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My love for all things farm and Midwest grew within me after I moved from Chicago to Belvidere, IL, where I had my first close and personal encounter with a cow at the Boone County Fair. After being blessed with the chance to touch her sweet and gentle face and marveling at her kind demeanor, I stepped, sandal-footed, into a mound of her droppings. An unforgettable moment that did not change my growing affection, but did teach me to watch where I was walking a little more closely.