Post a Comment On: A Nod to Nothing

As a second annual tradition - Kyle, Eryn and I went to the NowThen Threshing Show. This year Kyle added his brother Matthew and nephew Jonny and our friend Dan'l and his son, Conner. The huge breakfast at Kyle's house was the same, with the exception of me bubbling over the coffee maker and getting grounds everywhere, but that's where the similarities ended. Unlike last year, when it was scathingly hot outside, this year it was pouring. Pouring enough to cancel rides on the little train. Enough to cancel the hayrides behind the horse. Enough to cancel the tractor pull. Enough to cancel the farmer garage sale. Enough to cancel the Parade of Power. Enough to encourage the purchasing of hot chocolate instead of pop. It was crazy wet. Dan'l seemed to think everyone was crazy for sticking around for a while - but I always figure as long as the kids are running around and looking at things, or willing to get up from where they are and run around to look at things when you give them a little kick, it's not that bad. There are extensive pictures here - but I'll offer commentary on a few of the highlights.

If I win the 1957 John Deere drawing, you'll know I wasn't crazy to go - although I suspect I'll take the optional $1500 in cash.

First of all - the rain. This was before it got muddy. Right to the left of this picture is a tractor pulling support vehicle with a big "Mycogen" sign on it. That was personally funny, as I worked for Mycogen as a contractor creating seed database incentive programs before they were bought out and ripped apart for their seed patents and all the employees except the scientists dumped. Several of them work at my current company now.
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Per Kyle - parking was indeed easy. No problems finding it afterwards, although you had to stay out of the way of the ambulance that was supposed to be coming. Someone in the kitchen had suffered a threshing mishap.
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Dan and I saw this guy at the metalsmith shed. Dan wanted to know why he was shearing a cat. I was similarly concerned until I finally saw the eye blink and realized it wasn't a cat ear, but a bunny eye. When we left the building, we got about ten feet from the shed and Eryn asked Dan and I, "What was that guy doing to that cat?" We got a good chuckle out of that. Eryn and Conner talked to one of the smiths for a while - he was pretty happy to have an attentive audience to witness his dutch elm bannister creation and encouraged their participation in deciding whether the fire was hot enough.
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Who says tractor shows aren't funny. THIS is funny. Don't think so - if you're at work scream it loudly, and when someone asks what the hell is wrong with you, tell them you really like tractors. Then you'll know it's funny.
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Eryn, waiting for her hot chocolate to cool off so she can warm up.
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Conner - grimacing for the camera. The tractor trailer rides were about the only thing running - so we did a few turns on them. They were also extremely useful for finding lost members of your party.
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Eryn and Jonny - probably gives you an idea of how much rain there was. Kyle and Matthew didn't have umbrellas, even with the extra we toted along - so they were pretty wet after the first salvo.
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Kyle's picture that he entitled "WITNESS THE PARADE OF POWER!!!" It would be a good page for their 2008 Threshing Show calendar.
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There's always a way to warm up.
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If you still don't feel immersed in the wettest Threshing Show ever, I offer you a NodToNothing exclusive - a virtual tractor trailer ride...


In one area, a guy was running a carousel and swing driven by some belts. He had used various stuffed animals to populate the rides, and they were looking seriously ratty after being hauled through the rain and mud. When we got there, it was starting to look less like an idyllic "It's a Small World" scene, and more like a nightmare out of a Gaiman book. The carousel:


And the swings: