Fun at the fair

The Retired Iron guys seem to have a lot of fun at the fair. On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings they had parades, and the parades took different routes. On Wednesday the tractors went past the free stage area, and people behind this tractor were tossing candy, which makes it a real parade for the kids.

On Tuesday they came back on the road behind the Midway. The dragon roller-coaster is a fave with the young kids. If you look carefully, you might even see a couple holding up their hands. I believe tonight is the last night for the carny rides.

Just in case you thought I was showing you an isolated tractor and making up the stuff about a parade, here is a picture of the last part of Tuesday's line of tractors. Click on it to get a better view.

And now for something completely different. I had no idea what the purpose of this contraption was until I saw kids in it. It is a bungie jumper. The kids jump on the trampoline-like cushions, but the bungie cords are what give their jumps height. One of them is even doing some flips in the air. It looks like a lot of fun, but it does cost $7.00.

Just dusting

Last Friday I kept hearing very noisy planes taking off from the Jasper County Airport, so I meandered out there to see what was going on. There were four crop dusters on the ground, one of which was taking on a new load of whatever it was spreading on the fields. Not long after this picture was taken, it took off and headed north.

If they did not dust the crops, what would happen? Would they not grow as well because the dirt on the leaves would obstruct the sunlight? (I probably should leave humor to people who know how to do it right.)

Following the court

On Sunday I missed a photo op because I was did not realize what I was seeing quickly enough. The fair queen and her court were given the opportunity to go up in bucket of the aerial firetruck. I did catch them as they were getting ready to dismount. I have a lot of pictures of men at heights, but I would have liked one of women at heights. Unfortunately, I missed it. (Update: I forgot about the picture here.)

A bit later I caught up to the queen and her court posing for a picture with the ladies of the Jasper County Historical Society in front of the log cabin.

Going out the back door of the Quick Cabin, I noticed a millstone. I asked about it, but none of the ladies there knew anything about it.

They also did not know anything about this pair of stones. They probably came from a building when it was demolished. If you know what it is from, leave a note in the comments.

This block is between the cabin and the Rose Bud school. I think it is from the Fendig building on the court house square that burned a number of years ago. Its former location on Washington Street is now a parking lot.

But what if they cannot read?

A picture from the Jasper County Fair.

Tadpole rescue 2010

There is a seasonal pond just east of Weston Cemetery that I mention occasionally. On Monday morning it dried up, leaving a lot of dead fish and still-living tadpoles. Judging from the tracks in the mud, it also left some happy raccoons. This story replays every year, and for some reason I cannot just let things be, but I have to try to rescue some of them.

This year it was a painful rescue. There were some tiny dead catfish in the mix, and about four times my fingers encountered their sharp little spines. Several hours later my fingers still hurt.

There was a good assortment of different sizes. I think most or all of them were frog tadpoles, and a few had begun to sprout tiny back legs. The toad tadpoles seem to have done well this year. I have several tiny toads in my lawn (I prefer them to my bunny, which is still here and getting bigger) and I try not to run them over when I mow. Anyway, I put my rescued polliwogs  into the creek in Brookside Park. They may all  just get washed down to the river and eaten. I hope a few will live to froghood.

Below is the pond several weeks ago when life was much better for the inhabitants.

This year a water plant was doing very well, so I decided to figure out what it is. I am pretty sure it is water plantain, or Alisma subcordatum. It has tiny little nondescript flowers.