ARMSTRONG — Motorists on Freeborn County Road 46 see a patriotic display whenever they pass a farm on the north side of the road about a mile west of the Armstrong corner.

Linda and Charlie Schmidt have planted squash and pumpkins to spell out “USA” in their garden near the road.

The line to the right might be seen as an exclamation point without the dot on the bottom. Linda said it is merely a row of watermelon and muskmelon, though she noted they might replant some of the vegetables to make it work as an exclamation point.

She said the display won’t last because the four plants, all members of gourd family, will grow vines and spread out.

She said she and Charlie have planted vine plants in arrays there before. They didn’t last year, but the prior years they did an X or a circle.

She said she told Charlie, “Wouldn’t it be fun to spell something or do a smiley face?”

Charlie agreed. Being a patriotic American and a former Marine, he went with “USA.”

“It seems fitting with the Fourth of July coming up,” Linda said.