What The Moo?!

One of our days in Iowa was rather cow-filled.

Part of our stay at the Farmhouse B&B was being able to wander around the farm.  The Engelbrecht’s rent their dairy barns and pasture to the Carr family who are getting established in the dairy business. 

The milking area (parlor) reminded me of a ‘Jiffy Lube’ shop.  The cows filed in to their slots.  Harry worked from the pit, where he cleaned them up, attached the milking machine with all its tubes and ‘drained’ the milk, then he ‘lubed’ them with an ointment and sent them on their way.

These sweet little faces are the weanling calves… waiting for breakfast.

And this darling is “Hannah” – a one week old Brown Swiss.  For a couple weeks the calves live in little ‘calf houses’ so they can have more attention before they are moved with the ‘big kids’.

“Good til the last drop!”  When she finished her milk bucket, this little girl would throw it out of her pen.

Then we headed over to the Hawkeye Buffalo Ranch.  Dan McFarland offers tours of his bison ranch.  Once you arrive he tells you a bit about bison and their history.  Then you load up into his tractor pulled wagon and head out to the pastures.  It takes a bit to find them.

It had to imagine having to search for something this BIG.  This is Victory, the herd bull.  He weighs about a ton!

And he loves corn on the cob…the whole thing.  He sounds like Darth Vador as he breathes

Himself fed one of the girls.

This cow is known as “Phyllis Diller” for her wild hair!

http://www.hawkeyebuffalo.com/

Our final bovine visit was to Hansen Dairy in Hudson. 

They are a family run full process dairy – cow to bottle (or ice cream tub!).  We participated in their “hands-on tour”, which was fantastic!

We started the tour visiting their mascot – the wallaby.  I didn’t realize they were so soft.

We went from the milk processing area…

Out to the dairy barn where we met “The Girls”.  This group is waiting to go into the milking parlor.

This is “The Boys”. 

We got to try milking.  As Jeanne explained how to do it, I realized it is the exact same hand action as piping frosting on a cake!  I can do that… and was able to milk at my first try.  Himself grew up with dairy cattle and of course was perfect at it.

Then we went over and bottle fed some babies.  This was my little girl saying, “FEED ME!!!!!”

After our tour we had a milk tasting.  This dairy does not homogenize (break down the milk fat) the milk, so the cream will rise to the top.  It makes a much tastier milk… the skim tastes as good as 2%.

As Jeanne explained various things about the dairy industry, she had us shaking a little jar of cream.  In less than 10 minutes there was a nice little lump of butter.  We rinsed it, added a bit of salt and had it on some crackers.  Mmmmmmm…

The final part of our tour was seeing how they use the waste from the cattle to fertilize their fields.  All the manure is collected in a liquid ‘pit’ and twice a year it put out on the fields.  They have a system that connects a LONG (1200’) hose from the pit to the tractor which drags it along as it plows. 

The hose to the tractor is connected to other hoses at the back of each plow blade, so the liquid goes directly into the ground as they plow.

By the time we finished with our tour, the sun was setting. I quickly made a few purchases at their farm store of some whole milk (what a treat!), cream for our morning teas, butter and a package of fresh cheese curds. Jeanne added an individual size container of their vanilla and raspberry ice cream as a treat. Thanks Jeanne!!! It was delicious!!

http://www.hansendairy.com/Site/J_and_J_Dairy.html  

The Farmhouse B&B

The first night of our trip we stayed at the Farmhouse B&B in Fredericksburg, Iowa. It is on the family farm of Loren and Dianna Engelbrecht. There is a dairy and a winery on the property (talk about getting your fresh wine and cheese!).

We had reserved one of the smaller rooms but when we arrived we were told they had decided to upgrade us to their best suite “Room With A View”. Wow!!

 

There was a comfy king-size pillowtop bed…

… and a large sitting area.  Fresh baked cookies, fruit and some chocolates were on a tray as welcoming snacks.

There was a balcony overlooking the dairy, with a bistro table and a hot tub.

The next morning we had a wonderful “Farmer’s Breakfast”.  Ham, eggs, pancakes, coffee cake, fresh fruit and yogurt.  Tea, coffee, milk, and 2 juices to drink.  We had enough to eat that we didn’t want anything else until supper.

Before leaving we went over and checked out their winery. Very nice selection.

Loren and Dianna were wonderful hosts. I highly recommend a stay at their cozy bed & breakfast!

http://www.thefarmhousebb.com/

The Walter Lowell House (Cedar Rock) by Frank Lloyd Wright

On a recent trip to ‘the north lands’ (Minnesota and Wisconsin) we traveled via Iowa. I always try to find something different and interesting to do on our trips up (more later on why we go up!)

I happened across a web site for a Frank Lloyd Wright home that is open for tours. I checked the “last tour” dates against our travel dates… and found we could –just- make it on the very last day.

‘Cedar Rock’ is located in Quasqueton, Iowa.  This is the information from the Frank Lloyd Wright Sites.com -- “Quasqueton, Iowa is also home to Cedar Rock State Park, location of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Cedar Rock, a structure Wright designed and built for Agnes and Lowell Walter.   Lowell had amassed his fortune as owner of the Iowa Road Building company, where he had invented an asphalt topping for country roads in Iowa.  In a letter to Mr. Wright, Walter requested a modest home be designed and built on a limestone bluff overlooking the Wapsipinicon.  Perhaps one of Wright's most complete designs, Cedar Rock was begun in 1948 and completed in 1950.  It was another of Wright's Usonian homes -- originally intended to be an affordable yet stylish design for the working American family.  The roof is flat and made entirely of reinforced concrete, while the walls are brick and glass; the floors are concrete as well and utilize a gravity hot water heating system beneath them.  Outside the building is the signature red tile (the only Wright structure in Iowa to bear the coveted tile) used by Wright to indicate that everything was designed by him... and I mean everything, from the Cherokee red brick of the outside, right down to the cups and saucers on the table!  Supposedly, the only thing allowed on the property that was not designed by Wright was the Thompson TVT, a special boat built Lowell Walter by the Thompson Brothers Boat Manufacturing company…”

The living area was known as the ‘garden room’.  Look at all those windows!  I love it!!  It looks out over a small river and woodlands.  Almost all the windows are doors that open, the small transoms open and the sky lights can open. 

There was a Steinway grand piano in there and the guide asked if anyone could play.  I immediately pointed at Himself… who plays beautifully.  The guide asked him if he would mind playing it.  He was all over that! 

This area is the dining area.  There is a mixture of open and closed storage.  The doors to the upper cabinets are cut on a bevel so you can see no seam in the woodwork.

The kitchen was TINY.  Wright believed the woman of the house was the only one who should be in there… and that is about as many as this little kitchen could hold!  I really like the open shelving for the pots and canisters. 

Wright is known for his use of stained glass in his homes.  However, the Usonian homes were designed for the “everyman” and “everyman” cannot afford to have that luxury in their home!  So instead he designed a backlit display area where he set pieces of glass slag, giving the illusion of stain glass.  Also used in the house were clear glass bowls filled with slag or blown glass balls, set where the sun would shine thru them.

During the course of building the home, the Lowell further commissioned Wright to build a boat house… basically Mr. Lowell’s “man cave”. It is a wonderful little retreat down on the river!

It is definitely a trip worth making if you are a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright’s design.

http://www.iowadnr.gov/parks/state_park_list/cedar_rock.html

Driftwood Craft Kit... Unassembled

Himself and I have a favorite place along the Mississippi River to find pieces of driftwood. 

After a flood it piles up in huge mounds.  The easy to access places we dig around in all year.  But some areas it is caught up in brushy places.  For those we have to wait until after a couple freezes… I don’t risk coming face-to-face with a copperhead or water moccasin!

There are twigs… sticks… branches… and LOGS!

Recently – having been inspired by the great signs people are making – I have been picking up drift boards.  This is one that “got away”.  I couldn’t fit it in my truck with all the other things I had back there.

But I did grab up these boards!

And found a small amount of driftwood I liked.

It will be added to my pile of driftwood at home for future projects. I keep my driftboards on a shelf in the garage.

That is a lot of future fun and funky projects in that pile!

The Stories That Will Never Be Told

A grandson once asked, “What did great-grandpa believe?

What were his prayers? What gave him his hope?

His grandson replied, “He had family preachings:

I hid in the coop; to miss his sermons – my hope!”

 

A grandson once asked, “What did great-grandma Aline like?

What made her laugh? What were her dreams?”

Her grand-daughter replied, “There were 9 children,

A farm to be run… how could she dream?”

 

A great-nephew once asked, “Why did they travel so?

What did they see? Where did they go?

Their niece replied, “They went all over,

Staying with each relative… saving their dough!”

Who were these people whose bloodline I share?

What made them smile, what job was their task?

So many questions I wanted to know…

Now only silence… no one had asked.

This blog is in response to the “You Capture” photo challenge – “Silence”.

http://www.ishouldbefoldinglaundry.com/2010/11/you-capture-halloween-silence.html 

Birthday Crab Boil for Himself

In my family, birthdays are special. The birthday person is the king or queen of the day with a special meal and presents.  October is Himself’s birthday month. We celebrated with a crab boil done up by my brother-in-law. The huge stock pot I brought up was too large for the gas grill…

… so we switched gears and made a wood fire to cook by.

When there was a good bed of coals and more wood burning, BIL transferred the stock pot onto the stone tripod.

The fire was built back up and we waited as it came to a boil.

BIL kept watch so he could get the timing right for all the things he would be adding:

potatoes, then corn, then lobster, then king crab and finally shrimp.

My Dad kept watch too.  A fire is a nice place to sit around and talk.

Finally the steaming pot was done and it was time to eat.

Little Bird enjoyed her first ear of corn.

And the rest of us hoovered the delicious seafood.  There weren’t many leftovers that night!

Zoo Day with the Babies

Little Bird was all dressed up with someplace to go!  She was told she looked very chic.

"Hey Grandma!  Look at this big ol' frog."

Little Bird enjoyed watching the meerkats in the Children's Zoo.

And they enjoyed watching her!

No Little Bird, you can't get in with the bunnies!

And where was Little Hoss? 

Sound asleep in the stroller!  Even the screaming lemurs didn't wake him up.