NANCY AND I WENT AT NOON YESTERDAY (SUNDAY) TO THE PARK IN ANDREW WHERE THE ANDREW LIONS CLUB WAS HOLDING THEIR ANNUAL
CHILI AND PIE TASTING EVENT. AND THEY WERE STILL CELEBRATING THEIR
SUCCESSFUL SWEET CORN SALES THIS SEASON. THEY CLEARED ENOUGH MONEY FOR 5 SCHOLARSHIPS AND MONEY TOO FOR OTHER COMMUNITY
DONATIONS. THE ABOVE CLEVER PAINTING WAS DONE BY DONNA COX OF
BELLEVUE.
LEFT TO RIGHT: KATHY HAVERKAMP, THE PIE WINNER FOR HER APPLE CRANBERRY PIE.......JACKIE REGAN, FIRST PLACE, CHILI......JERRY McMURRAY
AND ROGER MICHELS, TIED FOR SECOND PLACE,CHILI.
MANY WERE HAPPY THAT JERRY DIDN'T TAKE FIRST PLACE AGAIN THIS YEAR. AND HE WAS UNHAPPY BECAUSE HE LOST FIRST PLACE BY JUST
ONE VOTE.
ANYWAY...THE WEATHER WAS GREAT...THE FOOD TOO....AND A GOOD TURN
OUT FOR YESTERDAY'S EVENT IN ANDREW. IF YOU ATTENDED, THE ANDREW LIONS "THANK" YOU.
THE STATE-WIDE IOWA BARN FOUNDATION BARN TOURS WERE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. ALL 99 COUNTIES. EARLIER THIS SUMMER, THERE WERE
SPECIAL 2-COUNTY TOURS IN CLINTON AND JACKSON COUNTIES. NEXT
YEAR IN THE SUMMER, TWO DIFFERENT COUNTIES WILL HAVE TOURS AND
THE ENTIRE STATE AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER. THE ABOVE BARN IS THE "BLACKIE" CLASEN BARN AT AT 200TH STREET, RURAL BELLEVUE. IT
IS A "WIDER" THAN NORMAL BARN.
NANCY AND I VISITED THREE BARNS YESTERDAY AND ABOVE WAS THE
AUTUMN ENTRANCE TO THE CLASEN BARN.
COULDN'T HELP TAKING A PHOTO OF THE CLASEN HOUSE ENTRANCE....IT HAS THAT SPECIAL WIFE TOUCH. NICE!
THE ABOVE WAS HANGING IN THE MARTIN BARN.
ANOTHER BARN WE VISITED WAS THE MARTIN BARN AT 222ND AVENUE, ZWINGLE, A SHORT DISTANCE FROM OTTER CREEK, JUST OFF THE
BELLEVUE-CASCADE ROAD. THERE ARE FOUR RESTORED BUILDINGS
THERE, THE LARGE BARN, A SMALLER ONE AND TWO STILL SMALLER ONES.
OWNER IS DAVE MARTIN. BELOW, THE LARGE BARN....OUTSIDE AND INSIDE
PHOTOS. DAVE HAS SPENT 10 YEARS, TAKING BAD BUILDINGS AND MAKING THEM LOOK GOOD AGAIN.
THIS PHOTO ABOVE IN BASEMENT OF BIG BARN.
AND, WE VISITED THE DELANEY BARN, OWNED BY MIKE AND JULIE DELANEY
AND LOCATED ON THE BELLEVUE-CASCADE ROAD, ABOUT A MILE EAST
OF OTTER CREEK AND THE OTTER CREEK CONVENIENCE STORE ON
HIGHWAY 61. IT IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF ROAD AS YOUR TRAVEL EAST FROM OTTER CREEK. BELOW, THE DELANEY BARN...
THE DELANEY FARM IS ALSO THE LOCATION OF A VERY POPULAR
ONE-OF-A-KIND ALPACA FARM. THE DELANEYS HAVE AROUND 130 ALPACAS
ON THE FARM AND A NEAT, 3-STORY STORE IN ONE OF THE SMALLER
BARNS. IT IS KNOWN AS THE
IRISH MEADOWS ALPACA STORE.
YESTERDAY, WITH THE WEATHER PERFECT, IT WAS LIKE A COUNTY FAIR
AT THE FARM. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WALKING AROUND, FOOD STANDS,
"LIVE" MUSIC, HOME SQUEEZED LEMONADE, AND, THE SURPRISE OF THE
AFTERNOON, AN ALPACA GIVING BIRTH.
ABOUT 30 PEOPLE, INCLUDING QUITE A FEW KIDS, WATCHED THE DELIVERY.
THE MOTHER STOOD STILL AND APPARENTLY IN NO PAIN. MIKE DELANEY
HELPED ALONG NOW AND THEN, GIVING AN EASY PULL. EVENTUALLY, HE PULLED UNTIL IT CAME OUT, AND DRIED IT WITH A TOWEL. THE MOTHER THEN IMMEDIATELY TOOK CONTROL AND STROLLED AWAY TO A LITTLE
HIGHER GROUND AS THE BABE FOLLOWED. AND SOON AFTER THE FEMALE STARTED TRYING TO GET UP AND ALREADY TRYING TO MAKE IT TO FOOD. QUITE A SITE TO SEE. MIKE SAYS GESTATION PERIOD IS 11 1/2 MONTHS. MOST WEIGH ABOUT 15 POUNDS AT BIRTH. THE MOTHER WEIGHS ABOUT 150 POUNDS.
OUTSIDE ON THE GROUNDS, A BUSY PLACE. THE SMALLER OF THE TWO
BARNS ABOVE IS WHERE THE STORE IS LOCATED.....CALLED THE
"IRISH MEADOWS YARN BARN AND BOUTIQUE"
SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH IN MAQUOKETA HAD THE LEMONADE STAND...$3, AND WORTH EVERY PENNY. REFRESHING IN 88 DEGREE WEATHER.
NEVER FOUND OUT WHO THE MUSICIAN WAS.
INSIDE THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE STORE. THAT'S OWNER JULIE, SECOND FROM RIGHT. I'M SUCH A NICE GUY....I BOUGHT NANCY AN ALPACA QUILT.
JACKSON COUNTY HAS IT ALL!
DENNIS VOY
