Our neighbors recently erected this beautiful windmill next door.  I’m loving it.  It is like the old wind powered water pumps that have been used since in the 9th century – originally in the areas that are now Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.  The one in the photograph doesn’t actually pump anything, but it reminds me of another time and place.  These delicate, but powerful little structures were used on farms, usually in the Midwest (I’m a Wisconsin girl, and hubby spent lots of time in Missouri) to pump water  – often from wells for cattle.  In 1930, there were about 600,000 in use and they became a symbol of rural America.