entwined

The old pump house will soon be hidden from view. Vines and electric wires entwine the tiny building and the buds will soon blossom into leaves, encasing and camouflaging the layers of paint. More recent layers of paint have worn away to show the past. Soon enough it will be bulldozed and this and parhaps some family photos of the property and this image will be all that will remain.

fresh snowfall

As punishment for my impertinence yesterday when I declared that spring had finally arrived Mother Nature has put me in my place. This morning we awoke to about 3 inches of fresh snowfall on the ground.

I would have taken a photo at the exact same spot, but the narrow and winding road up to Johnson's Mound will be closed today.

My plans yesterday included mowing 2 acres but there were difficulties starting the lawn tractor so I vowed to accomplish the task today. Nothing will be running but the snowblower.

spring

One of the first signs of spring was spotted yesterday afternoon at Johnson's Mound. We call them Dutchman's Breeches but the proper name is Dicentra cucullaria and they're related to poppies and bleeding hearts.

The patches of green under the still-grey tree trunks is a hopeful sign that spring is finally here.

happy sky

The blue sky and puffy white clouds are in contrast to the somber collapsed barn. Weakened by age and misuse it surged and collapsed in a wave at the base of the silo. It must have created a terrible noise and misplaced some homesteading raccoons.

This angle does not convey the amount of material that has collapsed. Maybe this gives a better idea -



This is one of the places that I make a mental note of, with plans to return on a day when there are particularly ominous clouds or dangerous atmospheric conditions. This scene calls for something besides a happy sky.

easter morning

The first time I noticed this statue it was summertime and the stark white image peeked through the overgrown greenery. She's so peaceful and refined in contrast to the tangle of growth and the rough hewn shed behind her. When you see her for the first time it's surprising and it seems she would be more at place in a formal courtyard or on an altar surrounded by saints.

Mentally I refer to her as "Our Lady of the Side Yard" as opposed to the "Our Lady of the Bathtubs" that abound just east of here.

May you have a wonderful Easter Sunday, surrounded by loved ones.

return

The barn and outbuildings stood just to the east of the old farmhouse we've been exploring this week. We visited this property before, on March 9, 2006. At that time I photographed from the roadway, not actually venturing on the property but I believe the barn had already collapsed at that time. 64 acre farm for sale, 64 acre farm still for sale.

Walking around the outbuildings it becomes apparent that the barn has collapsed in a giant wave of energy, sweeping towards the silo. The lean-to portion of the barn is left partially standing. The reverse side of the lean-to show above speaks to the power of the final death throes of the barn. The opposing force has pushed the structure into a convulted form. Patches of color reveal the original barn red paint.

64 acre farm for sale. Not ever to be used as a farm again. Perhaps the sign should read, "64 acre development plot for sale".

favorites

This is your chance to participate in the two year anniversary of The Farmers Wife, which is on April 9th.

Do you have a favorite photo from the last year? Please consider sending me an e-mail with the name and date of the photo and a little bit about why it's a favorite. Next week I'll share those thoughts with everyone

Thanks for all your support over the past two years. It's been alot of fun. Also be sure to check out the links on the right hand side of this page. I've updated a bit and added some wonderful sites.

breeze

All the windows in the farmhouse are broken and glass shards cover every surface.

As I walk back into the kitchen area a breeze picks up and furls the curtains into the room.

Tomorrow we'll venture outside to discover the fate of the old barn.

kitchen

As you can see we are trying something new here at The Farmer's Wife. Blogger is offering some altered templates (although they sorely need to design something new). I've chosen one that allow me to post larger photos, but it doesn't come in black.

This view is from the kitchen of the old farmhouse into the parlor. An old fixture for an old lamp still sways on the parlor ceiling. The door to the left is the tiny stairway up to the two small bedrooms.

plumbing

It's apparent that vandals have been in the house. The stove has been tossed in the back yard, the fixtures have been ripped up and the tub is missing. Thankfully there is no graffiti and there are no signs that it's been used as a party house by local teenagers.

I'm pretty confident that this farmhouse did not have indoor plumbing or electricity when it was built. Most farm were "electrified" in the 1960's. Most likely this bathroom was once a large pantry as it lies just off the kitchen.

Reader Pablo was correct about these old houses. I remembered his words when I was walking gingerly through the space. There were only two very, very tiny closets in this house. The upstairs bedrooms were tiny and it was not apparent to me how anyone could get furniture up the doll sized staircase with it's 90 degree turn.

wall history

Layers of wallpaper have peeled back in the kitchen revealing a thick layer of mold on the underside of the paper. This location isn't old enough or unique enough to draw the attention of archaeologists, but just like in ancient times there are several layers of decoration - paper upon paper and many layers of paint.



The layers are more apparent in the parlor. It occurs to me that I was not aware that it's possible to paper without removing the previous layer. This must have been in the days before strippable wallpaper.

wallpaper

I plan to spend a number of days examining the decaying interior of the old farmhouse. The patterns created as a building decomposes are fascinating.

Upstairs in one of the bedrooms the wallpaper has pulled away from the wall and gracefully draped to the floor, puddling at the bottom. The handheld shot is probably more than a little shaky. I was quite unsure of the condition of the flooring and was afraid that I might fall through to the first floor. Needless to say I didn't spend alot of time up there.

decor

The elements, vandals and a family of racoons have taken their toll on the interior of the old farmhouse on Hughes Road. Many layers of wallpaper are peeling off the walls, sometimes creating surprisingly artistic forms.

This tableau was in the middle of the parlor floor and made me think of a netherworld decorator planning for the decay of the property.

"Here's the perfect wallpaper and floor covering, they match the gold silk cafe curtains perfectly."

The racoons seem to find it a perfectly lovely shelter.

cafe curtains

The farmhouse on Hughes Road was abandoned some time ago. It's difficult to determine how long it's been standing empty. I've stood at the edge of the road to photograph the barn but until today I've never actually ventured into the property to examine the buildings up close.

The windows are all broken and the elements have taken their toll. The once clean cafe curtains escape through the open window to the outside.

NOTE: On the right hand side you will notice I've added a link to the Iowa Corn Cam. They won't be planting for awhile yet, but start checking it out and join in as we all watch the corn grow!

laws of nature

Directly across from where yesterday's picture was taken you will see this sight. It's the result of a number of factors beginning with encroaching development.

What was once solid forest floor has been transformed in the muck and mire of a swampland. Just west of here a group of homes were built. The construction of these homes and their particular location changed the way that water flows, forcing excess to flow to the east. The boggy conditions have killed this giant and wind, weather and finally gravity brought a dramatic downfall. Even the largest giants are vulnerable.

I'm sure there's a much more dramatic shot to be had, but the last time I checked I couldn't walk on water.

marking time

The Farmers Wife has reached the goal of 100,000 visitors a bit ahead of the 2-year anniversary on April 9th. It's amazing to me that with a computer and an hour of time anyone can become a publisher, and 500+ posts later I still feel enthusiastic about the creative process.

Someone from Stoneham, Massachusetts accessed the site this afternoon and tipped the counter at 100K. If you read this please e-mail me and I will arrange to provide you with the promised piece of barnwood. Amazingly today also brought visitors read my words and viewed my image from all over the world, something I would have believed impossible when I was a kid looking at a world map. Today's viewers include people from Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Manning, Western Australia; West Yellowstone, Montana; Burnaby, British Colombia and Dodge City, Kansas. Thanks to each and everyone of you for your support.

A special word for longtime reader/viewer/commentor Pablo from Round Rock Journal, who kindly mentioned my dilemma on his site. Pablo is a naturalist and steward of the land. Be sure to check out his site because there's always something interesting happening at Round Rock. Never a dull moment, unless he's napping under the tarp! Mostly he's fretting about his lake. Anyway, it was one of Pablo's viewers who linked here and weighed in at the 100,000 mark. There will be an equally interesting/odd or curious item sent to Pablo in recognition of his help in this matter. It was in his honor that I ducked out to take this "foresty" photo for the announcement.

Again, thanks to each and every one of you for taking the time out of your busy day to visit my little corner of the world. Please don't be shy about leaving a comment as it's always good to know you're not talking to yourself!

destruction

I struggle to think what the precipitating factor was in the collapse of this barn. Perhaps the beams were weakened by age and a significant snowfall pushed it into the danger zone. It must have been incredibly loud, the sound of danger itself.

There's no possible way to enter besides the use of a telephoto lens. It's a tangle of wood and the previously mentioned corrugated metal. At the upper edge a window is curiously positioned, no longer needed to provide light to the once dark interior. The hay is long gone, as are the farmers who worked this land.

scale

The sheer scale of the open farmland challenges man to create anything of a size significant enough to make a visual impact. I've been poking around farm properties and photographing barns for a long enough to know that even large barns and silos can be dwarfed by the land itself.

The old barn on Empire Road (since dismantled) was a very large structure. Standing in the hay loft was like being in a cathedral. If chairs were arranged in neat rows it could easily have held several hundred people.

This barn, it's farmhouse, silos and outbuildings stand back away from a very busy highway. The speed limit and its location prevent most drivers from focusing on it for more than a millisecond. It looked interesting enough for me to return one day and find a safe place to pull off the road. Walking down through the gully and across the overgrown weeds brings you closer to the structures and it's at this point that you realize the enormity of this barn.

As a photographer it's frustrating not to be able to find a way to convey its size in an image. This barn is simply on a scale that I've never seen in Illinois. The roof is gone and the upper portion of the peak has fallen inwards but my guess is that it was more than 4 stories tall. It's menacing because at some point someone has clad the entire building in corrugated metal. The thought of a tornado hitting this spot and sending all that steel airborne is chilling. The silos are the largest I've seen on a private farm property. And they also reach 4 stories or more. Four or five stories in midtown Manhattan don't mean much but out on the prairie they make quite an impression.

Maybe it doesn't look like much but trust me, this place makes you feel you're in the land of the giants.

the mantle

There's something comforting about the perfect symmetry of straight rows created by putting plow to topsoil. The lines stretch in every direction and in some areas in northern Illinois that's from horizon to horizon.

Like a quilter hard at work I imagine a farmer stitching the topsoil firmly to the earth's mantle. Just in case there's any wrinkle in the law of gravity this attachment will keep the whole planet firmly in place.

Yes, there's alot of quiet time to let your mind wander is such strange directions!

beyond redemption

This old farmhouse has reached the tipping point where it's beyond redemption. The entire property is shockingly decayed and the barn and outbuildings are downright dangerous. A strong wind and the entire complex will simply collapse.

It takes a little imagination to picture this old farmhouse in its prime. The roof has been patched with materials that don't pretend to match. One of the upper windows has been replaced but perhaps that was just an attempt to forstall water damage.

The original porch would have wooden posts and some gingerbread in the corners. The bushes would have been trimmed back so that the occupants could have gazed at the road through the now hidden bay window. There's a lawn chair to the left where they would have sat drinking lemonade after a hard days work.

It's in an area that is being heavily developed and the condition of the house and outbuildings tell me that it's probably been sold to a developer years ago. The owners usually move on and renters take up residence and the property reaches a point where the decay progresses exponentially.

the dead zone

Apologies to Stephen King for the use of the phrase, but in this case it is apropos. This is a very large and very dead tree which stands very close to a busy country road.

A farmer once told me to remember that the long horned steers head is as large as his horns will reach. That thought applies also to this dangerous tree. The dead zone is the circumference of the area surrounding the tree in the possible "fall zone". Because this behemoth will fall. Maybe not this week or next but possibly during the next big thunderstorm.

The house hidden in the woods behind is waiting for an estate to be settled (we believe) and the entire property is overgrown and tangled. Maybe there's a gingerbread house and an old witch waiting back there somewhere.

decay

Barns and outbuildings are disappearing at an alarming rate. The destruction continues at an exponential rate. Without a job and with some time on my hands it might not be a bad idea to compile a photographic record before they all go poof.

Yesterday I drove past an area that I last visited about 8 months ago. My mind seemed to be playing tricks with me - wasn't there a big barn at that crossroads? It's gone with nary a sign that it ever existed. I do understand the danger involved in these old building but hopefully it was disassembled by the guy who deals in vintage barnboard. It may have another life.

This barn is near Big Rock, Illinois and it's getting close to that danger zone. It is a beautiful example of the gray patina of old barn wood. Hopefully it's still standing the next time I drive by.

NOTE: The counter says 98,816 visits and the 2-year anniversary at the farmer's wife is on April 9th. Please do your part to get us to that 100K mark by that date. Pass the link along to friends and family. Hopefully I can determine who the 100,000th visitor is and gift them with a jar of homemade jam or a piece of old barn wood.

crypt

The Norton burial crypt is tucked into a low hillside just across the road from the Norton family farm. At one point in time the road was a simple trail, but now it's one of the busiest highways in the county. In it's entirety it stretches from the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago to the Mississippi River.

I've photographed this spot before and it seems to me that they've installed a new gate. The farm property directly opposite is used to sell produce in season, animal feed and other items. Since I don't drive this route regularly I was very surprised to see that the old white farmhouse is GONE. Poof! Grass covers the area and it looks like the farmhouse never existed. The outbuildings and greenhouse remain and the business is open from spring to fall.

It always seems to me that someone returning years later would be totally disoriented. It's happened to me and it's quite unnerving.

business

The best part of doing business in a rural community is the fact that you work with someone like Leonard. In most cases you already know the person, but in the case where you don't there's a time honored tradition to be followed.

First you sit in the chairs provided and you chat. You get to know each other and who or what you have in common. After you've chatted for awhile you get down to the business of business. In this case we were purchasing a new car. Leonard is a good salesman because he know the value of listening and helping you find what you're looking for, thereby creating a loyal customer.

After you've purchased the car you've earned the right to stop by and chat anytime! Thanks Leonard. (Just a plug for him - he works at the Bob Jass Chevy dealership in nearby Elburn, Illinois).

green bottle

The jolt of color from a green soda bottle punctuates an otherwise tan and brown landscape. As we see from yesterday and today's photos the leavings of society are everywhere, including rural areas.

The amount of garbage washing up on an otherwise beautiful beach in Belize was awful. Our hosts informed us that most of the trash is actually from their own inhabitants up the coast who, without any type of organized trash removal system simply dump the non-organics into the sea. The only place we didn't see any litter or obvious garbage was in the Peten region in Guatemala. Of course these people are not consumers in any meaning of the word. What we did notice being from an area where livestock is kept pastured or penned, the livestock in Guatemala seems to roam everywhere.

plastic

Large sheets of plastic got loose and flew across the prairie attaching itself to some trees at the edge of a cornfield. The plastic flaps wildly in the incessant northern Illinois wind suggesting a industrialist version of Tibetan prayer flags.

Have I mentioned that the wind is an invisible but inseparable element of our landscape? It's for this reason that dead calm strikes fear in the heart of a flatlander - the calm before the storm.

surrounded

This lovely little farm is now totally surrounded by advancing development. They continue to farm small patches of hay, but the large crops of corn and soybeans are in the past.

As is the case with much of the land around here, this property has most likely already passed hands to the developers. They're just not ready to move forward with a shopping center or million dollar homes ....... just yet.

For now it's a lovely oasis.

pathway

There's a slightly elevated boardwalk to allow you to walk across the fen, observing nature as you go along. The walkway ends at certain points, replaced by a footpath.

On the day I visited the boardwalk and footpaths were littered with dog droppings. If you are observant you'll notice that along the footpaths there are dog size droppings of a very different type and my best guess is that it's coyote scat. The difference is striking as the coyote scat is dark as tar (digested blood) and shows obvious signs of organic material - bones, feathers, etc. The dog droppings in contrast are obviously disgested grain material.

I'm sure that's more than you wanted to know about what litters the walkways, but it's just another interesting feature of the fen. Besides, it's not quite spring and there wasn't much in terms of birds or wildlife to observe. The river is still frozen from the shoreline to about 15 feet into the river.

the fen

This is a small part of the Ferson Creek Fen. If you're unfamiliar with a fen, it's marshy area. This one is alongside the Fox River and additionally serves as a flood plain. Flood plains are important because when the river floods it's banks it deposits silt which would otherwise clog the waterway.

The slowly melting patches of ice and snow glow like moonstones tossed among the matted sedge grasses. I love the textures and muted colors.

And yes.......we're back in Illinois after searching for pirates and buried treasure in the Caribbean.

darwin

To further abate cabin fever the farmer's wife pretends she's aboard the Beagle in the company of Charles Darwin, looking for creatures that are throwbacks to prehistoric times.

This iguana was encountered in a place called Hell in Grand Cayman. The landscape is otherwordly and the creatures are likewise.

adventure

What does a winter-weary farmer's wife do when she can no longer tolerate the grey pall of the season?

She escapes to the caribbean in search of adventure and pirate ships.

receding

Warm temperatures have revealed winter's dirty little secret - dirty snow.

We are entering the ugly winter, the opposite of "sparkling diamond snow under a full moon." Everything is looking grey and dirty. Even bright afternoon sunlight doesn't improve the view much.

Give me a fresh snowfall any day.

exotic

When the movie "Fargo" was released I remember the critics waxing poetic about the snowy landscapes. They viewed the countryside as a silent character in the movie.

"Barren landscapes stretched for miles, as far as the eye could see, with nothing that showed the hand of man save for a few lonely fenceposts keeping time along the side of the highway. Pastels and caribbean colors are forbidden in this land of white and grey. It's lonely and one senses a lurking danger. We are immersed in an exotic locale and feel as though we're explorers who have been to the moon and back to tell the tale."

I laughed out loud because it all appeared pretty ordinary to me. Looked like nearby McGough road on a Tuesday afternoon. The only danger would be sliding off the road and if that happens you just call Duke & Lee's Garage to come tow you out.......or if you're not too far into the field you could possibly drag the old rug out of the trunk and jam it under the rear wheels.

Just last year I received an e-mail from someone in North Africa. He was complimenting me on my photographs and discussing at length the "exotic images"....huh? Well, I linked back to his website to see what was going on in North Africa.

I was totally astounded. There's no way to describe the feelings I had when I viewed his photo of a gigantic sandstorm, literally miles high and many miles across bearing down on an ancient town in the desert. I felt as if I'd just made the trip to Mars, that's how foreign and exotic his landscape appeared to me. And likewise the miles of cornfields are exotic to him.

It took me a little while but I think I've got it. Exotic is wherever you are not.

wonder

I'm just finishing Loren Eiseley's book "The Star Thrower". Eiseley's servies of essays and poems are a sampling of his work as a naturalist, poet, scientist and humanist.

There's enough food for thoughtful discussion to keep a body busy for a year or longer. A Chicago Tribune review from the time of publication in 1978 states, "His achievement is capturing the joy and terror in human experience, observing with a gifted, perceptive eye those intimations and meanings not visible to others."

In one essay he asks whether it is possible, in a time of modern science and it's ability to dissect every living thing down to it's minutest particle, to lose a sense of childhood wonder.

These thoughts were rattling around in my brain this morning on the drive to the vets office. Looking out the side window of the car I noticed the amazing watercolor image created as I gazed through a thin veil of ice crystals.

Yes, it is possible to retain a sense of wonder. Eiseley was able to nourish this ability as he spent much time alone on his hands and knees searching for the stones and bones that tell the tale of our most distant past.

Maintaining that sense of wonder and seeing the beautiful in the mundane is something we should all strive for in our lives. It's science softened by art.

drift

A recent snowfall was followed by extremely frigid temperatures. The cold air froze solid the moisture contained in the snow, making it as hard and dry as sand.

The wind is always blowing in northern Illinois, it's as much of the landscape as the rich black topsoil. An especially powerful wind blew in from the west, picking up and carrying the hardened snow across highways like a white sandstorm blowing across a frozen desert. The wind continued, lifting every available molecule of snow and then it began scouring away the topsoil, depositing it in a fine layer over the drifts, beautifully carved by the force of the wind.

the children

Here is why we support Dr. Morquette, our church and the World Relief Organization's work in Haiti....because of the children.

My father visited Haiti in 1951 and not much has changed over the years. It has gotten worse perhaps because in the intervening years the countryside has been stripped of trees in the search for fuel for cooking. Haiti has perhaps the lowest doctor per capita ratio in the western hemisphere. I've searched for those numbers unsuccessfully, but let's just say you'd be shocked. It's one doctor per thousands and thousands of individuals.

We support Dr. Morquette and his efforts because we don't believe in ever giving up and we believe that the future of this place lies in it's children. Through Dr. Morquette's efforts these children are receiving an education and perhaps they will continue in the west or in Europe and then return as he and his wife Junie have, to make a difference in their country.

Many thanks to my guest photographer Tony Pecararo, and to him and the other volunteers who spend their vacations and share their talents to try and make Haiti a better place.

resourcefulness

I admire the resourcefulness and ingenuity of people who have to make do.

Here's another image from my guest photographer Tony Pecararo. The purpose of Tony's trip to Haiti was to help construct a new roof on a local church. In our travels in the Caribbean and Central America we've found some interesting construction sites. One site in Belize featured a three-story tall scaffolding system made entirely of bamboo and strong branches.

As you can see these Haitians have constructed a stick framework with which to support their project.

I call it the "McGuyver" method of getting things done.

guest photographer

Believe me when I say that things are dull and grey in mid-winter northern Illinois. There aren't any interesting people to photograph either because everyone is hunkered down inside their houses, trying to stay warm.

I thought this was a good time to feature some photos by a guest photographer. So, for the next few days we're going to travel to the Caribbean with my friend Tony Pecararo. No we're not going to the spot where they serve drinks with colorful umbrellas, we're going to the other Caribbean.

Tony works in the construction industry and volunteers, spending his vacations working in Haiti for Dr. Hubert Morquette who runs the World Relief Organizations efforts in and around Port Au Prince. Our church facilitates missions to Dr. Morquette's King's Garden Orphanage, which is home to about 36 children, with another 30 or so attending classes during the day and returning home in the evening.

My husband and I support 5 year old James, an orphan living at Kings Garden. We, along with Tony and a group at the church are strongly committed to making a difference (however small) in Haiti - the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. Income for Haitians is about $345 per year, AIDS is rampant, there is no healthcare to speak of, very little education on modern sanitation methods and governments have basically pulled out - the U.S. Peace Corps was removed in 2005 with no plans to return due to security issues. The only ones left in Haiti are the faith based organizations.

This woman is preparing dinner for Tony and the other Americans who, last November, spent a week constructing a new roof on their church.

In addition to all his carpentry skills, Tony has an eye for photography.

ashes to ashes....

Someone was being laid to rest yesterday in the small Whitney cemetery. It was a sunny day but the wind was biting cold. The tent was set up with the closed portion facing west and south in an attempt to protect the mourners from the freezing blast.

My own father died and was buried in December, but honestly I cannot remember much from that day. Did we stand out in the cold? Was there a tent such as this? I guess my mind was not on such details.

red vacuum

This gentleman has a red vacuum to keep him company while he waits for the crowds to descend upon Margie's Estate Sale.

mission statement

My husband assures me that every endeavor should have a mission statement. I guess they're not just for corporate American anymore!

A mission statement is in fact, a good idea. It states your purpose, defines your project and referring to it over time will help maintain your focus.

So I've thought a bit about my mission statement and why I started this project.

My mission is to record and produce a record over time, of the people and places that make up my community. Change is fast approaching and transforming our landscape and our lives even as we speak. My intention is to provide a platform for people all over the world to view this place and come to know the honest, simple and hard working people who have built our community and made it a strong and desirable place to live.

Already many of the barns, farmhouses and outbuildings have blown over or been paved over with new construction and retail development. All that remains are some images and memories.

This woman epitomizes the pioneer spirit and true grit that characterizes our rural community. I have the greatest respect for her and all those like her, who work hard every day, "getting it done". She's a local antique and estate dealer who cooks a wonderful lunch for those who help her in setting up her operation for a sale. The lunch is for the helpers, but she always provides free coffee and cookies for her customers. Not only does she run an antique busines, but she hauls hay to the animals and maintains a sizable rural property.

She's holding a sale at the Kane County Fairground building this weekend. She's always got some interesting things for sale so if you're in the area (northern Illinois) stop by and say hello.

wind break

I suppose that people from other parts of the globe would find our winter landscape bleak, what with empty fields stretching from horizon to horizon.

Trees were planted many years ago as a wind break in an attempt to slow the effects of erosion and brake the wind before it reached the farmhouse, barns and outbuildings. This stand of lonely looking trees is about a quarter mile from a farm complex.

Sparse beauty perhaps?

snowy creek

If you practice patience during the weeks of dull, grey overcast weather there's the possibility that you will be rewarded with scenes of natures beauty.

It sleeted and later snowed lightly yesterday afternoon and through the evening. This morning we awoke to a fairy land of trees lightly glazed in crystal clear ice and a landscape covered with fresh snow.

Winters light casts magical shadows of blue and purple.

This is the headwater of tiny Indian Creek. As I've mentioned before, if adventure called I could reach any shore in the world from this tiny waterway. This leads to Ferson Creek, to the Fox & Illinois rivers, to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico.

Anybody interested in building a raft?

remnants

It is, once again, that grey time of the year. It's difficult to find anything of interest to photograph. Only today we've been receiving a beautiful white blanket of snow and tomorrow promises some beautiful Currier & Ives images.

For today we will look at the remnants of the fall harvest. Some corn cobs, some loose kernels of corn and weeds are all that is left of what was once a verdant field. This particular field is dotted with stakes and bright pink surveyors tape, so there's no telling what next spring will bring.

used christmas

You simply have to wonder how a slightly used Christmas tree found it's way into the middle of a harvested cornfield.

The Christmas tree is resting quite a distance from the road and there are no tire marks in the damp and unfrozen soil. Illinois is renowned for its winds, but we certainly haven't had anything significant enough to blow a Christmas a long distance. To drag the tree into the middle of the field would require a great expense of energy, certainly more than would be required to dispose of the tree properly.

And so the mystery remains just that - a used Christmas mystery.

ice raft

Water still moves swiftly down the Fox River. Usually ice bound, the frozen areas reach less than an arms length from shore. A driftwood log marks the boundary between open water and a paper thin layer of ice.

As the water passes quickly along the small ice shelf it makes a strange noise, something akin to styrofoam rubbing together. Frozen water forms a chandelier on thin branches.

the snow fence

Snow fences were put in place quite awhile ago. They continue to stand at the ready for a major snowstorm to hit.

The weather is cyclical and for the past number of years there hasn't been much snow to speak of. Eight years ago or so it would have been a different story, as it seemed every week we were digging out from a major hit.

Snow fences are erected in strategic positions next to roadways, almost always running north-south. The snow fence captures snow and slows down the blowing and drifting effect on the highway.

corn drop 2007

Those of you who have been reading the Farmers Wife for awhile know that the reports of a yellow and green UFO flying over the American midwest meant that once again....the corn dropped.



Neighbors and former Long Islanders Ed Kurtz Jr. and Bryan Jack decided that we needed a fitting celebration for New Years Eve. What could be more fitting than a take on the New York City ball drop.

A couple of years ago Bryan and Ed devised a 4 foot tall ear of corn, made entirely of tiny Christmas lights. They mount it on a high pole and drop the corn at midnight. The display has changed over the past three years. Last year they added a countdown displayed on a large screen. This year they devised and built a very large countdown board, complete with disco ball, lighted and computerized countdown numbers, stars and more. It's American ingenuity and good old fashioned engineering skill at it's best.



We party inside the house and depending on the weather head outside some time before midnight. We huddle together in the cold, clutching our glasses of champagne and ring in the New Year in typical rural midwest style.



I think Bryan and Ed would be awesome on next year's David Letterman show. If anybody knows one of his producers, give me a hollar.

May you have a healthy and prosperous New Year - whereever you call home.