All's Fair--Part I

It's hard to believe the weekend was only 2 days because I did enough for at least 3 days. And that's a good thing. I'm bored with being bored.

In between putting more dirt around house, running errands, and going to the fair, I finished the latest installment in Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series with Sookie Stackhouse. I love these books. Harris has created a world that is real while being spooky and supernatural. In Sookie's world, vampires have come out of the shadows since there is now a synthetic blood for them and they don't have to feed. Well, they may not have to but that doesn't mean they don't want to. And if there are vampires, why wouldn't there be werewolves, fairies, and shifters? Well, there are; Sookie herself is a telepath. In these stories, they are in northwest Louisiana, where I lived for about 4 years, which is also part of the appeal for me. They are funny and smart books. They do have supernatural characters, but they aren't gore-and-guts fantasy/horror, and they have romance, but they aren't graphic romance novels. Harris has created her on little niche here. The latest installment is All Together Dead. I can't wait for the next one.

The Nebraska State Fair was the big event this weekend. This is usually one of those things that Al would say we'll go then conveniently forget or not mention it again in hopes that we won't actually go. So, I was one happy camper that we actually went because I love things like the fair. The further out in the country the better, and the more hokey the better.

The fair is in Lincoln, which is only about 45 minutes away, but it was still like a mini-vacation, getting out of the big city. (Bwaaa hahahahah--I can't say that with a straight face.) We parked in the grassy lot, with hundreds of our closest friends. Crowds don't usually bother me very much; what's exhausting is watching for the signs when Al has had enough before he's so fed up with kids running in front of him that he just wants to leave. But we got there early enough that it wasn't too bad. And the weather was gorgeous for most of the day--mostly sunny with a cool breeze blowing.

The first stop was the Small Animals Tent. They should have just named this the Plenty o' Poultry tent. So many chickens and roosters and geese. And this is the best way to see a goose--restrained from pecking by the large cage. Just the same, I gave those cages a wide berth. I loved looking at the different chickens; some of them are so beautiful. One of them was a gorgeous dark reddish brown that is what I've been looking for in hair color, but I resisted the urge to pluck a feather. I did, however, look around the ground, just in case. No luck.

Leghorn--But Peggy says it's a Welsummer. Damn. That was the only one I thought I remembered the name of because I kept calling it a Foghorn. Thanks Peggy!




Look at all the feathers! Even on the feet.


Pretty chicken


Running duck--Don't know why, but we love these


This was also the loudest exhibit at the fair. I love hearing all the cock-a-doodle-doos, but I can see where it would be a little annoying. The geese were relentless in their need to be noticed and feared. You may think I'm kidding about geese, but they have an attitude. They will chase and peck you, especially if there are goslings involved.

Heaviest goose


We finally moved on to a very different kind of animal--llamas and alpacas. I really love these animals and I've mentioned that I have a nice little pastoral dream of having my own little ranch with fiber to spin and sell at exorbitant prices on the web. So, I enjoyed talking to the alpaca owners and the alpacas themselves. Seems they were a little more interested in sitting in front of the fans than conversing.

Alpaca


Llama


We also watched the border collies herding cows, but we didn't get any good pictures of that, unfortunately. Those are amazing dogs. The cows, like sheep, remember where they came out and try to head back that way instead of going through the obstacles to a different pen. But the cows kick a helluva lot harder than the sheep and those dogs have to be fast. I thought for sure one dog was going to be trampled, but he just tucked and rolled out of danger.

But of course, it wouldn't be the fair without the food! We actually did pretty good--only chicken fingers and some honey ice cream. I really thought about trying the fried Twinkies or Oreos, but I decided to pass. If I had been there by myself, I probably would have tried something, but Al has such great will power, so I bowed to peer pressure and turned them down, too. Actually, Al wouldn't even think of eating a fried Twinkie, but I'm intrigued and would in a heartbeat. That's why he's so skinny and I have to take the croutons off my salad because I've had my limit of carbs for the day.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the food shacks.









Sensing a theme? Well, it's just easier to walk around and eat if your food is on a stick.

More fair stuff coming!