Finding the unexpected--Shrimp Farming in Indiana

Diane posted on Saturday about a shrimp harvest in Indiana. There was really and truly a shrimp harvest in Indiana. I should know...shrimp are a staple of a phlamingo diet! The more we eat the pinker we get. But it was a strange sight to see...Eddy Lynn's Shrimp Farm in Coatesville, Indiana.  I was under the impression they had planted shrimp seeds, but that was not the case.  Eddy has ponds...five of them. And in May, he put in lots and lots of little shrimp (approximately 50,000) into the ponds. They get them from Ohio, Texas and Kentucky.  (Popular states for shrimp!)  The eggs don't fertilize in fresh water, so they have to get babies. At any rate, as long as the water temperatures stay 55 degrees and above, the shrimp grow and grow. So for the last few years on Labor Day weekend, the harvest begins. The ponds are drained and the big shrimp go into a shrimp chute...a wooden box the water leaks through but not the shrimp! From there...well...let's just say things don't fare too well for the shrimp.

The atmosphere at the shrimp fest was quite cheery. Buck Creek Winery had a tasting tent. Beer was available for a "donation"...(something about a liquor license being needed...but that's more than my bird brain understands) and human food was available too. There was face painting for the kiddies and fresh shrimp for sale.

Sadly, a fellow water critter was caught in the muck. A big snapping turtle ended up in a bucket, and rumor had it that something called turtle soup was coming later. That didn't sound good for the turtle. It was a good thing Diane and Rick's turtle named Oscar was tucked safely in his traveling pond in the back of the car.

There were lots and lots of human kids there. They got to enjoy the muck. I'm kind of jealous...mud feels good between the toes!

And no shrimp harvest would be complete without the shrimp boat. Eddy has a shrimp boat. This boat is a Hurricane Katrina victim and was given to Eddy for transportation costs only. Check out www.indianashrimpfarming.com and click on the video link for the whole story. Pretty amazing...made me a little homesick for warmer climates and seeing shrimp boats in their natural habitats...

Hopefully this experience will make it into waymarking.com under the festivals category. Too much fun for me!