hometown...fair

Last week was our county fair. The fairgrounds are just 3 miles or so down the road from us and this year our non-profit, the Blue Butterfly Fund, had a stand at the fair so we were there a lot. I love the country charm of our fair. I love how many people we see that we know when we go there. I love that there are still small fairs like this around.

The exhibit building is always one of my favorite parts of the fair. I love seeing all the vegetables, canned goods, and crafts on display. For the first time, I decided to enter 3 photographs into the judged competitions. I didn't place. Now if I would have had that picture at the top of the post, I'd probably have a 1st place sticker to show you because farming is what this fair is all about. We are in the surrounded by mountains and valleys where we live. There is a lot of logging and farming going on around here.

I loved this first place harvest basket. I'm inspired to attempt one next year, but my goodness look at those peppers. Just about everyone around these parts has a garden of some sorts even if it is to just grow a few tomato plants...so the competition is stiff.

Pretty cans of jams, fruits, vegetables, and...

display meats! I always got great amusement from that name...but John and I were somewhat disappointed to see they renamed this category to canned meats this year.

All the blue ribbon winners...

Of course there were lots of animals to visit with...

I'm getting a goat someday. I just love them. They always look like they are having a great time even when they are confined. It's almost more of a challenge for them or something.
A row of sandy colored lazy cows...it amazes me that the farmers milk even during farm week and how much of a pain that must be.

We enjoyed the piggies grunting. They really are much friendlier looking than this guy seemed to be.

We have lots of wild bunnies around our house, but at the fair we get to see that there are so many different kinds of domesticated bunnies...but this one was the 1st place male rabbit for the whole fair. The floppy eared ones are favorites of mine but it was hard to get a good shot of them.

They had lots of rides for little ones. And Jude enjoyed the galloping pony carts....

and the carousel (notice no belt or strap) which he rode on his own.

But the real attraction for most fairgoers, including my boy, were the tractors.


They have tractor pull competitions at night. And this year they brought in a special sled all the way from Ohio which was a big deal and really brought in the crowds. They are so loud you can hear them at our house. This is not the most environmentally friendly aspect of the fair, but I think it is so interesting to see all the different things people are into. And let me tell you, people around here are really into this.

Hope you enjoyed this little peek of our week at the fair.