The Adventures of Orrie and Maddie

This weekend my friend and co-worker Orrie and I were the only interns that stayed on the farm. We decided that there were too many fun things going around in the area to actually stay on the farm, so we ended up taking field trips to enjoy some of the local culture. 

On Saturday there was a threshing festival in Dalton. This wasn't merely a threshing, but also a celebration of historic rural life, big machinery, flea markets, food, and fun for the whole family. When we first arrived everybody was sitting around waiting for the tractor parade to start. 

Everybody was there to watch. 

And everybody participated. 

Young, 

old, 

women, 

and men.

We saw all kinds of tractors but the coolest were the steam engine tractors.

Afterwards we walked around the different exhibits

We found a blacksmith in his shop

and a woodworker making a baseball bat, which he kindly gifted to me after he was finished.

There were also some old homes, schoolhouses, and city halls. My favorite homes were the one room log cabins that had lofts in them. 

I think this would be the way to live. 

Then we saw the threshing happening and we didn't want to miss out on that. 

The thresher is connected to a tractor by a belt that spins around a gear. People stand on trailers and throw wheat (and other grains) into the back end and then the seeds get separated from the stalk. The stalks fly out the front and make a big pile while the seeds fall from the side into a trailer. It was the highlight of the day. 

We also watched the tractor pull. This was a hilarious sight to see. People hook their tractors up to "babe the blue ox" that adds weight as the distance increases and the tractor goes until the wheels begin to spin. 

Even the children wanted to drive their own tractors

On Sunday Orrie and I drove south to Sauk Center and participated in the fall festival at Camphill village. The Camphill movement was started by Rudolf Steiner, who also started the Waldorf Schools. Camphill village Minnesota is home to 45 people, half of who have special needs. It seeks to see the person not only as a physical creature but also as a spiritual one and it values the role that community plays in that. It is also a biodynamic farm that grows vegetables and grass fed beef. They also have some animals.

We saw some ducks crossing

And Orrie found a quaint swing

I ran into my friend Sarah who was drinking from a water pump

We wandered into a one room wood heated cabin. It reminded me of the cabin that we saw on Saturday and now I know it's possible to live like that even today. They were even using the same kind of stove!!

We also found the root cellar where they store the root crops for the winter. 

I also was able to talk to Leonard, a man who has been living at the village for 13 years. He told me about his model trains and airplanes that he builds and flies and he introduced me to his fiancé who also lives at the village. I talked to some of the co-workers as well and it sounds like a pretty cool experience. Maybe this adventure could turn into something more...???

Overall it was a good weekend with many new and cool things.