1999 International Plowing Match & Farm Machinery Tour - Part 2 - “At The Show”  

Bright sunshine greeted us Thursday morning, and as we scrambled to get cleaned up and dressed the delightful smells of breakfast at Brentwood on the Beach were wafting into our room.  We polished off one of Joan and Peter’s gourmet buffets, and headed toward Dashwood to the Plowing Match.  We arrived early enough to get a good parking spot.  It’s difficult to describe the entire layout of this “event”, and the logistics behind making it work.  Planning gets underway for each year’s match about 3 years in advance, and when you get there it’s easy to see why.  We pulled into a field (one of many) that would eventually hold several thousand vehicles, and after being directed to our spot, boarded the IPM’s version of a “people mover”.   Local farmers volunteer their time and machines to transport people from the parking areas to and around the main event areas.  People piled into hay wagons, pulled by all varieties of tractors, and were shuttled to the main gates.  It’s kind of like a cross between standing up riding a subway and trying to stay righted on the deck of a boat in rough weather.  You become very “close” friends with the people next to you in the wagon!!!  It was probably 3/4 mile ride to get to the main gates, and we passed a number of antique tractors on their way to their designated plowing area.    From previous experience, we learned that the first thing to do was to make our way to the IPM Headquarters tent to get the daily event and shuttle pickup schedule. We decided to watch some of the horse plowing events, and our transport to that area was a wooden wagon piled with bales of hay for seats, drawn by two beautifully groomed Belgians in full dress harnesses.    We had no idea of the complexity behind the horse-drawn plowing competition.  Teams were comprised of two horses, some with the owners handling a single blade hand held plow with reigns around their body, and some with a rig that allowed them to sit down.  The plowing and judging proceeded throughout the day, beginning with each participant being judged on the “crest” that they had plowed, then on through the finish plowing of their designated area.   Chatting with the contestants was fascinating; some families had three generations represented.  The horses, mainly Belgians, were splendid and so proud in their dressy harnesses…no “dress down for work” here! 

The day warmed up considerably, and we caught the next “Hay Wagon Transport” back to our truck to change into some shorts and get rid of our jackets.   It was time to cruise through the “Tented City”...100 acres of any and all kinds of vendors and exhibitors that you can imagine.  Monster farm machinery displays, ANYTHING ag-related that you can think of, local and national businesses, tools, clothing, crafts (almost went for one of the tractor mailboxes!), the OPP performing truck safety demos, Canadian Conservation booths on wildlife areas, best practices in farm drainage, the latest and greatest in wood and coal stoves, and my favorite, livestock.  We stopped to visit some llamas, just as their owner was demonstrating how they eat an apple out of your hand.  He (the llama, not the owner!) very delicately nibbled round the apple, then politely polished off the core, while studying us with the biggest, long-lashed, deepest brown eyes that you’ve ever seen.   One of the sheep exhibits was kinda tough for me, though...my dream is to have a few sheep for pets (sort of like our friends Laurie and Mark’s sheep, Darryl and Darryl).   The conversations around the sheep here were strictly about the quality and quantity of the meat they produced.  It was, after all, a farm show...not a pet show!  They did have a very interesting display about the Katahdin sheep.  Apparently they were introduced into this country from St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands, in the late 1950’s.  They don’t have the traditional woolly coat that most folks picture on sheep; they do grow a thick winter coat, but they shed that and have a hair-like coat most of the season.  I’ll put a link on our web site to a super site I found that has info and great photos of all kinds of breeds of sheep and other livestock. 

The wind began to pick up, a LOT, and being in the middle of thousands of open acres of farmland the conditions at the show became quite **interesting**.   The dry, sandy soil and the remains from the surrounding recently harvested bean and corn fields became enemy projectiles.    The Show’s PA system kept broadcasting that anyone with a tent should check its structural soundness...the winds were approaching 40 mph.   We found safe haven in the “Brick Brewery” tent for a while. An outstanding country music band with a really talented pedal steel guitar player was performing, everyone was friendly, local microbrewery beer was cold, and it really felt good to get off our feet.

Braving the increasing winds, we struck out again through the IPM exhibit maze. We HAD to get some photos of me “driving” some of the farm machinery (hey...maybe some day…). We came across a booth where a local artist was creating chain saw sculptures.  We simultaneously spotted one of his finished pieces...an eagle in flight gripping a fish in its talons...and knew we had to have it.  We’re always looking for outdoor sculpture that will complement the grounds of our “Objectionable Manor”.  Never mind that this thing weighs 100+ pounds, is 4’ x 3’, and we didn’t have a pass for admittance to service road into the show.  The show-grounds guards were very cool;  we stopped and explained that we had purchased a large chain saw sculpture and they thanked us for coming to the show and said “no problem!..go on in and pick it up!”.

What a day!  All of my favorite things in one place: sheep, tractors and assorted farm machinery, llamas, shopping, food, horses. Our feet were sore (no, numb) from walking all day, and the dirt had wind-blasted into us to the point that we rivaled Pig Pen from the comic strip “Peanuts”.  You could have probably planted a very successful crop in my hair!   A hot shower back at Brentwood on the Beach was like a gift from God.

That night’s dinner presented another difficult decision; the number of top-quality dining establishments in this area is not to be believed. (And you thought we were just going to a Farm Show!!)  We headed south about 5 miles to Grand Bend, a resort community that looks like in the summer is a cross between Sodus Point and Venice Beach.  Joan highly recommended the “Lakeview Cafe”, and it turned out to be a real winner.  A wonderfully cozy place on the beach, it seats about 20 people and is also a gallery for local artisans (a pottery platter had to come along with us for my buddy Debbie’s birthday!).    We decided on appetizers and soup for dinner this evening...House Cured Salmon Gravlax and Potato Pancake, with Mache and Cilantro Creme Fraiche was my choice; Ethan couldn’t pass up the Lake Huron Pickerel Cheeks and Smoked Sturgeon served with Frisee and Lola Rosa. Our soup of the evening was Creamed Corn and Scallop Chowder garnished with fresh herbs. A soft Canadian Chardonnay added the perfect touch.  Our server kept a basket filled with warm homemade breads...garlic twists, herb rolls, cheese crusted sticks. The best part was the homemade hummus that accompanied them, served in little pottery dishes.  Another excellent day on our Canadian Adventure!   Next time…exploring “up the coast” of Lake Huron!

Grab your Ontario Province map and check this area out…it’s not that far from home! 

Please visit us at http://irwinhome.freeservers.com.  There’s a link to the IPM web site from our “Favorite Web Sites” page for more information about this and upcoming Matches.  If you don’t have web access, you can find us in the Wayne County phone book.  Either way, we’d love to hear from you.