Saturday, July 22, 2006

The County Fair

You gotta love the county fair! I intend my entry today to convince all who read this that you are living a second class life if you have not made the time to participate in your area county fair. After you go see INCONVENIENT TRUTH (see Vicki's Blog), attending your area county fair is the second most important thing you should do this summer! Both of these activities are almost as important as your civic responsibility (like jury duty) . Vicki will tell you why you should see the movie, I will tell you why you need to take yourself and/or a little one to the fair.
Picture1 : These are bottle fed cows. These children are being instructed on the importance of taking care of your animal. They have already been given the experience of raising the cow from birth. This portion of the competetion judges how healthy the cow looks and how the cow responds to the handling of the children, all but one did well. Imagine if ALL cow owners (including factories) had to get to know all of their animal like this.

Next we move to the woodworking section where Dave entered his mirror and recieved a red ribbon. The judge said that the finish he used on it was rough. Dave agreed that he did not like the polycrylic that he used and it was rough. The little orange semi was constructed from wood by a teenager, it was made to scale and won the outstanding overall award. Personally I think I was the winner because this nice little piece handcrafted by the one I love now hangs on my living room wall.

My dilled cauliflour did well. I watched the food judging. My favorite part is when a young person enters something and they watch in anticipation while the judge slowly and thoroughly talks about the item. The judge this year really played it up big for the younger class entries if they were watching. I noticed that she also really enjoyed the personal stories attached to some of the items and read them out loud completely before judging the entry. The girl that took a purple included a little "story" card with her recipe, a memior to grandma... I would have given her the big prize to (a ribbon, no money is passed here, but it is fun to see what everyone else has done and sometimes pick up a new recipe or two.) The entries were set up to allow for fair goers to sample.

This is a great way to get little ones to bake or cook something and to hear a "grandma" type offer them excellent feedback about their work.

Here's the sewing entry table. I want to enter this class someday. I want to, yes I do. I am learning how to sew right now. Yes, I am. Someday day I will be good at it. The state requires that I have a entry level sewing class to be certified in FCS. Just because one of my class labs was the poster child of backwards and my fly zipper was sewn in 1/2 inch to high does not mean that I will never be able to grow up and make a quilt to enter at the county fair someday.

Last, a horticulture entry. I love these.

Dave's dad has 10 acres of a variety of colors that he grows and sells to a variety of places. Isn't it lovely!

Can you tell what kind of flower it is?

I didn't plant any this year, but I will next year. I miss the cut flowers. We decided to cut our garden back considerably this year and those didn't make the cut. Fortunately I can buy a bouquet or two from Rebecca my other favorite market vendor. I bought flowers and her raspberry jam a couple of weeks ago.

15 comments:

MeloMeals said...

Awesome Dori! Yay for your cauliflower.. and for everyone. I never knew that county fairs were like that.. even though I lived in Iowa for many years, I only went to one or two and was always very put off by the animals being judged and then being killed for food.. but you make a good point, that they are being taught to CARE for the animal.. We have a lot of Fall fairs out here, so I'll have to make a point to goto one.

btw, in the recipe book with the soymilk maker, is that your Okara cheesecake recipe?

KleoPatra said...

Hey, that is SO cool, Dori! Is that a BLUE ribbon i see? Way to go! I was sure it's a winner no matter what the judges would say. But nice they agree :o)

Very nice and unexpected that the judge took time to read each entry in full; kids love that individual attention, to be sure!

I have to say that i am with Melody about the county fairs across the USA... they have that sad downside of the animals being raised just to be sold... it's very hard on me emotionally. i can't even go to the areas where the goats, sheep, cows, pigs, etc., ar held... i blogged about when i snuck into ours here a few times last month.

I'm happy about your entry though and your husband's as well. FANTASTIC!! Isn't it amazing that there are judges who look so closely at things and can really tell the kind of finish used (and everything else) and decide what is worthy of high praise? It fascinates me 'cause i would have no clue whatsoever!

Can't figure what flower that is; i'm not so smart about those things. I know a rose when i see one though, and a carnation too! How pathetic, 'eh?

Love the post, it's filled with great info and photos!

funwithyourfood said...

My mo always enters something into the county fair. it's great. it means we always go and she usually wins a ribbon (for stitching)!

Teddy

Dori said...

Hi Kleo and Melody. I usually don't venture into the animal barns but this year I was touched by watching the young kids care for their baby cows... I remembered when I did a whole grain bread demonstration at a junior high school. Many of the kids have never seen a wheat berry and they thought bread came out sliced. It occurred to me that many kids might never have the opportunity to see a cow... if they never see what a real live cow looks like, then how will they ever connect that a cow is a real animal that needs to be treated humanely.


I did send a couple of recipes into Wendy at the soymilk maker office. If it is in your book (which I did not know about, mine did not come with a book) and it says Dori, then it is probably my work.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the dilly cauliflower. What a great idea. I've been debating on whether or not to go to the fair this year. My family wants to go and I usually don't but since they're my guests, maybe I'll give it another shot.

urban vegan said...

Congrats on your cauliflower, Dori (I'm not surprised)--and congrats to your husband, to.

Thanks for the virtual county fair experience. Unfortunately, my county (Philadelphia County) doesn't have a fair. No fair. :(

KleoPatra said...

I totally hear what you are saying (writing) regarding the animals, Dori...

Carrie™ said...

Remember I commented on your cauliflower? I know a good thing when I see it! A-hem!
I haven't been to a county-type fair in eons. That's something Jim & I should do this summer. Congrats to all of you Dori for a good showing and thanks for the post. It was great!

Tanya Kristine said...

what happens to the cows?

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

looks like an iris to me -- a very fancy & lovely one. & congrats on the blue ribbon for your dilled cauliflour! that's so rewarding! awesome post all the way around, dori. and i so wish that all farmers got to know each animal personally. thanks for the movie plug, too.

Shananigans said...

Good job on your entry! I don’t care for dill or anything that’s been pickled really, but I’m sure if you’re into that kind of thing your cauliflower is spectacular. I always used to go the Polk Co. fair as a kid because my cousins were into the 4-H thing and we’d go root for their entries. My cousin raised rabbits and showed pigs a few times as she got older. She says she loves pigs and seemed to really enjoy working with them, but then again she loves bacon too. I don’t get it.

Are those gladiolas?

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

ahhh, gladiolas! right, the iris has the beard....

Dori said...

Tanya K - I don't know what they did with the bottle fed cows, I didn't ask. The thought of asking crossed my mind, but I then decided that I didn't want to know. A person at my church had a nephew who had one of these cows there, that is why I went and looked. I know they have a dairy farm. I also know this cow has a grassy pasture to roam in... I've seen it there as I drove by.

Anonymous said...

That's a great story. Waiting for more. » » »

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