bringing up the rear

Here's what I'll call one of those silly feel-good photos. It was interesting to watch momma and poppa lead the babies across the road. Poppa's actions were dramatic and exagerated, as he moved his head up and down, trumpeting loudly. Momma calmly brought up the rear. (I think I have the sexes correctly identified!)

This was on the very busy road that leads (among other places) to the lifestyle mall and I was surprised that the guy in the Hummer behind me didn't whip around to pass me. That would have been bad news for this little family.

shocking pink

The woman's matching workout suit and shoes are definitely shocking pink, but the most shocking thing about the photo is that she's walking along a lonely, rural stretch of road carrying a large drink, and a large handbag with a cell phone glued to her ear.

First of all, cell coverage is not guaranteed on these roads regardless of the number of cell towers that have replaced windmills on the farms. She looks misplaced in this setting but would not cause a second thought at the nearby lifestyle mall.

This reminds me of the day an old friend called to say she'd been driving along a country road and saw this "crazy lady" standing at the edge of a field taking photos. She looked closer as she passed and said to herself, "Oh, it's just Suzie" as of knowing it was me explained away the craziness of the scene in her mind.

What it says about me is that unsual behavior for someone else is just the norm for me. (Parking car in a safe place, walking a quarter mile and standing downwind of the harvesting process just to get a photo would be considered crazy by local farmers).

then and now.....

Then.....



I'd driven past this barn many, many times over the years but one snowy morning I couldn't contain myself from pulling into the driveway to take a photograph. The road approach from the south curves and rises to the point of the driveway and there is no shoulder on which to pull the car for safety purposes.

The beauty of the moment made me forget that people might still be living in the brick ranch house. On second glance the windows were broken and the doors boarded up telling me that the residents had moved on.

I studied the photograph carefully, noting the basketball hoop, electric lines, ramp and other features. Many people don't realize that many rural farms didn't have electricity until some time in the 1960's when President Johnson made it a priority to electricfy the countryside.

This image was used as my Christmas card that year.

Here is now......




I'm standing in the same spot although it was a little difficult to get my bearings as the old oak tree I leaned against is now gone. The fact is that the barn had not been used for it's original purpose for many years. That way of life, at least in our area which skirts a huge metropolitan population, has passed by the way of the dinosaur. As far as my sister and I can figure things started changing for these family farms in the late 1960's, and perhaps the last time a dairy cow was milked in this barn was sometime in the '80's. Over 20 years had passed since purposeful activity filled the structure. The barn sat and waited, it's fate already decided and plotted on urban developers master plans. At that point it was just a matter of time and infrastructure until the barn was razed and signs went up proclaiming, "Townhouses from the high $200's, single family homes from the $400's."

We are witness to the final death knell of these buildings and a way of life. This is the moment in time that should be remembered and documented. Will people in the future wonder or care? Perhaps in 100 years it will be a curiousity that before the active adult community there was once a family farm complete with snow covered barn.

slow moving vehicle

There's alot of farm machinery traffic on the roads at this time of year. The once rural and little traveled roads closer to town are now bustling with traffic. Newer residents to this area are not familiar with the fact that farmers must utilize these roadways to access some of their fields and some drivers have the habit of driving at outrageous speeds on the flat straightaways only to have a big Deere facing them when they round the curve.

a shell

The lower level brick foundation is all that remains of the barn on Empire Road. I've mentioned before that the barn was dismantled by a company that provides wood for historic renovation and other worthy projects. They do not sell the old barnwood to be used as the interior of a new steak house.

The Village decided to leave the unusual Flemish bond brick foundation intact, although I don't believe they actually have any ideas on how to use this space. I personally think it would be a great venue for small outdoor music concerts or with a stage at one end an outdoor theater. What do you think?

curious

The other horses could have cared less but this one was quite curious about the visitors in the barn. Heritage Prairie Market allows customers to look around the farm. Since it is a working farm there are rules to follow to ensure everyone's safety. Traffic in and out of the barn was quite heavy as people came to check out the newborn baby goat.

skull

A dessicated skull becomes a work of art when framed in the camera's viewfinder. This skull was hanging in the barn at the Heritage Prairie Market in Elburn, Illinois.

birth

Today was my first visit to Heritage Prairie Market which is an extension of Erehwon Farm. This is the latest entry into the growing number of community supported agricultural operations. They offer subcriptions to a share of the farm's produce and each week you can pick up your fresh veggies and herbs.

There's a lovely shop filled with wonderful things including products from a local family dairy, handmade soaps, fresh produce and more. The farm is open for people to observe the operation with rules to keep everyone safe. Be sure to visit if you find yourself in northern Illinois in season.

Co-owners Beth Propst, Tim Fuller, and Bronwyn Weaver and her husband Bob Archibald are responsible for the wonderful operation. Beth was kind enough to alert me to the newest member of the farm family - a baby Nubian goat born this morning at 6:30 a.m. And since it's Cinco de Mayo they have tentatively named her Esperanza. Here's the proud mom Daisy and her wobbly kid. Esperanza tried to navigate the small pen but the workings of her hind legs were still a mystery and she kept lurching backwards.

Happy Birthday Esperanza and happy birthday to our Chihuahua Pancho. (A chihuahua born on Cinco de Mayo - how perfect is that?)

development

It's been awhile since I've been to the area of town around the Fox River. There's not much business that takes me across the river to the east side of town. This week I met some friends for dinner and the restaurant is located in the heart of what is being called the First Street Redevelopment. From blocks away I could see this behemoth of a building rising just to the west of the river. Unfortunately the building blocks any possible view of the building from the elevated locations to the west. Perhaps it offers great river views to those purchasing on the east side of the building.

If you look closely you'll see a small beige building to the left. That's Beith House, a historic two-story home built from local limestone. In the long-distant future will preservationists seek to restore and maintain the now-new four story condo building?

history tree

The history tree has been around long enough to see many changes in the local landscape. I'm not much good at guessing the age of trees but this one surely lived through the horse and buggy days. It's also seen the self-sufficient family farm go the way of the dinosaurs.

light stream

I love the way the light streams in through the open window in the old pump house. The brick was whitewashed at some point and that is now slowly wearing away.

recipe for disaster

It appears that someone on a motorcycle has been laying down rubber on nearby Swanberg Road. The country roads are dangerous enough without tempting fate with foolish behavior. Just this afternoon two kids on bikes passed me at incredible speeds. I guess they're not paying attention to all the little white crosses on the roads around here.

This particular road poses a danger at night as deer cross when feeding in the two adjoining fields. My husbands damaged hood is testament to what a grazing glance can do.

power

A lightning storm blew through here last night which made me glad I'd taken the time in the afternoon to mow the two acres around the house. Otherwise the rain would trigger a growing spurt and we'd have to be raking big time.

I'm fascinated by the warm glow from the neighbors windows opposed to the white hot power of a lightning strike. It evidently did some damage because today we had a strange situation. We had electricity, light were OK, but the larger drains on the electric power were not working - the TV, refrigerator, garage door opener. The electric company came out and worked their magic and all is back to normal this evening.

ambiguity

The person memorialized by the three roadside crosses was killed in an auto accident and not as a result of wandering into the local sportsman club firing range.

spindle

On Wednesday my friend, anthropologist and author Ellen Steinberg and I met at Esther's Place in Big Rock, Illinois to study under shop owner Natasha Lehrer. About a year ago I read a fascinating book entitled, This Cruel War, which was an almost complete compilation of letters sent between Grant and Malinda Taylor during the civil war. It was an invaluable look into day-to-day life druing that era.

One thing that fascinated me the most was how fabric and fiber was held as a most precious commodity (that and salt). The salt was used to cure the meat when an animal was slaughtered, and the fabric was precious because of the amount of effort required to produce a length of cloth.

In their letters the husband and wife debated the use of a length of homespun fabric, whether it would be used for a shirt for him or clothing for the children. We soon learned the time and effort required to produce a very small skein of yarn - an entire afternoon's work amounted to a few yards after plying.

fallen giant

The walk through the woods was a reconnaisance mission to see how spring is progressing. The temperatures northern Illinois are positively frigid and damp. It's a possibility that we won't have a spring and leap right into summer.

The May Apples blanket sections of the forest floor and delicate white flowers appear in patches here and there. The discovery of the afternoon was this fallen giant, upended roots and all from it's anchored spot near a roadway. It simply speaks to the seasons of life.

planting time

Farmers have started the planting season. This is a small field on Pouley Road. If I remember correctly last year it was planted in corn, so this year should be soybeans. We'll visit again when the seedlings come up and watch as the plants grow. The bags of seed are loaded on the back of the pick up and the green buckets pulled behind the tractor are filled with seed. And yes - Illinois topsoil is that black and rich.

Speaking of watching plants growing, there's still no activity on the Iowa Corn Cam. They should be planting the first part of May so check in often. I have to laugh when they get comments that their camera must be broken because the picture never changes. It does change but something on the scale of geological time - SLOW.

tree drama

I'm always fascinated by this image as I drive the road to the west of Garfield Farm Museum. The trees, one dead and one living, seem to be playing out a drama.

I invite you to write your own story on this one.

alive and kicking

I want to assure everyone that my community is not simply a world filled with decaying barns empty silos, it's a vibrant place too, filled with people who are dedicated to life in rural Illinois.

One of my long time readers from Florida requested photographs of the food served at the Texas style barbecue. Unfortunately I was so busy cooking and playing ranch boss that I was completely remiss in that task. Well, earlier in the day I did manage to take a shot of bacon frying in the pan. This is part of the recipe for Blanco Beans. I guess the bacon is different in Australia because my stepsister went nuts when she was in the states, eating bacon for almost every meal during her stay.



I got some wonderful fresh herbs and hydroponic lettuce that's produced locally and distributed to the stores. The Herbal Garden's lettuce is so perfect that I decided to photograph it as a piece of art. I placed it in a large margarita glass and set up my fancy photo studio (a table cloth draped over the couch). Isn't it breathtaking? Who knew food could be so beautiful?



Here are the neighbors enjoying the meal. It's a large group (10 couples) and it's only fun if we can all sit together. If we move all the furniture out of the family room we can fit long tables down the middle.



The best part of the evening was when a stranger showed up to party. We were all enjoying our beer and Texas Tea and eating appetizers when the front door opened and in walked a tall cowboy. Nope, we didn't know him, didn't have a clue who he was. He walked into the kitchen where all the guys were drinkning beer, looked around and said, "Nobody looks familiar here!"

Poor guy, he was at the wrong party. New neighbors down the road had invited friends to see their new house. This guy was on the right road and stopped when he saw all the cars. We don't have house numbers out here, just fire numbers that are posted out on the road. So, we did what any good host would do, we told him how to get to his friends house and gave him a Lone Star for the road! Amazingly as this story is, it's not the first time it has happened. We had a couple walk into another party we had a couple years ago. I don't know, the house must look welcoming or something.

So there you go - we are alive and kicking out in the country. My computer cannot say the same and my posting may be spotty or nonexistent in the next woeek as I go into town looking for a new one. And as always, thanks for visiting the Farmers Wife!

Lone Star Beer

Here's the final destination on my field trip, Crespo Food and Liquor in Chicago. They're one of the few retail outlets that carry Lone Star Beer. I was under the impression that this was a large grocery store but it seems there are no large grocery stores in the city, at least I didn't see a single one after I passed into the city limits. What do these people do for groceries?

This was a very small place, about the size of my family room. They carried mostly liquor and thankfully had plenty of the Lone Star I was hunting for. There was a small cooler inside the front door, the kind you find at the grocery check out filled with Coke and water. This cooler however was filled with quarts of cheap wine.