It seems that most of the United States is in the midst of a heatwave. Hot and dry plants are thirsting for water and, for us today, that means just turning a faucet handle. Did you ever stop to think about the difficulty associated with watering in the bygone days? Imagine tending to farm field crops withering in 100 degree heat without the convenience of an irrigation system. When you picture those olden-day farms, do you think of a windmill? I do! Windmills similar to this one from Sauder Village in Ohio come to my mind. Often, their purpose was to pump water.
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| This windmill stands at the entrance to Sauder Village in Archbold, OH. |
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| This authentic windmill is part of the Ford Museum collection and is housed in the building for all to enjoy. |
I, for one, am smitten with windmills. I think they represent an interesting era and I love to imagine the lives and people associated with those times.
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| Guests enjoy this windmill as they stroll down the streets of Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI. |
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| Farris Windmill is thought to the oldest surviving windmill in the US and was build in the mid-1600s. It, too, is part of the Ford collection and is displayed in Greenfield Village. |
Did you know that there is a museum dedicated to windmills?
For the purpose of preserving these stately machines, the museum is located in Kendallville, IN and is closed on Mondays. Regrettably, that's the day we were in town so we couldn't tour it. It's definitely on our list of things to do the next time we're in the area, however!
Even though many people enjoy ornamental windmills, we still have functional ones today. Wind turbines, similar to this one, generate electricity.
As you can see, I had a tendency to snap a few pictures on this topic during one of our recent trips. I could go on an on...but will stop here so as not to get too windy!! 😉