Summer View of Toledo's Cow-Calf Sculpture

Earlier this year I came across a sculpture designed by the Iowa State Fair's Butter Cow lady and blogged about the site. Located near the northwest corner of Highways 63 and old Highway 30 in Toledo, Iowa (just behind the locally famous Big T Maid-Rite restaurant) the fiberglass sculpture of mother and child is positioned on a hill and framed by a giant burr oak. The tree has been recently trimmed to remove storm damaged limbs.

Last Sunday's weather conditions produced extremely small rain cells amid huge billowing white clouds. Hoping to photograph those condition while in Toledo, I ventured to the famous pairing. The contrast with the tree, sky and clouds didn't quite work out but I did capture closeups of the statue. 

With so much of Iowa in farm and livestock production it is a wonder why there are not more sculptures dedicated to the industry. The new Highway 30 Tama-Toledo bypass skirts south of the cow-calf. Take the Highway 63 exit and travel about a mile north. Its worth the stop to see this tribute.

Cow Calf Sculpture From the Butter Cow Lady

For over 40 years a women from Toledo, Iowa sculpted a cow from butter at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. Norma "Duffy" Lyons passed way in June 2011. She was known as the Butter Cow Lady. Her annual creation became an icon of the fair.

In 1991 she created a fiberglass with bronze patina sculpture of a cow and calf. The sculpture was erected on the hilltop at the intersection of Highways 30 and 63 and is framed by a huge Burr Oak tree. Since the summer of 2011 when the Highway 30 Tama/Toledo bypass opened, traffic at this intersection decreased. But don't let that stop you from catching the sculpture in various lights of the day and night. And, if you are hungry and want a bite of another Toledo tradition, try the Maid-Rite diner (loose meat sandwiches since 1926) just in front of the sculpture. Know that.