I went to the Animal Fair

The county fair is a 4-H fair so the animals are all raised, trained and shown by kids. The animal barns are full of both beasts and 4-H kids and wonderfully interesting places to stroll and observe.






It was a hot afternoon and many of the animals were resting when we went past.

The cows spread out when they lay down and become huge blobs of animal.






The sheep seem slightly embarrassed by the clothing that keeps them clean for showing.








Naturally I found good literary references for many of the critters.

Here's baa,baa, black sheep - without any wool.





You knew Wilbur would be there -

and the 4H kids made sure Charlotte was too.

The spider was rigged on a line that could be pulled from several stalls away - and allowed to drop in front of passers by. The inevitable jump was greeted by howls of 4H laughter.

I found the littlest Billy Goat Gruff...

The middle sized Billy Goat...

...and the big billy goat, just looking for a troll.

Of course, the people were just as fascinating as the animals -

maybe more so - but I couldn't snap pictures of them to post.

More from the Animal Fair later.

Fair Fare

My friend Jenny and I spent the afternoon at the county 4-H fair. It was a warm day so we started off with a lemon shake-up.

We sipped on it while we meandered through the animal barns, the commercial building, the displays of 4-H and Extension Club projects (more posts will be coming from those areas!).
We admired the grand champions that will go on to the State Fair.
But among those grand champions was the prize-winning cake - already showing signs of being out in the heat too long. How the winner take that to the State Fair?

It's not the same as preserves -

the canned things should do well. Maybe the baker will simply bake another cake from the winning recipe.

But what about the prize vegetables? Can the farmer just enter another one?

We pondered these deep questions as we strolled along past the funnel cake stand and the elephant ear stand, with the pungent smell of hot oil and frying dough competing with the animal barn odors.

The kettle corn smell was overpowering at the carnival ride end of the fair so we made our way to the Lion's Club stand at the other end - out by the old-time tractor tent -

to get our favorite treat.

Fresh sweet corn, roasted and dipped in a hotpot of butter -

a true taste of summer.

Simple? Not so!

Granddad thought up a project.

It was simple really. He wanted to set some cd boxes on a shelf with their spines out so he could find the one he wanted and take it out while leaving the others in place.

He thought that he'd turn the box they came in on its side and set it on the shelf to hold them.

Only it couldn't be that easy.

Granddad is not one to do things the easy way.

No, the box had to be modified.

By the time I walk into the kitchen (WHAT are you doing on the table!!??)

the project involves clamps and exacto knives and clothes pins and glue and tape...

Granddad looks up and blandly says "You need some new glue when you go to the store."

Dog Day

Ah, we have company!

Here comes our handsome visitor - oh wait, I didn't get any pictures of the Bearded Man - so you'll have to make do with pictures of this good-looking fellow who accompanied him. It's Chacko, the Perpetual Motion Dog. He's going to spend the day with us.
Socks cleverly conceals herself under things while the Perpetual Motion Dog bounces around.

Yes, we have thrown the ball. We have thrown it fifty times. You want it thrown again???

" My ball", says Socks. "Why don't you take that dog outside?"

Right. Let's go run around in the sun. The heat index is only about 104 degrees.
Chacko chases the deer. He points out where the skunk is sulking under the shed. He finds an interesting hole in the fence.

But what he really loves is the pond.
He could catch frogs.

Really he could.

It's just a matter of jumping in after them. So what if you get wet and smelly?

Maybe the frogs are too fast and hide too well. Maybe Chacko could get a butterfly.
Maybe we could all go back inside?

You got pretty hot, Chacko. How about an ice cube to cool you down?

You want to go back out? Sorry...it took half an hour to get you dry the first time and you still stink. We'll do it again another day.
Life is more interesting with the Perpetual Motion Dog around.

All the better to see you with, my dear

Yesterday we spent going from doctor to doctor and from one glasses place to another. Both Granddad and I ended up with new lenses and slightly sharper vision. Here is Granddad in his old frames.
Here is Granddad in his new frames.
Subtle, isn't it?

Mine? Can't tell the difference?
Same frames. Just a new and improved lens with no glare.
And I can't wipe them on my shirttail anymore.

The excavation continues

Digging into the depths of the garage, we have arrived somewhere around 1984.

Artifacts found reflect the popular culture of the day.

They range from cute to monstrous.

And, more money has been found!

(Still not my money.)

The person who had this wallet is hereby invited to visit his mom and collect his cash.

No new scenery, just new food

So if I haven't been anywhere special this summer- no long trips, travels, or touristing - at least I have been out to eat! I've enjoyed the fresh local produce available in lovely salads at local restaurants.
Granddad, always up for something new, picks his dish off Cafe Django's menu because it starts with "sh" and he thinks it will be a shish-ka-bob. It is not. It is 'Sha-baleb' - a Tibetan/Mongolian meat patty in a dumpling . He may not be able to pronounce the name of the dish but he likes it anyway.
Later I find myself at Sweetgrass with Mimi and SR, who is in town only overnight.

We enjoy the "southern and soul" cuisine from the fried green tomatoes

(isn't anyone going to eat that last bite?)

to the luscious lemon and berry desert.
And tonight?....

Out again.

Just as if I were on vacation.

Swimming suit style

Just thought you'd like a peek at swimming suit style from 1950. At Lake Erie for Memorial Day Weekend.

One man's trash...

This afternoon the temperature index is above 100 degrees, so Granddad and I are taking a break from our current project. Our project is to go around the garage walls, looking inside boxes, organizing stacked up stuff, and sweeping out the debris left by mice and chipmunks behind and inside everything.

That is I'm lifting and sorting and sweeping.

Granddad is sitting there watching every move I make.

He's afraid of what I might do if he isn't there.

I have managed to take three loads to Goodwill but he did think we should keep most of it.

How many old staplers do you need? There are valuable things out here!

Like sacks of nails and pouches of specialty screws.

Four electric screwdrivers so far, and five power/table saws of one sort or another.
"I might use that wire for something" he says, as I get ready to pitch an old TV cable.

"There's good wood in that" he says of every old Clementine box I pick up.

You never know what you might discover.

Pens that don't write....dried up glue....rubber bands or balls stuck to everything they touched...worn baseballs....money.

Yes, we found money! Not ours, sadly, but real actual $20 and $50 bills in a box of stuff that Granddad's friend's widow gave him. Lots of bills. And was she ever happy when he called her to let her know he'd found a windfall for her. He had a nice rib lunch out with her the next day.

I was expecting her to join us in the garage afterwards as we continue to go through those boxes from her late husband's workbench.
But honestly, Granddad treasures the rusty T-square and the stacks of sandpaper just as much as cash.

And don't get me started on the boxes (boxes!) of rocks!

Neither snow nor rain nor heat...

In the afternoon, Granddad sits by the kitchen window watching the road.

He's waiting for the mail to come.

When the mail truck pulls up, Granddad is off. Thunderstorm?

So what!
Like the ancient Persian couriers that Herodotus described:
"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"
(are you impressed, David?)
Of course we think of the mailman when we say it, as it has become associated with the USPS
but it could easily be said of Granddad.

Bringing up the mail is the highpoint of many of his days.

When Eggplant isn't a color

I love the deep purple color called "eggplant." I am always tempted by the shiny purple vegetables when they appear at the Farmer's Market.

Our CSA share this week included eggplants.

Not eggplant-colored eggplants. Egg colored eggplants.
Think they'll taste the same?

The Fifth of July

Ahhh...the traditional Fourth of July holiday.... a nice hot day to play with fire
"Let them cook!" I say. ( I did my cooking the night before)

Soon a picnic is assembled.

There is a lot of interest in the good smelling food.

It is just as tasty as it smells.

Every bite is closely watched.

Not one dropped morsel reaches the floor.

After we eat, Granddad amuses us by showing off his newest artifact and telling its story.

What better finish to the day than a dip in the pool?
Wish you all could have joined us!

Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July, whenever you celebrated it.