[gal://2004/07_july/farm_trip_07_2004/landscape/007_even_more_wildflowers_20040704.jpg] I spent an extended Fourth of July weekend in Ottowa, IL at the family farm learning about what was going on and who the major players were. It's always quite interesting to see how the food that is eaten gets produced and the technology that goes into making it all happen.\n\n[gal://2004/07_july/farm_trip_07_2004/junk_in_pasture/015_more_burned_stuff_20040702.jpg] We looked at the farm house itself and the old corn crib besides it and checked out what the renters were doing and looked at some of the repairs that had to be made to the farm house as well. We also ended up walking the perimeter of the farm to check the fences and make sure no one had been dumping in the land (and the stuff that had been dumped earlier was being cleaned up.)\n\n[gal://2004/07_july/farm_trip_07_2004/grand_rapids.jpg]