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February 2015 - Worst Ever

The Dripping Season


 


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The contents of the “Weekly Feature” page are provided to you for your entertainment, amusement, and perhaps information. Here you may find articles of interest, pictures, historical information on the Club, or whatever shuffles to the top of the pile on our desk. The only defined characteristic of this space is that we will make every effort to change/replace it around the middle of each week. Thank you for visiting, and please stop by again. 


APRIL 9, 2015


aannd, ACTION !!


Suddenly, it’s April !! It has been lurking there on the calendar all year, but it still takes us a bit by surprise. Perhaps because the Michigan winters are so long, so bleak, and so restrictive, by the end of it all we have nearly resigned ourselves to the misery and depression that they bring…we almost feel that this is as good as it is ever going to be. But then one day it finally ends, sometimes in bold and dramatic fashion, like an unexpected 70 degree day, other times with a whimper, like gradually rising temps and April showers. Unlike the weatherman, the calendar doesn’t lie, and as I have reminded you for years, “nothing is as inevitable as spring”. It happens. The beauties of Nature will have their way with the earth, even if the early bloomers have to push their way up through a blanket of wet snow.

One of the sounds that many of us look forward to with great anticipation is the creaking of the gate on the North Drive of the MMOGTA Showgrounds, as it swings wide to welcome us for the 2015 season. I like the symbolism of it all…. the opening of our doors as we venture from the confines of the indoor life into the more expansive world that awaits us in the outdoor season. The opening of the gate at the grounds as it beckons us back for another year, our 41st, to be exact. We are curious to see how well the old farm has weathered the ravages of winter, and eager to begin bringing it back to life for another year. For some reason (that I’m unable to analyze) I have always been fascinated by the thought of the many manmade objects/structures/artifacts in our various worlds that stand unseen, untouched, unmoved during our absence over the winter, waiting for our return. Through vicious winds, sub-zero temperatures, and constant assault from the elements, they simply endure.

What is it that we bring to the place that makes it so different than when it was dormant for those last 6 months? It’s the action, of course! We bring the movement, the noise, the fun, the social element that has been so missing through the quiet months. We bring the people, the tractors, the kids….we bring back the life. Mother Nature brings the decorations, the Trilliums, the leaves, the green to the grass, but we bring the life. Whether it’s an argument during a meeting, an over-revved Farmall, the echoing beat of a hammer, the distant drone of a lawnmower, a chat over coffee, a cold beer over a crackling campfire, we bring the life. I think that’s what we miss the most during the dormant season.

The April meeting (Sunday the 12th) will still be held indoors at the Brady Hall, but this will be the month when we stage our first official outdoor events. April 25th will be the Test-N-Tune day for T-Sled pullers, with T-Sled Opening Day on Sunday the 26th. Note that the Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival will be happening that same weekend, for all you cement pullers. We leave you with some random shots from past Test Days and Opening days.

(click individual photos to enlarge)

PIC 1 Pic 2 Pic 3
PIC 1 Pic 5 Pic 6
PIC7 Pic 8 Pic 9

Pic 10

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