Silent Sunday

Meet Me At The Fair

We have one day left of the county fair, but all of our judged events were completed by this morning.  We were conservative with the number of entries we competed in since this is our first year and we had no idea what to expect.  It was a great learning experience, and we found that the best bet is to enter a lot of categories and show, show show!  You see, when you are doing any animals along with whatever your other entries are, you have to be there every day, and often a couple of times a day.  Best advice, enter lots and make the most out of each trip. 

Both kids have expressed that the fair days have been the best of their summer so far and each time we go, they don't want to leave.  A friend let us in on a tip before fair started that one of the community banks offers a mega wristband with a ticket purchase for a special price.  The kids wear them all week and have unlimited access to all of the rides.  The perfect thing for kids who have to be there multiple times a day for taking care of animals, showing, volunteering, barn duties, etc.  With one day left we are all exhausted and the house is suffering from neglect, but everyone is contented.

This weeks take:

Sidney:  2nd place, watercolor

rooster crowing~nada, performance anxiety :)

2nd place, poultry showmanship

1st place, high honor best Silkie rooster

Charles:  1st place, carrots

Me:  3rd place quilt, first time entry

Well Hello Thoreau!

A few nights ago we spied this creature in the yard next to the barn, he hung out for a moment, even though as we drove in from a long afternoon at the fair, we had to back up when we caught sight of him.  He was happily munching, yet in the back of my mind I wondered, is this the evil creature who snuck into our fort-knox like chicken enclosure to off a couple of our beloved egg layers??  (an aside, chickens are a constant learning experience, and no matter how safe you think your space, something seems to surprise you....now fort-knox has been re-fortified, anything getting in is going to have to burrow!)

I digress.  I put it out on facebook for opinions on what the creature was.  That post was one of my most active with responses, which I found curious, yet encouraged :)  The conclusion:  this is a groundhog/woodchuck, a plant eater, and not our culprit.  We have no idea how long he has lived here, but seems quite tame.  I took photos of him this evening from a mere five feet away.  He is very active, well at least he is very into his food!

Since he is not the dreaded chicken predator, we decided this creature who puts appetite before fear of our little posse, should have a name.  What better than one reflective of living off of the land and having a lovely fat belly!

Meet Thoreau!

Happy Friday!

I am waiting on one last result and I'll do a fair post.  I can say, that it has been quite a ride and this family will be a repeat offender, and probably on a much larger scale next year ;)

Pause For Station Identification

I've not forgotten to write so far this week, we are just up to our ears in the county fair.  I can say, this far, we have learned a ton and are gaining our footing for the rest of the week and future years.  AND we already have a couple of ribbons ~ but more later.

The above shot is our first garlic, that we lovingly planted last fall and harvested yesterday.  It's drying out on the porch and will be stored and put with farm bags soon.    Our week three farm bags went out without a hitch and the week four bags are being picked up as we speak.  Week three included arugula, red leaf lettuce, onions, spinach, squash, beets, a few of our first cucumbers and wild blackberries!  The cucumbers this year are proving to be a challenge (look for another post on a sustainable life soon, ranting discussing).

I hope your week is off to a great start, I will have more from the county fair shortly! :)

Silent Sunday