Fall Farmers Market in Tipton Iowa

In Iowa's Cedar County, the town of Tipton is the county seat of government. On Thursdays in October there is a farmers market on the courthouse grounds. Trading begins at 4 pm. This time of year you can buy pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, squash and baked goods. The 42N team bought acorn squash from this vendor.

We bought a bunch of Indian corn for decorations outside. Squirrels have already discovered the cobs and apparently are enjoying de-kernaling the display. 

Our visit to Tipton was a week ago - five days before the Big Blow went through the Midwest. Those 60 mph winds probably blew the yellow leaves off these trees and yard and into the next state to the northeast - that would be Wisconsin. While I took a better photo of this Tipton house, this frame is the only one with a kid on his bike. Looked a little like a Norman Rockwell scene. Know that.

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Three Stairs to Grant Wood's Grave

Three roadside steps will take you to the final resting place of American painter, Grant Wood. Here in 42N country Grant, his sister Nan and other family members are buried in nearby Anamosa, Iowa. Grant Wood was a US Army veteran from WWI, hence the military bronze marker and flags that flank his simple headstone.

One Day 2 of the the Big Wind, the lowest barometric storm over the continental US (aside from Tropical storms) the flags snapped with each gust and the fall leaves were no where to be found. Know that.

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Gloomy Day in October

Gray skies and slight wind greeted the 42N team in Independence, Iowa. The five story Wapsipinicon Feed Mill built in the mid-1800s has been flooded and repaired many times near downtown Indy. New to the area is this warning sign meant to inform those who would swim around the dam. Know that.

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No Digging Here

Apparently digging is prohibited at this cemetery. Must be full. Know that.

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Buy a Past at a Norway Iowa Auction

Recent items at last weekend's auction in Norway, Iowa. The home owner in her 80s lived there all her life. It was her parent's home too and she inherited all their things. Veneer off a tube radio peels away.

The auction set up boys took all the furniture outside for people to bid on. This cabinet went for $200.

A cap gun with its original box.

A Butternut (?) coffee can with US space program illustrations from Mercury to Apollo on it. Sold for over $25.

What time is it? Radio tube buying time of course.

Camera in its original box.

Buy a set of Iowa oak chairs - cheap! These went for under $25. There was much more at the auction. We bought several things for resale and the Dan Patch print - see the post here. Know that.

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He is Somebody's Somebody

Sometimes at household auctions you find things that make you pause. In this case at a Norway, Iowa sale last weekend there was this old photo of a somebody. No information on the photo's front or back as to who this person was and no one in the auction crowd knew either. Besides having a bad hair day, this guy was somebody to someone at one time. I'm sure the cost of the photo sitting was high at the time and the elaborate frame indicated that this was something cherished by a family. But as generations change and the stories become lost to time, eventually the identity of this person fads.

In today's digital photography world we too face this same issue. Outside of identifying the subject and date in the file name, there is not much else to positively identify our subjects. Preserve your digital images with file tags or other means. Otherwise in a hundred years someone looking at a digital copy of your Uncle Ed will not have a clue as to who that is in the image. Know that.

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Pig on a Stick - Lamb on a Stick

42N country's rural areas are made up of grain farming (corn and soybeans) and livestock production - no surprise for many in the breadbasket of America. Many county fairgrounds have dedicated areas for 4H related livestock shows during the summer.

On this day the 42N crew stopped at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Vinton, Iowa. Seen in two buildings are these wooden animals on a stick with numbers. Odd. What they represent are pens for either lambs or pigs with an identification for bedding and judging. Still the thought of a pig or lamb on a stick is much like the Iowa State Fair's claim to have many forms of food available on a stick.

On a side note: while most of the 42N area farmland is nearly harvested (soybean and corn harvesting), a single stalk of green corn in the silking stage grows near the pig building. Protected by the building and a west facing direction, the corn plant probably will continue to grow for a few more weeks before the overnight frost gets colder and stays longer. A sign of the fall. Know that.

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