Traveling Adventures of a Farm Girl

Downtown Chicago has many sites to offer, this farmer’s market was a bit of unexpected rural flvory in the heart of the city.

This market was at Federal Plaza Market was located at the corner of Adams & Dearborn. The Market iis open every Tuesday until the end of October.

The Windy City offers culture, architecture, the Chicago River, plays, restaurants and fresh eating to boot! While you won’t drive your pick up truck and park at the street corner you could load up your basket with fresh offerings and have a picnic in a green space and enjoy the last hustle and bustle of summer before the wind howls around city corners and the snow flies!

Did you know that Central Park was one of the first public places created and that the park is a manmade creation designed by landscape architect Frederick Olmsted ?

This park has been around for a while, design on the the park was actually stopped during the Civil War, then resumed after the war and and completed in 1873.

The park happened to be a very popular place for professional photography. My daughter and I were visiting the beautiful city in July and we stopped at Central Park on our last day. We saw a model garbed in a wedding tux looking like he was ready to say “I do” and a young woman being filmed walking in a famous area under a lovely bridge.

On our walk to and at the park we witnessed at a commercial where they actually topped traffic in both directions.

Central Park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962. While we enjoyed walking around the best part of our visit to the park was a tour as we sat in a rickshaw pulled by a bicycle, our guide, a transplanted Irishman shared the history of the city and pointed out all the important sites. He pointed out the fountain where the Friends cast cavorted in the opening. He pointed out important statues and historic sites and even the building where John Lennon was shot. The tour added insight that we would not have had and provided us the time to see sights we would not have seen without his tour. It was fun to hear about American history from a lilting Irish accent. New York was and is a true melting pot. We were honored to be one of the masses! .

Darrell and Kevin Darst have an amazing International Harvester museum in Madison, Missouri. Darrell is the editor of the International Harvester club publication Harvester Highlights and he and his wife Kevin have been collecting for decades. Kevin is the queen of IH refrigeration and freezer collectibles and their museum reflects their knowledge and the love they have for what was once the largest farm machinery company in the country.

The Darst Collection includes many rare and unique items like pictures, signs and even equipment. Keith and I visited this August and enjoyed the Darst collection and hospitality. Everyone will walk away with something that is their favorite item, I think mine may have been the film where an IH spokesperson is telling dealers how to sell the refrigerators and talking about the new “Spring green” color.

T schedule a visit you need to call ahead at 660-291-8742.

Yesterday while at the Pinckneyville American Heritage Thresherman’s Association tractor show, the wind blew, the thunder boomed, the lightening crackled and the rain poured. Safe and sound under Annie Jansen’s extended camper awning I sat secure enjoying the pounding of the rain. Then the big boom came when the lightening hit a nearby tree splintering wood. The poor vendor sitting near the tree had quite a scare. The tent beside the tree even had scorch marks on it. The rain came down for a while adding much needed moisture and a bit of excitement to a very cool show. Being a farmer’s wife, getting wet didn’t bother me, I just didn’t want to get fried!

The American Threshman Association has two shows each year. One is in August and the second, the Fall Festival will be held October 19, 20 & 21st. The show is held at the fair grounds in Pinckneyville, Illinois. This town is a bit sentimental to me because I was born here and my dad taught school in Nashville many, many moons ago!

I survived the storm, had fun with friends and praised the Lord for the much needed moisture.

I took the grandkids to the Henson Robinson Zoo, a lovely small zoo located right on Lake Springfield. After playing at the playground we struck out to the zoo along with my mom for a fun filled morning. When this horse in the picture blew through its nose, my 20 month old grandson did a shuffle toward me that could have won him awards on Dancing with the Stars.

Taking advantage of some of the great sites in your backyard like this fun little zoo in Springfield is a great way to enjoy some grandma/ grandkid time. The peacocks and horses turned out to be the scary animals while the grand babies didn’t seem to be at all phased by the bear or the monkeys. I guess I should correct that phrase because my grand daughter informed me that her brother “Is a big boy and she is a good girl.” There you have it!

The Henson Robinson Zoo is located at 1100 East Lake Shore Drive, Springfield, IL 62712. Call 217-753-6217 or log onto http://www.hensonrobinsonzoo.org for details!