Marshall, MI Tulip Garden
Marshall, MI Tulip Garden
The month of May is just about the best
time to drive through the country (in the Northern
Hemisphere). The trees are dazzling -- petals and seeds
blanket the sidewalks, new leaves shine with hues of yellow, red and
light green that you don't see in summer or fall. City folks garden,
surburbanites mow giant lawns on riding mowers, and farmers are
Dogwood in bloom
doing real work -- plowing and fertilizing and planting their
crops. Farm machines just keep getting bigger -- no doubt
that is a major attraction of the agricultural career, especially to
youngsters.
Not all farmers drive tractors. In northern Indiana, we noticed Amish horse-drawn
Amish farming, northern Indiana
buggies along the roads and parked in town, near doctors'
offices. No two buggies seemed alike -- probably a lot of
them are home-made.
We kept swivelling our heads and finally
were rewarded with sights of the farmers expertly working their teams
of eight horses as they plowed the black earth. The Amish
seem prosperous, not only because they are frugal, but because there's
Highland cattle
a large market for Amish crafts. We happened to drive through
Shipshewana, Indiana -- the entire town is a shoppers' nucleus of Amish
furniture, food, and quilt stores.
Spring is also lambing and calving and
foaling time, giving us wonderful views of critters. In
addition to the expected cattle and horses, we found several farms
Sign for Dig's Diner
where the pigs were allowed outdoors, and quite a few goats.
Most unexpected were long-haired Highland cattle with their soft round
muzzles and great outstretched horns.
In Warsaw, Indiana, we stopped for lunch
at Dig's Diner, attracted by the portrayal of Dig himself on the street
sign. Inside, we found Dig, shaped just the same as his
Window of Dig's Diner
likeness, presiding at the grill. As each order was ready, he
would holler out to the waitress in a voice like a fog horn.
We ordered chili. "Mild or hot?" the waitress asked. "Hot", we
replied. In a few moment we heard Dig ask, "Has he been here
before?" The waitress brought a small dish of chili and a
spoon. After one bite, we changed our order to "mild".
As we left, we noticed the decorated front window. Little tongues
Rotunda in Marshall
of flame spring from the top of the bowl of chili.
Marshall, Michigan, is a little gem. At one time it hankered to be the state capital, but lost out to Lansing. But it has streets full of fine old Victorian mansions, a town hall made out of a restored stone barn, and a classical white rotunda in the middle of the big traffic circle.
East of the Mississippi we seldom have trouble finding new roads to travel; we are always surprised and pleased by the sights we find, especially those that aren't mentioned in any of the guidebooks.