County Fair

One of our friends came for a visit last weekend. She and I love to visit the County Fair. It has been five or six years since we last went, and it is one of the things we had on our Summer Bucket List. These 12 weeks of summer are going by so fast! Hope you are all enjoying following our adventures!

Our fair is very large. This is the heart of Dairyland after all. There are just barns and barns full of things to see. One of the reasons we love coming to the fair is to see all the animals. But, I always have a hidden agenda. I have always wanted my kids to participate in the fair. This year I hope to inspire them to compete in the fair next season. Did you know that you do not need to be associated with a club or group to participate in the fair? Home schooled students are very welcome here. Participation in the fair has dropped in recent years and many fairs have categories such as cooking, sewing, woodworking, painting, and photography that have very few participants if any. Your chances of winning a ribbon are very good. Sounds like a great thing to put on your list of home school successes!

Did you know that the entrance fee is only a few dollars if you attend during the off hours? Parking was even free. Your kids can also earn a ticket by participating in your local library summer reading program.

We love looking at the cows. It amazes me how much work the kids do with their animals. The are washed and combed to perfection. This Holstein was huge!

I must admit I am partial to the Guernsey cows. I love their beautiful brown coloring, they have such big brown eyes!

The barns are massive. We have been having a bit of a heat wave this last week, so they had lots of big fans hanging from the ceiling to cool the animals. Don't let the heat keep you from attending.

Of course the poultry was one of our favorite barns.

This beautiful rooster is a Delaware. Darn, we should have gotten a rooster this year. He was apparently bored with the whole place and was sleeping on his feet. Maybe we will get one next spring.

This Rhode Island Red was one of my other favorite breeds. I love their black and white feathers.

 

Care to enter the contest anyone?

This sign cracked me up!

Along with the poultry they had turkeys. Wow, I have never seen an all white turkey, he was massive and beautiful!

The bunnies were next, this little guy's name was "Oreo". Isn't he adorable?

The horses were another important stop on our visit.

This little filly had the best outfit at the fair. Do they judge horses on their attire? They should!

We spent a lot of time watching the cat show. I didn't even know you could take your cat to the fair. These cats all belonged to young people. The cats are judged on the quality of the coat and how well groomed they are. They also look at things like the ears and nails. Any cat can be shown, they have different categories for male and female long haired breeds and short hair breeds. I always thought you had to have a pure bred cat, but not at the fair. You can adopt an animal from a shelter and show it. One of the blue ribbon winners was a 14 year old calico cat. I love that she was a "senior" competitor!

On the way out, we walked past all the food stands. It's a good thing they were closed. I could have spent a small fortune here.

One quick ride, and we were out the gate.

Good bye fair, see you next year!

Linking up to Living and Learning at Home.

P.S. One of our favorite books to read about summer and the county fair is "Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. "Caddie Woodlawn" by Carol Ryrie Brink is another great read about summer adventures and also takes place in Wisconsin.