you interesting experiences from the American heartland.

Today we're going to go flying...........



This is the small airport that lies between Oregon and Mt. Morris, Illinois.

From my quick count there can only be a dozen or less planes kept in the hangars.

And no, there is no gate 2.

rebuilding

Train stations across the country are being rehabbed and given new life and new responsibilities. What was once the hub of transportation can become a visitors center for travelers.

In 1966 I caught a train to Chicago from the station in Huntsville, Alabama. Of course railroad travel continued to decline and that station was eventually retired from it's original purpose. Fast forward to 1992 and I found myself once again in Huntsville, this time taking a child to U.S. Space Camp.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the old train station was now a part of ths historic downtown section and part of a walking tour. Upstairs, in the attic of the station, it was discovered that during the civil war troops had hidden out and marked the walls with their graffiti....now historical record.

This is the old Union Station in Springfield, Illinois. The original clock tower from the late 1800's is being restored, having been removed in the 1940's. This appears to be very complicated and dangerous work. The terra cotta detail on the front of the building was absolutely beautiful.

NOTE: I've decided it was getting stagnant around here and it was time to get out and about for awhile. As you can see I finally figured out how to link (duh) and I've added some new friends. There's a great little blog from Montana, and two from Iran. The Iranian blogs have some fantastic landscapes, and check out Farokh's dog. It makes me feel that he's just around the corner, instead of around the globe.