Spotted on Today's Walk

 The first sign of fall...

A Night at the Fair

The afternoon rain had passed so Helaina and I decided to return to the Fair. The fair (almost) always looks pretty at night - the bright, colorful lights, the hard-to-see trash on the midway (if you catch my drift). 

This year, it looked especially nice - the lights reflected on the still-wet pavement and the thinner crowds put off by the rain.

I took a bunch of photos, many of them repetitious. Here, (almost) without comment, are a few of them...

Those last two were of the lights reflected in a puddle.

And this one, blurry, of course, is of the line at the fried dough stand. Any time is a good time for fried dough.

Our Annual Trip to the Fair

Under the threat of rain, Helaina, Sam and I made a trek to the County Fair on Sunday, where we took in the sights and  the smells (mostly smells) and the excitement (so I'm told) of this annual event. 

And just like last year (and the year before that and the year before that and the year before that (etc., etc., etc...)) it was pretty much as expected - exhibitions, animals, rides and food.

But even though it's pretty much a known quantity, going to the Fair can still be kind of enjoyable. This year, for example, the threat of rain kept a lot of people away - so that was pretty good.. 

Here are a few of the very few photos I took...

The always exciting pig races. Each year we plan our visit around this event.

The poultry exhibit. Last year this was a no-go due to the bird flu.

 

More poultry (on the right).

 

 

A view of Sam from the Ferris Wheel. Sam opted not to go  on. One year, I talked him into it and Sam spent the entire ride with his forehead firmly plated against the pole in the center of the seating. I still feel bad about it.

A view form the Ferris Wheel. Note the pleasantly sparse crowd.

Another view of Sam from the Ferris Wheel. (Bonus shot of my thumb in the lower left.)

 

A ride much more to Sam's liking. Note the typical fair-goer in front of Sam (just sayin').

 

 

Sam and Helaina enjoying the bumper cars. I'm pretty sure this ride wasn't here last year. And I'm glad to see the threat of rain on that electrified floor didn't deter the ride operator from selling a few extra tickets.

 

 

More of the bumper cars.

 

 

Still more of the bumper cars.

 

And that, other than getting the usual fried dough, cotton candy and wrist bands, was pretty much it. A good thing, too, because as we left, in came the threatening rain.

Appropriate Attire

 Grocery shopping on a warm, rainy day is no problem as long as you dress for it.

The Fair Parade from a Different Perspective

For the first time ever, Helaina drove in the Fair Parade - and she took me along for the ride. We were near the end of the lineup, directly behind the local home heating oil trucks (you have to see the parade to get it).

Despite being a long evening, it was interesting to see the crowds from this perspective. I think the weirdest part about the entire experience was having people wave at us as we drove by. Why in the world would somebody wave at some nobody (me) riding by in a large town dump-truck that happens to be in the parade? What are these people thinking?

I did, however, enjoy spending the time with Helaina (as usual) and it was touching to hear the occasional "there's a GIRL driving that truck!" or to look out and see more than one older woman clasp her hands together and watch and smile as we drove by. That was really lovely.

Otherwise, I spent most of my time trying not to make eye contact with anyone (also like usual). I don't need strangers waving at me.

Spotted on Today's Walk

Sam and I walk past this metal structure every time we walk the far side of the iron bridge. I don't pay it a lot of notice but when we walked past the other day, I looked up to see a sculpture of a heron on top, which I hadn't noticed before.

I pointed it out to Sam and he stood there staring at it for a minute, then said, "I think it's ALIVE!"

Sure enough, Sam was right.

 

He's pretty good at holding a pose.

Better Late Than Never

It occurs to me we never played 'What's Growing in the Field' this year. Here's what I'm going to do:

1) I'm going to post two pictures.

2) Only look at the top one.

3) Make a guess.

4) Look at the bottom one.

Ready? Here we go...

1)

2)