Where Milk Comes From

I got to the Fairgrounds before eight this morning to take part in the State Fair "Plein Air Day" for artists. I got there just in time to see the dairy farmers as they completed their morning routine caring for their cows. At the time, this little Brown Swiss was the only cow being milked.


In fact, the dairy cattle were just being brought into the grounds for their portion of the competition and their owners had been at work for hours getting their charges in place and making them comfortable. A lot of others were being bathed and groomed. 

Only after those tasks had been completed would the humans take some time to themselves. The welfare of the animals comes first.

And even little Hope can take time for some shut-eye before starting her big day in the children's display.

Earlier this evening, as I began working on this post, a severe thunderstorm entered the area, pushing ahead of it wind gusts reported to be 50-76 miles per hour. We'd been expecting storms later, but this one hit surprisingly quick. The rain did not start until about fifteen minutes after the gusts.


A warm and happy day at the Fair turned to tragedy as one of those wind gusts tore the canopy from the top of the grandstand stage, lifted the entire stage rigging which then collapsed forward onto the crowd below, gathered tonight for an appearance by the country music group Sugarland.


People had just begun evacuating the area a few minutes before the scaffolding collapsed, bringing down speakers, the lighting system and a large video screen onto the people at the front of the stage. At this time over forty people have been reported injured, while four people are confirmed to have been killed.


Before emergency crews arrived, members of the audience rushed to the stage, many of them working as one as they attempted to lift the wreckage off the people trapped below. Others who were medical personnel in their work life stepped in to assist the injured, as other audience members followed their instructions.


My condolences to the families of the people lost and to those injured.  

Patterns, Redux

The northeast corner of the Indiana State Fairgrounds is the site of the Pioneer Village, a group of buildings from old farms that have been restored and erected on the grounds. Each year, farmers and artisans from all over the country come to the fair to display their skills and to show what farm life was like before modern conveniences, machinery and corporate farming became the norm. This site is also where the antique tractors are displayed, where wood logs are made into lumber with a steam operated mill; the audience for this work is typically shoulder to shoulder, as people watch a group of older men systematically produce a pile of evenly sized boards. 

One of the buildings is the corncrib shown in these pictures. The crib was used by farmers to store harvested corn for future use as winter feed for livestock and chickens. The dried corn would also have been the source for seed corn for planting the following year. As its golden color may indicate, it was also a farmer's stockpile; held against a time when money was short and the price of corn high, he could sell the stockpile for needed cash.

During the winter, it might be the chore for one of the children to grind the corn to feed the animals, keeping the cobs to use as livestock bedding and as fuel in their home.

Close-up view of a wire fence maker

More to come later from Pioneer Village.

State Fair Patterns

When I think of the State Fair, the most dominant image I have is of all the patterns and textures I see in all the venues. Whether it be the carnival inflatables and stuffed toys hung in tiers and clusters, the rows and rows of spotted Holstein cattle, or the brightly patterned dresses hung for sale, the repetition of design is there, every day, every year.

Cheap and tawdry has just as legitimate a place in our lives as does the sophisticated and sublime. Without one, how would we know the other?

I do kinda like these dresses.

It's summer and it's the Fair! 

So BRING IT ON!

Duly, Daisies

There they were, standing proud and tall, looking as though they went on for miles, a veritable army of good cheer. The sun shown down on them, and they returned the compliment with their own golden glow.

But I'm not so sure about this guy, which seems to have become an altar paying homage to BBQs past; Memorial Days, Fourths of July and Labor Day celebrations remembered. Which seems even more odd -- another generation removed from the reason the celebrations were established, we have an altar to the memories of memories.

Finally!

"It's about time!" 

"At last!"

"'Way overdue!"

All summer our weather in this area has been running hotter than normal. There've been few, if any, of those nice summer rain storms that break the temperatures and provide some relief from the summer's onslaught.

Yesterday, as I left work I felt raindrops on my skin for the first time in months. Instead of being annoyed, I enjoyed the warmth of the big drops.

Another shower this evening brought with it the first cool breeze to have not been produced by the A/C. As I raised my head to greet the breeze, I thought I may also have felt the first hint of fall. Oh, well. The rain was 'way overdue.

But autumn will be right on time.

Pretty Unusual

A pretty basket of prize-winning peppers proudly wears its ribbon ...

As does this, um, unusual display. It's tag says "hand-shaped gourd."

I say it may be the only remains from the nether regions of the former "World's Largest Boar," or one of his sperm gone amok.

Kids of All Ages

Each year, one of the more popular exhibits at the Indiana State Fair are the litters of newborn piglets; I have never visited the Swine Barn when the piglets' enclosures aren't surrounded by small children and their parents. There are always one or two strollers nearby, vacated by the toddlers so they can get closer to the baby pigs. The piglets respond to a signal from Mom, telling them it's time to eat. They all pile on, each returning to the same assigned teat, while the sow lies quietly, almost oblivious to the busy-ness surrounding her and her offspring. 

The children's expressions as they watch are a mixture of curiosity and awe. And they have questions -- the air is filled with the sound of children asking questions. One time I saw an old farmer reach into the pen and pick up one of the piglets to show to the children. He held it down to them and let them touch it, carefully, of course, as he patiently answered each of their questions.  


It's an old story by now that people have become so alienated from the source of their food that they have no idea that real actual people work the land and raise the animals that end up on their dinner plates. I have a notion that, for a lot of these kids, the visit to the Fair -- the Swine Barn, the Cattle Barn, etc. -- is the only contact they will ever have with the sources of their food. Perhaps, if people did have more encounters like the children had with the farmer, they may grow to have more respect for the Earth, as well.  

I was a city kid and still harbor some romantic notions of growing up to have a horse. But I did have 4-H. When I was in fourth grade the county extension office for my county introduced 4-H programs into the city schools. I was so excited when I heard about it! Through 4-H I learned basic sewing skills and how to bake from scratch (pound cake, folks, with BUTTER!). I enrolled in handicraft, wildlife and forestry projects for which I built a bird house one year, made fishing lures for another and, with my dad's help, made an electric extension cord. I don't think these are things I would've learned any other way.

Last Saturday, children were showing their 4-H llamas and alpacas. While some farm kids may take their daily lives for granted, there is no denying their love and respect for their animals. As this girl was preparing her llama for their class later Saturday morning, her affection and the pride she had for it was obvious.