A Midwestern Odyssey: Part Four: Fun at the Fair

There is nothing like a small-town/rural county fair, no?
The classic.
Fun!
Who doesn't love a good tractor?
Gotta love a business called Mr. Plow!
Wow, corn judging--clearly I'm not an expert, because I couldn't differentiate between the red ribbon corn and the blue ribbon corn.
The pretty quilt with the roses up there (cross-stitched roses) was made by my great-aunt, who won a third place ribbon--yay, Aunt Helen!
Lots of pretty quilts...lots and LOTS of quilts.
Love how these were displayed. Not pictured was a whole category of produce called "Freaks of Nature." Fantastic!

I loves me a fair, and this one was really quintessential: guess-the-weight-of-the-frozen-hog-and-win-it contest (the hog was wearing a chef's hat!), square dancing, harness racing, kettle corn, combine displays, the county Republicans on one side of the aisle, the Democrats on the other. I went with my second cousins--who I hadn't seen since I was about 8 years old--and it was just a really fab experience all around. (Thank you: Kyle, Karen, and Bob!)

Fair 2010, Wordless Wrap-Up Edition

The Animals (2010 Fair Edition)

Aren't they just lovely? I love them all...in my dreams I have sheep and goats (and chickens and mini donkeys and bees, too!). Also in my dreams? All of these cuties are romping together on a cozy little farm (MY cozy little farm!) and living to a ripe old age...and I don't want to hear anything different {fingers in ears, "LA LA LA"}.

Some Stuff That People Make (2010 Fair Edition)

Elvis, done with tiny pieces of wood. ..
Astonishing, really...
A VERY scary table.
An amazing piece of craftsmanship...this lion stood four feet high.
Check out the skull afghan on the left.
Knitted food, always fun.
Dolls. They won a blue ribbon.
A cat house. Um...
One of my favorite things...such a sweet little sampler.
I think the birds and mice from Cinderella might have made that dress.
And: "Boo,y'all!"

Some Stuff That People Collect (2010 Fair Edition)

Cuff links. Schmancy!
Dirndl-clad Barbies. Yodel-a-hee-hoo!
Dried-up mini pumpkins (there was a rather sad explanation about why this person "collects" these, something to do with his/her mom). Nice presentation!
All the things that Lloyd the pug has taken to bed. Cute!
Yellow Care Bears. Vaguely creepy en masse!Bottle openers. Really? A woman in a thong and fishnets as bottle opener?!
Little glass and ceramic dogs. Want!
Strange commando dolls, er, excuse me, "action figures." GI Joe is jealous!

FOOD! FOOD! FOOD! (2010 Fair Edition)

Pink "food."
Food on a stick.
Disgusting food.
Plastic food.
Rock food.
Food masquerading as other food (a turkey cake!).
Preserved food.
Disturbingly life-like food imitating other food (a cake that looks like pizza!).

Who's hungry now? I am!