Wisconsin Vacation- Antique Tractor Pull, Old Symco, and Thresheree

A few days into our visit to Wisconsin, my uncle mentioned that he might like to check out a tractor pull. I jumped at the chance to take Munch- when would we ever do something like THAT again? It was a fairly wet day, so the fields were a giant mud pit. After purchasing some hot dogs and nachos, we were able to find a dry spot in the bleachers under some trees and I could take in the local crowd.
The tractor pull itself was fairly anti-climactic (this isn't a monster truck rally, after all) as they spent a bit of time with weigh-ins and chugged along slowly, probably due to the mud. But it was interesting to see the antique tractors.
Munch quickly picked out a favorite- a green Oliver 66 (not to be mixed up with the 88, she pointed out) and had fun watching for it both in the tractor pull and in the rows of tractors on display.
After the tractor displays, we came upon an old steam engine
which was powering the machines in the saw mill-
Hanging from the beams above was a collection of antique chainsaws
Next to the saw mill was another structure being built. It had a fairly new water wheel-
In the next demonstration area we saw the threshing machines and an old log cutter-
In another area of the showgrounds was a cluster of small buildings. I'm not sure whether it is called old Symco or Unionville.
It was a really interesting and memorable day. And on our way home, we stopped in at the Wittenburg Dairy King for a chocolate dipped frozen custard. Yum!

Wisconsin Vacation- Farm Animals

For Munch, one of the most anticipated things of our farm stay was getting to be with the animals. For weeks leading up to our trip, she would ask whether there would be chickens or pigs or cows and so on. I remember having my own week-long farm stay when I was a fifth grader attending school in San Francisco- some sort of agriculture/outdoor education for city kids. Students were hosted by farming families- I recall ours had vineyards and several pigs. Other students stayed at dairy farms and fed the baby calves. After our daily class excursions, we'd have plenty of time to explore the farm we were staying on and classmates would walk over from the neighboring farm to play. It was a wonderful experience and I hoped that Munch's visit would be just as memorable.

Living on my aunt and uncle's Wisconsin farm are several heifers and a young bull. My uncle and aunt do not live there year-round (too cold in the winters!), so his brother works the fields and keeps his heifers there until they are impregnated. Then the cows are tranferred to his dairy farm. Munch's bedroom window overlooked the cow barn, and every morning we'd peek out to catch a glimpse of them. The animals kept their distance for the first few days-
but eventually got used to us and allowed us to pet them. I've always thought that cows were adorable (from a distance), but when they're standing next to you, it's hard to forget that they're HUGE animals.

Living in the woodshed were the other animal residents of the farm- dozens of cats! Some were wild and hid during most of our visit, but a few had been tamed by my aunt. Munch and I were delighted to meet the kittens and after that, every spare moment was spent cuddling them and getting them used to being handled by people.This is one of the tiniest babies, Cole-
This little kitten caught Munch's eye and was so sweet.
Little Annie tolerated all of Munch's random handling, turning into a rag doll in her arms, as Munch cooed baby talk to her.
Within days, we found the kitten waiting patiently for Munch to come to the door in the mornings and lingering in the driveway for us to return whenever we went out.
After growing up with large dogs, it was a treat for Munch to have a kitten to cuddle that was just her size

Wisconsin Vacation- Farm

After spending a week exploring northern California, Munch and I were ready for a change of scenery. So we headed to Wisconsin, where my aunt and uncle have an old family farm. We arrived in Green Bay, which has the quietest airport I have ever seen-
A half hour drive takes you further and further into the beautiful countryside and I got my first view of the farm-
The front porch was a perfect place to relax and on our first night, we were surprised to enjoy a fireworks display happening in a nearby village.
Inside, is the bright blue kitchen where my aunt would turn out huge delicious breakfasts-
Munch and I stayed in the bedrooms at the top of a steep flight of stairs. Hers was a cozy room overlooking the woodshed and cowbarn-
Once we settled in, we explored outside. My aunt has gradually been adding garden areas to the front of the house- and also tied a swing into one of the large trees for Munch to enjoy-
Next to the house is the woodshed- then the garage- then the barn-
Another building housed the tractors and equipment-
And beyond the farm buildings lay acres and acres to explore and enjoy a nice, quiet walk-

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

Ever since Munch was a baby, we've made a trek out to Dixon to a great farm where we go on hay rides and pick a pumpkin off the vine-it's the same place we head to chop down a Christmas tree. This year, we decided to stick a little closer to home and explore the farming valley in our own little town. Just east of the Napa Valley, there are vineyards, olive groves, and many farms in the Suisun Valley. One favorite produce stand is always crazy busy, with people loading up wheelbarrows full of fruits and veggies at incredible prices. At the pumpkin patch, we discovered a huge variety of pumpkins and squash- including these beautiful swan squash but first Munch had to climb the hay bale tower,do a little pumpkin bowling, and do a run through the corn maze.Finally, we headed into the fields to find just the right pumpkin. We also loaded up our wheelbarrow with a bunch of other squash before stopping for a delicious snack of pumpkin bread. At home, Munch quickly went to work on painting her mini pumpkins and later that night, we carved our larger pumpkins-They turned out really well and Munch enjoyed sitting in the dark with them as she ate a sweet treat- ghost cupcakes!