May 10, 2014

May 10, 2014

I just plain ran out of time to post any pictures on our Prep-Day last Wednesday, so I thought I would take advantage of a few minutes that I have this afternoon before Jan and I have to leave for our evening performance of Rendezvous at Old Nauvoo.

We have been complaining of the cold for so long that I thought we had better let you know that it appears that spring is finally coming.  As proof of that, I am posting below a few pictures to prove it!

The colors of the trees have been magnificent. 

Of course, any spring would not be complete around here without a few newly hatched goslings floating around on the Mississippi.

Notice the tulips in the Women's Garden.

Incidentally, for your information, this is the largest monument to women anywhere in the world.

I particularly like this view of the Nauvoo Temple looking up the hill to the east.

Last Sunday Jan (a.k.a. Sister Larson) and I spent the afternoon giving tours in the Old Nauvoo Post Office and Dry Goods Store, where there is a very interesting assortment of carpentry and farming tools. (I regret that I failed to take some pictures of them, but maybe that can be part of a future blog post!)

Most of my week was spent giving wagon and carriage tours. On a couple of days, we had bus loads of school kids from neighboring towns come to see what life in the "pioneer days" was like. 

One of the groups of students taking in the sites of Old Nauvoo.

This is a replica of the kind of wagon that the Pioneers/Saints used to transport all their belongings in from Nauvoo to Salt Lake City. The wagon measures three feet by eleven feet--not much space to take everything you needed to survive the journey west and to "set up shop" once you got there!

On our Prep Day this week, we needed to pick up an item or two--such as local raw honey--in the Amish variety store in Cantril, Iowa, called Dutchman's, a truly fascinating place.

On our way to Cantril, we saw a variety of old barns, so we decided to take a picture of a couple of them.

While we were out in the Amish countryside, I visited a little hat and fabric shop. I was fascinated to see the farmer there out preparing his fields for planting using one of his teams of horses. Before leaving the little farm, I took a few pictures of his farm equipment. 

His horse-drawn wagon . . .

. . . planter . . .

. . . plow . . . 

. . .  and cultivator.

On the way to the farm/hat shop/fabric store, we passed by this little Amish school house. The last time we were out that way, the children, in their school uniforms, were outside playing a game that looked like a form of softball.

I hope this gives you an idea of some of our experiences this past week.  And I hope this finds you all doing well and enjoying what you're doing.