Traveling Adventures of a Farm Girl

This is the 90th year that the butter cow is gracing the Illinois State Fair. Sharon Bumen from New York has been sculpting the cow for the last eight years and six years ago they created this cooler in the round for visitors to enjoy. Dairy Building Superintendent Marla Behrends shared that before when Sharon would work that she would sculpt as beautifully behind the cow as in front. Now visitors can enjoy the entire sculpture.

Bumen will be sculpting completing the butter cow and the final result will be completed on Tuesday. Visitors to the fair can watch her work her art until that time. The butter cow is a tradition at the Illinois State Fair. Everyone enjoys viewing the cow before sampling a dairy treat. The Illinois State Fair runs August 9-19. Children making homeade birthday cards may win a dairy treat. Create your own tradition at this year’s Illinois State Fair where the motto is Family Fun for Everyone!

At this year’s Graham Bradley tractor gathering, a group of women, five of us from Illinois, Iowa and Ohio set out to tour the Lafayette and West Lafayette countryside. After antiquing in the morning

Have you toured the Governor’s Mansion in your state? Today I stopped by the Illinois Executive Mansion and toured both the house and the grounds. Harry Lewis, who has served as the Mansion’s horticulturist since 2009. Lewis has filled the grounds with more than 100 planters full of perennials and annuals. The Governor’s lawn is dotted with color and beauty. The lawn and gardens serve as a perfect backdrop for the home of the highest office in the State.

The Illinois Executive Mansion is open to the public Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 11:30 and 2:00 to 3:30 and Saturdays from 9:30 to 11:00. Serving as the Governor’s mansion since 1855, this is the third oldest continuously occupied Governor’s Mansion in the United States as well as the largest. This is a place that is used for political gatherings as well as non-profit groups. Call 217-782-6450 fir details.

Take time to see this Illinois treasure, you will be glad you did.

Recently my daughter and I visited New York City. While known for its hustle and bustle, culture, fashion and architecture, our visit to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island was all about freedom. One glimpse at the beautiful Lady and it is easy to see how the words to Emma Lazarus poem are so fitting, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Ellis Island is where our ancestors, those “huddled masses” crowded through the lines waiting for their turn to see if they met emotional, medical and compentence tests that would allow them access to the “golden door.” My daughter Carrie commented, “They traveled such a long journey to get here, then once they arrived, they still had a huge ordeal to go through.”

While most made it in, there were many that were detained waiting for family or for a decision to be made. About ten percent of the arrivals had to go back home. On the audio tape, one woman reflected on a huanting memory of her great-grandmother being sent back while all those that could take care of her remained. She commented that it was the last time they saw her.

I took time to think about how hard won my freedom is on the 4th of July. I am thankful when I see the young men and women and veterans that fought so hard for us. But, from now on, I will also include my ancestors, our ancestors that traveled the treacherous seas to come to the New World and forge a new life. America was and still is the land of hope and the land of dreams.

On the fourth of July besides watching fireworks we took off and tried a cool restaurant, Abe’s Hide Out and Saloon in Mechanicsburg, Illinois and decided to also stop at the Walnut Stree Winery in Rochester, Illinois. They offer wine daily and out in the wine garden there is often entertainment . You can even try your hand at a round of bocce ball on the bocce ball court.

Owner Loren Shanle makes the wine onsite with grapes imported mainly from California. He produces, bottles and labels at the shop. A former insurance agent, he turned the house that used to be his office into a winery adding a tasting room and wine garden. The winery is a pleasant place to stop and while away an afternoon or evening. We particularlly liked the Tropical Breeze and brought home a bottle to try while sitting out on our own deck!

The Walnut Street Winery is not surprisingly located at 309 South Walnut Street in Rochester, Illinois 62563.Log onto their website http://www.walnutstreetwinery.com for more information.