County Fair Encore! Day 4

Must be my advancing age cuz I’m just not keeping up with my expected level of energy for the fair this year. We went a third time on Wednesday but due to the heat, my back, and an interest in being rested up for the much-anticipated arrival of some houseguests, we only stayed long enough for one meal and some snacking. Here are Day 4’s highlights:

FUN

Mutton bustin’ – we adore this event in which kids under 70lbs ride on sheep a la bull riding. We cheered on the 2:00 contestants with every intention of supporting those who made it to the finals at 6:30. But, well, it sucks getting old…

Hog wash – I’m still trying to figure out where that phrase came from having now witnessed a hog getting washed. It’s not a pretty sight nor a pleasantly scented one since the water seems to encourage the production of fresh fertilizer. It’s also quite loud with the hosing and squealing and water-pic-ing of private places, as you can hear and see for yourself in the attached video. All the screams are from the pigs. Be grateful we don’t have Scent-o-Rama capabilities on Blogger.

Market sheep weigh-in – we weren’t sure where this was taking place but a distant bleat lead us to quite a chorus of very talkative sheep all lined up with their 4-H’ers waiting to get pulled onto a scale in preparation for Saturday’s auction. Although it wasn’t intended to be a spectator sport, I thoroughly enjoyed the true county fairness of it all. Yes, there is the food and the carnival rides and the people hocking magnetic jewelry. But there is also the farm business side to the fair. These kids raised their sheep to sell for meat to help pay for school or other future efforts. While the whole concept might turn some vegetarian, I sort of grooved on the whole authenticity of it all. A video is attached. Again, all the noise – expect the obviously human conversation – is courtesy of the sheep. And notice even the sheep here prefer camo.

FOOD

• Pulled pork sandwich


• Cole slaw


• Sour green apple lemonade


• Chocolate/strawberry milkshake


• Corn on the cob


• Frozen pink lemonade sample

FAVORITE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS