The Yellow Flowers n Colors of Autumn

 

Autumn brings the cool changes of fall.  No longer is there the searing heat of summer.  Nature is getting ready for a nap.  The  beauty that is covered by the green ushers forth, the last blooms unfurl, soon to be replaced by naked browns.

Meadows change to a carpet of yellow accented by green, outlined by the towering trees of green going to yellow.

Country roads travel through bent boughs, arched tunnels of green n yellow.

Autumn is a season of calm.  Soon the snows will fly over the fields bring moisture and nourishment for next years crop.

In the glistening light, colors hurry, pausing but a moment to be captured in memory.  Sun slants to a lower angle each day. A season at the end.

Mixed in with nature can be found the hand of man.  Acres and acres od sunflowers bow their heads in prayer.  Soon the harvester will roll forth, thrashing the plants.

May You have a blessed weekend.

 

Threshers Day … IV … Tractors

 

Get country folks together and the tractor weasels it way in to the conversation.  Old Threshers Day has its share of tractors.  They get shown off in the parade or at the pull.

The Johnny Poppers are probably the most popular and the red McCormick's a second.  There is whole other variety of plowing machines.  The steam tractors were missing because of the regulations the government pushed on to them.  Sometimes I would like to plow the bureaucrats into the ground, they would make such good fertilizer.  They also know how to screw life up, oh well, on to the tractors.

These are some of the more unusual and rare tractors on display.

There is usually a homemade contraption around someplace.

 

Men and their machines.

Old Threshers Day …. III

 

The Old Threshers had their own little plot of land and in one corner they laid out a little town.  One room school houses and other buildings were hauled in from the country.  Each represented a different business that had been found in the town.  Boardwalks lined the buildings and inside were a variety of displays people had donated to and put together.

Each of the buildings had their own caretakers and in between were a few vendors.  It was like walking down main street small town.

The streets had a few trees and it was a pleasant walk.

 

There were also old time accommodations.

 

 

Do some praying before visiting the old time dentist, return home to some home baked goodies.  Notice the butter churn on the counter.

Ever had homemade butter n fresh buttermilk.

It has taken some work and time to build all the different displays and I am thankful for their effort.  Preserving a piece of the past many will forget.

Threshing day…. II

 

The old timers put together quite the display of old machinery that still works.  One of them is a sawmill.  Lumber yards were far and between.  If a person wanted wood, they would go out and cut down the tree and saw by hand the shapes and sizes they wanted.

With the advent of engines no longer did the early settler have to go out and chop his home down.  He could go to a sawmill and order his materials.  Many of the early saw mills were operated by a stationary steam engine.  Then the tractor came along and it was used to run the mill.  Besides plowing, the tractor had other uses.

Here can be seen the long belt that would stretch from the tractor into the shed and run the big blade.

I look at this and marvel at how the early settlers had to work at their land.  They did not have a lots of idle time.  There was always something to do.

Some of the houses and barns that were built with limber from these old sawmills are still standing.  Siding is planked as are roofs.  It is a style of building that is no longer used today.  Some of these people would travel 40, 50, 60 miles to get trees for the sawmill and then haul it back home.  In the early 1900’s that trip was made by horse n wagon, sometimes two and three day trips one way.

It is amazing to watch one of these things work.  The pioneers had to have a variety of skills to build a life out on the prairie.  Not only farm, but also be skilled at mechanics, carpentry and industrial equipment. 

When I have finished for the day a tour of one of these places I appreciate how easy my life is today.  A 12 hour day is considered slavery today, but it was not unusual to put days in that long and longer 100 years ago.

I watch the people that do these shows and see how much fun they have.  It is an annual event and when it is over, they sigh with relief and begin getting ready for the show next year.

Threshing Days

 

Across the country the farming communities celebrate their heritage in various ways.  It may be their crop, strawberry days, potato days or something else.  These celebration days harken back to a time earlier in history.  The old crafts and machinery show up, locals get together to visit, talk about the weather and the days events.  A feast is set out and there is more visiting.

This past week I went to Old Thrashers Day at a neighboring town.  It has been going on for a number of years.  The show was spread out over a few acres with different activities in the locations plus there fairgrounds next door was being used.

There was more then I want to put in one story so I am going to spread it out over a number of stories.  To say the least, I enjoyed my day and next year will plan better for a longer stay.

 

One of most interesting was watching this young lady and her oxen.  They are about 1500 pound animals and with a little flick of her whip the ox responded.  There is no leash or harness, she leads them around with the buggy whip.  It is a flick above them or a gentle tap on their shoulders to get their attention.  Mostly it was a gentle tap and the oxen would respond and move to her commands.

 

She gets them hooked up and they push their buggy back up on the trailer.  They have to push evenly or the buggy goes lopsided on off the trailer.  It was a treat to watch her work with the animals.

She said they are 4 years old so that means they will grow some more.  They will probably grow to over 2000 pounds. 

I talked with her a bit and she said they use them around the farm for various chores, such as hauling water out to pasture.  She also said she has fun with them around the farm.

There were some other woman there dressed like her.  I am guessing they might be a Mennonite type of sect.  Yet to get the animals to work together like that takes time and patience.

 

Fall has arrived…. will be in the 40’s most of the day and it has been raining past 2 days.  No frost on the pumpkin yet though but it will be close.

Labor Day ….. 2011

A day set aside by the government as a day of rest and celebration.  The day has an unusual history and somewhat checkered.  Lots of it has been lost in the pages of history.  Like so many things, people twist history around to fit their own agenda.

Today Labor Day is not what it used to be.  It has become so politicized by a few that the celebration of the workers has been lost in the name calling.

I will take my picnic and go to the great outdoors and have a quiet celebration.  Big Labor be dammed and Big business…. go fly a kite.  I too can be selfish and focus on self like they do.

All…. enjoy the day…. look out for the ants and have a great one.