Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Country Fairs and Rodeos

Yesterday we went to the Rockford Fair. It’s a scaled down version of other fall fairs and it’s free!

When we arrived, fire fighters were setting up for a competition in a field. A barrel was hung from a steel cable about 12 feet off the ground and two four-man crews were holding their fire hoses. On the signal, the battle began – each team trying to push the suspended barrel to the other side of the field with the water from their hoses. Pretty good fun.

Of course we loved seeing the animals, especially the goats and sheep. In the chicken section, there was a huge rooster. A little hand-written sign said, “My name is Biggie. I fought a raccoon who killed two of my hens.” In cages next to him were hens with more hand-written signs like, “Saved by Biggie. I had a broken beak and broken wing.” “Saved by Biggie. It took two months for me to heal.”

Actually, we now know of the viciousness of raccoons as our own (100 pound) dog, Bear, was in a fight to the death with one big raccoon who was trying to raid our bee hives. After fighting on the lawn, the raccoon lured Bear down into the creek where he tried to drown Bear by pulling his head under. Ray watched the whole thing and tried to help Bear. It took Bear half an hour to finally kill that thing and he ended up with a big gouge on his nose. So I have great respect for a rooster that takes on a raccoon!

We also went to the Colfax Fair a few weeks ago and that included a rodeo. Young people on horses showed us to our parking spot, and there were little kids everywhere with cowboy hats and boots handling big horses and cows. There was something about these kids that was very attractive and wholesome. They look confident, responsible, friendly and happy and they willingly engage in conversation about their animals or their sport. So we watched calf roping, steer wrestling, trick riding and barrel racing. The pretty young Princesses from the various small towns raced by on their horses that they had decked out with sparkles and ribbons. We enjoyed all this action surrounded by the gorgeous rolling Palouse hills and wheat fields.

Of course the fairs also included the usual musicians, magicians, vendors, rides, kitchen demonstrations, cotton candy, as well as prize vegetables, freak vegetables, canned goods, flowers, photographs by age categories, paintings, quilts, crafts, etc., every single one with a blue ribbon next to it. I guess everyone is a winner at a country fair and that’s why we like to go.