Healthy Sense of Play

One of the things I used to enjoy when I was a kid, riding in the car on a country road, was the sense of play that was evident in some of Iowa's rural areas.  For example, I remember the "snowman" that was made out of round bales of hay at one farm.  It's a neat little trick that I have seen other farms do over the years and it never really gets old, as far as I'm concerned.  

Another farm took one of the old jugs that was used for bulk transport of milk and laid it sideways near their mailbox.  They then planted a batch of white flowers that, when they were in bloom, made it look like someone had spilled the flowers out of the container and into the ditch.  Of course, scarecrows were always a good opportunity to poke a little fun.  And who wouldn't get a laugh from the two legs and boots sticking out of the center of a large round bale - making it look like the farmer truly got caught up in their work!

Up in our "neck of the woods" we have noticed the giraffe in the field corn that is certain to elicit either a chuckle or some measure of delight in the novelty.  That giraffe has been appearing in fields in our area for the past few years and I still like seeing it.

Why?  Because it is evidence that there are still people in our world that have maintained a sense of play and a desire to share a little joy with others. 

That's why Tammy and I take note when we go by a farmstead that is often on our route to Backbone State Park.  We look for the giant parrot in a "cage" and take a little bit of joy from it each time.  And this time, we actually pulled over so we could get a picture.  Now we can share their fun and the joy we got from it - with you.

This actually means a bit more to the two of us because we had one of these bins on one of our prior homes.  We didn't stay long enough to let our own creativity loose on it.  But, to be honest, we probably would have dreamed about doing something but never found the time to follow through.  These people had the talent and made the time to make it happen.

So, if this blog should ever reach the person(s) responsible - thank you.