the fair

Whoops. Fair week slid right by. It was all last week, practically in our back yard, so close that we can hear the cows and horses starting their day. We hear the harness racing announcers for the daily races and feel the rumble of the demolition derby not a mile away. And when the wind blows just right, we get whiffs of some fine cuisine. Fair week is the BIG deal here in Delaware every September.

Bill worked his usual shift for Kiwanis Club, shuttling people around on a golf cart. That was Monday, the same day I took my little friend, Jack, on our annual visit to the fair. He wanted to see PIGS, gobbled up his french fries, and enjoyed a few rides. Jack's my buddy every year!

Here he is, taking a break in the goat barn. What a cutie.

Tuesday was senior citizen day, so we got in for $2 each. Sweet! I pretended to be interested in all of the fair, but mostly I wanted another cheeseburger at the Buckeye Valley food barn. This is a school district to the north, and they run a huge food concession every year during fair week. Students, parents and staff quickly serve up tons of burgers, fries, chicken and noodles, chili and more.

Bill and I also visited some animal barns ... who can resist this brown-eyed beauty?

Also on display is farm machinery ... it's a county fair, after all. You'll find everything from antique tractors to state-of-the-art bajillion-dollar combines. Wow!

The Ohio state fair is overwhelmingly big for me. But our county fair is just right - love it!

Now to get my granddaughters here for fair week some year.

the fair, part deux

Ok, ok, I admit it. Today was "senior day" at the fair and at 55 I now qualify. Oh, goody. So off we go: my long-senior husband and I, to check out the Delaware County fair.

Things have changed: no one yanking on our arms begging for rides and dip 'n dots and elephants ears. Of course they'd only get the goodies after being dragged through the animal barns for an hour. What a mean mom.

Anyway, we whizzed through the chicken/turkey/rabbit barn in about 43 seconds and headed for dinner. THE BUCKEYE VALLEY ATHLETIC BOOSTERS FOOD BARN or whatever they call it ... an amazing feat of food production the likes of which you've never seen. Volunteer parents, staff and teens whip around the narrow counters, serving up burgers, fries, beef & noodles, cold drinks and even breakfast. One worker named Jon told us he arrives to work at 5 a.m.!

Kind of cute to see hubby chatting with the goats and llamas ...

Well it was rather hot, so we didn't stay long. Browsed the craft building - we always enjoy the winning photographs and quilts. Then I trotted down to the midway and took some shots of the lit-up rides. Little did most of the carousel riders know, a full moon was rising in the east.

I wonder what this fella - or gal - was thinking?

the fair

It's fair week here in Delaware. I mean, it's FAIR WEEK, the biggest event of the year and it all starts today. I think we went to the Ohio State fair once, just once: an awfully big fair.

The Delaware County fair has plenty to see and do, on a much smaller scale, and it's practically in our backyard. Local kids showing their 4-H farm animals, horse and sheep and pig-showing, crafts and pies, farm equipment, yummy fair food, rides and horse racing. A little horse racing goes a long way for me.

Yippee. The fair. I used to enjoy taking our kids, and it surprises me how much I enjoy it without them. That didn't come out right. But I am excited about the fair!