From the Vine
  • I've moved to craiglehoullier.com

The mid-west.  Iowa.  We get it! part 1....The Cabin

9/10/2012

0 Comments

 
It has taken Sue and I a few days to reflect upon our recent visit to Decorah, Iowa. The highlight of the trip was the Saturday Tomato Tasting at the Seed Savers Exchange Heritage Farm. But it is possible that the time we spent there on either side of the tasting is what we will remember most. In a way, it redefined "peace" for us....being able to spend hours and hours watching "cow TV" (more on that later, I promise!), feeling the gentle, refreshing breezes, and hearing nature all around us.

Shannon, at SSE, asked if we would like to stay in an old, lovingly restored cabin a few miles from Heritage Farm. "Sure", we said, and it was the best decision possible. The cabin (the history of which I must find out) is likely 1800's vintage. There is one main downstairs living room, which contained an old, wind up Victrola that actually worked. Off of that room was a tiny bathroom, tiny kitchen (both more than adequate), and stairs from the kitchen leading up to two bedrooms. But the best part was the back deck, with two comfy wooden rockers. And those rockers looked out on a lovely, large pasture surrounded by a ridge of tall trees. The pasture was endlessly entertaining and changing, inhabited by at least 40 Angus cattle, most of which were black, but sprinkled with a few red, white, and tan, with a few showing white faces. Hence Cow TV!  One more thing that is most important - we were perfectly happy with no phone service, internet, TV, radio.  It was heaven!

The deck was a perfect place to rock, watch the leftward or rightward movement of the cattle (often they would come up to the fence separating the property), read, do crosswords or sudoku, knit....or just close your eyes and listen. We heard all sorts of birds, including Pileated Woodpeckers, and saw a few Bald Eagles fly along the distant ridge tree line. Now and then skittish deer would appear, jump the fence and run through the field, white tails flashing. In the evening at dusk, at least 40 bats would emerge from a hole at the base of the cabin chimney and set off on their insect feast. As we continued to sit, the stars would start to show (we were facing south, so Scorpio and its red star Antares was very prominent), and a nearly full moon rose and illuminated the field in front of us. Sometimes in the evening and once in the morning we would see mists form or lift. 

As the sun moved across the sky, Sue and I would shift our chairs, often relocating down to the lawn under spreading hardwood trees. And always, it was bird calls, or mooing, or the breeze...no sound of cars, or trucks, or airplanes. Each night we would climb those rather risky stairs up to the loft and settle in to a peaceful night of lovely dreams. 

Sure, we did some biking, some hiking, had wonderful times at a Barn Dance thrown by John Torgrimson, the SSE director, and a lovely dinner at the home of Tom and Beth Wahlberg (Tom runs the SSE commercial seed operation). We spent time in Decorah, a thriving, lovely little town with a superb Co-Op, ice cream store (the Sugar Bowl), quilt and yarn shops....more on that later. But it wouldn't have been as special if not for the cabin....and Cow TV.

Our deep thanks to the Seed Savers Exchange, John and Pat, Tom and Beth, Shannon, Grant, Jim, and everyone else that made us feel so welcomed!
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Links

    • Seedlings Sewn
    • Tomatopalooza 2012 
    • Victory Seeds
    • The Year Round Veggie Gardener 
    • Seed Savers Exchange
    • Straw Bale Gardening
    • Dave's Garden
    • Tomatoville
    • Selected Plants
    • Tomato Growers Supply Company
    • Johnny's Selected Seeds
    • Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
    • Sandhill Preservation

    Archives

    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    October 2009
    September 2009

    Categories

    All
    2010 Events
    2011 Garden Update
    2011 Season
    2011 Tomato Harvest
    2014 Season
    Beets
    Black Cherry
    Bleaching
    Caging
    Canning
    Chard
    Cherokee Chocolate
    Comparing
    Container Gardening
    Cooking
    Cooking School
    Craig's Tomato Creations
    Dad
    Daily Stuff
    Daniel Stowe Garden
    Desert Island Tomatoes
    Dwarf Project
    Dwarf Sweet Sue
    Dwarf Tomato Project
    Eggplant
    End Of 2010 Report
    Event
    Favorites For 2009
    Fertilizing
    Flowers
    Garden Issues
    Garden Lessons
    Garden Progress
    Garden Tasks
    Garden Update
    Germinating Seeds
    Germination
    Greens
    Grow Bags
    Growing Medium
    Harvest
    Helping Friends
    Herbs
    History
    Hot Peppers
    Hybrid
    Indeterminate Tomatoes
    Kayaking
    Kitchen Renovation
    Lettuce
    Library
    Lillians Yellow
    Little Lucky
    Lucky Cross
    Monticello
    News
    Newspaper Article
    Office
    On The Radio
    Ornamental Hot Peppers
    Peppers
    Pictures
    Pots
    Recipe
    Recipes
    Robins Nest B&B
    Sara
    Sara's Book
    Seed Family Trees
    Seedlings
    Seed Saving
    Shannons
    Southern Season
    Sse
    Staking
    Suckering
    Sungold
    Sunset Beach
    Sweet Peppers
    Tomato Culture Q&A
    Tomato Culture Videos 2011
    Tomato Dinner
    Tomatoes
    Tomato Histories
    Tomatopalooza 2010
    Tomatopalooza 2010 Videos
    Tomatopalooza 2011
    Tomatopalooza 9 2011
    Tomato Tasting
    Topping
    Transplanting
    Tshirts
    Varieties Grown In 2010
    Video Updates 2010
    Video Updates 2011
    Watering
    Zely And Ritz

    RSS Feed