On the way to the dairy farm

This morning I noticed a really old car going north on US 231. A minute later I saw two more going through a construction zone that had narrowed traffic, but I still did not have my camera ready. But when I saw the fourth one as I approached the city limits, I did have my camera out.

 I was really excited to see two more at the Shell station.

 A crowd had gathered around this 1909 vehicle. Listening to various conversations, I learned that the group was headed for the dairy farm. I wonder if Fair Oaks Farms will put anything about it on their Facebook page.

 As I left, I found three more parked on the other side of the station.

 And then still another arrived. Would you want to drive one of these out on the highway? They do not go very fast, and I suspect that they need a lot more maintenance than a modern car. However, they are probably a lot easier to fix.

 Especially since they only have one or two cylinders. The cars had this sign on them, which tells the world that they are coming from Monticello.

Addendum: I see that there is now a blog for the Jasper County Fair. I have added it to the list of blogs on the side. And when I go to the Jasper County Fair website, I get a warning that the site is an attack site that has distributed malicious software. What is the story there?

Wednesday night at the swimming pool

Tonight was dollar night at the LaRue Pool. The first dollar night was supposed to be a Monday a couple weeks ago, but storms canceled it. Slice of Pie Pizza had planned to provide free pizza on that Monday but could not; instead they provided free pizza tonight.

This little swimmer really enjoyed a slice of cheese pizza.

So with a couple of slices of free pizza, the one dollar entry fee was a real bargain.

I recall when the baby pool was always a busy part of the pool, but in recent years it is often mostly empty. Wednesday night was one of those empty nights, but that did not discourage this happy little girl.

After the 6:30 break for adult swim, it was time for some games. The first game was a relay race. Each member of the team had to swim the width of the pool, get out, eat three soda crackers, and whistle. Then the next member of the relay was ready to repeat the process. It looked a lot like herding cats.

The second game was even more fun--diving for quarters and an occasional dollar. The kids had no sense of strategy. They gathered in groups ready to dive or jump in, and few of them realized that the best move might be to find a spot along the edge where no one else was.

After the big kids had cleaned out the big pool, they learned that there were also some quarters in the baby pool, so a mob of them headed over to find the money there. But they were too late. They were not smarter than a three-year old.

It was an enjoyable evening. The weather was just right for an evening at the pool. The pizza was great. And the kids and adults were well-behaved. The next dollar evening will be on a Monday night. I will try to post the date when I learn what it is.

Odds and Ends from around town

I keep waiting for construction to finish on the hospital, but it continues. Last week workers were putting on some kind of vent.

Some of the construction fence has been removed, but there are still three porta-potties. When they disappear, we will know that construction is finished.

I keep looking for an announcement of an open house, but so far none has appeared on the hospital website. However, there is a new piece up that five new consulting physicians are offering services at the hospital. They are from Lafayette and come up usually once every other week.

The east parking lot at the high school was being repaired and repainted over the weekend. I hope it is finished for the big production of the Children's Summer Theater later this week. That and Cruise Night are the big events on the community calendar.

The house under construction that I noticed at Elm and Franklin a few weeks back surprised me. It went from foundation to house while I was not paying attention.

Today Rensselaer will have a new business downtown. A flea market and resale shop is opening where J&L Antiques used to be.

And I noticed a much bigger "for-lease" sign on the building north of Sealy Spring, but I still cannot find anything about it on the Internet.

Update: The new flea market downtown is called Hometown Bargains. It presently has a limited selection, but the owner is hoping that additional vendors will join her. No date has been set yet for a grand opening.

Wednesday night is the first Wednesday dollar night at the LaRue Pool. Entry fee for those who do not have a season pass is $1.00 from 5 pm until 8 pm. Special attractions include games and pizza! If you want to see what the pool is like, this is a great opportunity to check it out.

Update 2: The cressyandeverett.com website now has some info on the large facility that is available for lease on Merritt Street: "93,614 square feet in warehouse/distribution facility available for lease.The building is a Pre-fab steel construction built in 1968 and renovated in 2008."

Fireworks-updated

Last night Rensselaer sounded like a war zone after it got dark. I was amazed at the number of fireworks that I could see as well as the much bigger number that I could only hear.

Our neighborhood had several people setting off fireworks like those you would see at a organized fireworks show.

I could see the flash of light from another neighborhood and the loud boom came about a second later, so it was almost a mile away. It must have been really impressive (or annoying) for those living close by.

I set the shutter speed of the camera quite low so the images are a bit blurry.

Our neighborhood fireworks ended with a flurry of bombs bursting in air.

Boom.

Will tonight be as noisy, or did most of the fireworks get shot off last night?

Update: The number of fireworks going off on Monday night seemed to be about the same as the number on Sunday night. They started early, before it was completely dark, but tapered off after about 10:30.

I am quite amazed at what I witnessed this past weekend. I do not remember this amount of fireworks in the past, or maybe I just was not paying attention. Or maybe the long weekend with the Fourth on a Monday prompted a bit more celebration. I do not recall the Fourth as being an especially noteworthy holiday when I was a kid. But then I was in Minnesota and the state at the time had banned most or maybe all fireworks. I recall friends who were very proud that they had obtained firecrackers, which had to be bought out of state. (South Dakota was a favorite source.) The only way I knew of getting a big boom was to take a whole roll of caps and hit it with a hammer. That was a big deal.

Wolcott had their usual celebration, and I found a few pictures from Brook's parade.

Amber waves of grain

Have a nice Fourth of July weekend.

I thought the picture of wheat ready to harvest that I took a week or two ago was appropriate for the weekend.

Less appropriate but something I always find striking are the rolls of hay in the fields. I cannot explain why I like this sight, but i do.

Again, have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.