The day began with a trip to the Des Monies farmers market. The first stop I came to was a man who sold blueberries and when I asked him where they came from and if he grew them, he told me no, they were from Georgia and he just repackaged them. This response was very surprising to me and made me realize this farmers market was not all local. The purpose of them, I thought, was to eat local, and I would think they would restrict all products from locations other than Iowa. Also, while trying to ask questions to other venders I found they were not interested in talking. The lady Kris bought his honey from did not seem interested in talking or very knowledgeable about the bee farm either. Most people, that I encountered at least, seemed as though they wanted to sell their product rather than inform the public about them. Other stands however had great selections of Iowa grown produce and one man was sure to fill us in about everything about the mushrooms he found on the farm. He told us that the picking season is limited to two weeks and that was why the price was so high. So I guess it is just a mix of personalities at the market and cannot make one generalization. Also, I did notice one stand was selling what they called “ugly” fruit and were available at a cheaper price, so it did seem practical for families to shop at who have a low income.

The next stop was at the living farm exhibit where we walked through time beginning in the 1700s. We began with teepees and ended with pop tarts in the modern kitchen. It was fun going through the town and seeing the old-timey pharmacy, bank, and other stores. So much has changed from the 1900s and it was neat seeing the drastic differences. When we got back, I went on the tractor with Brent Friest, who is the son of Denny Friest, one of our hosts families here in Radcliffe.. He told me all about the precision agriculture and his current trials to see if 15 inch rows were more efficient than 30 inch ones. It was awesome to ride in the tractor and watch the process of the seeds getting planted.

P.S. Adam and I tried to make coke slushies today in 3 seconds and they did not come out as planned. This will become on ongoing science project to determine the exact time and location of the bottle necessary to produce the perfect amount of slush along with the precise taste of coke.