the county fair

Our county fair has been the high point of my summer for nearly a decade.

It smells of dust and dry heat and leather, tastes of greasy curly fries and Pepsi, and sounds of creaking saddles and laughter and animal calls. We get up at 4:30 AM to clean stalls, sweep alleys, and wash lambs for the first two days; after that, we get to “sleep in” until 6 or 7.

It’s hard to describe if you haven’t been there and done it. It’s definitely the type of thing that anyone who doesn’t love it will hate. Even those of us who love it have our not-so-thrilled moments (like when the neighboring campers’ generator runs all night, or it happens to be the hottest day of the summer so far), but all in all, it’s a pretty awesome place to be.

One of my favorite things is watching the grand entry of the rodeo. I get chills watching the flag carried around the arena on horseback during the National Anthem. And I love, love, love roping. Breakaway, tie-down, team roping—in any form, it’s one of those things that I’ve always wanted to be able to do.

Bull dogging is pretty cool, too, but it’s not something I have any desire to do.

I just love it there. A lot of days, I could do without the sheep showing part, but it would be hard to miss the rodeo events and the cattle work. I love that stuff. Someday, I want to be in it.

In addition to my lambs, I entered 30 photos and received four awards:

top of show – youth open class

I did these photos as a series.

 top of show – 4-H

lot champions – youth open class

So another county fair has passed. They all go with a tinge of melancholy, but this one more than the others because there is a definite possibility that I won’t be participating in next year’s. As my grandma often says, “This getting old is for the birds!” :)

PS: My Windows Live Writer, which I usually use to construct and publish blog posts, isn't working... so posting could be a little erratic for awhile. :(

beautiful days

 

I wish I could show you today in such a way that you could actually feel it. Photos and words can give you an image of beauty, but they often can’t speak to your senses of hearing, smell, taste, and touch unless you have prior direct experience to draw from. Especially since I’m not John Keats.

But if you’ve ever smelled warm May air, heavy with the scents of lilac and tulip and fresh-cut grass…

… and if you’ve ever seen billowy clouds crawl slothfully across a hazy blue sky…

… and ever heard the springtime silence, broken only by the rustling of new leaves and the buzzing of bumblebees…

… then you should be able to imagine this beautiful Goldendale day very well. :)



I’m linking this next photo to Carlotta’s photo challenge. Her theme is green… my favorite!

>

I admit that I should have been doing something more productive than creating mist-storms and photographing the results this afternoon. Something like homework, or preparing the presentation I have to do… tomorrow. (I’m not usually much of a procrastinator… but this one got away from me.)

But beautiful days are not for homework, in my opinion.

They’re for drinking up the sunshine, consuming the beauty, seeking the glorious little details, breathing the warmth after a long, cold, wet winter.

It probably isn’t wise, but sometimes I let days like this erase all the other worries and stresses from my mind for a couple of hours, while I cram my memory card with hundreds of pictures.

But chances are, tonight’s homework and tomorrow’s presentation probably won’t have a very high standing in my memory a year from now, or even next week, for all I know. Tranquility is a wonderful thing, and goodness knows it’s hard enough to come by (especially for me!), so enjoy it while it lasts, eh?

How great is our God.

sweet

Kate at Little Somethings is hosting a photography challenge! When I found out that the theme is “sweet,” my mind went instantly to this picture, which you might remember from one of my August posts. Doesn’t it fit “sweet” in every single possible way? :)




It’s like… the princess and the frog. :)

postage stamps

"Consider the postage stamp:  its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there."
~Josh Billings

The fair is over, and I have to admit I was disappointed with my photos. I got a pretty high proportion of red and white ribbons, but no comments from the judge to explain what I could have done better, which was discouraging. From what I understand the photos are judged individually according to the Danish system, but no scorecards were given out. So I guess I'm not going to learn much from my photo experience this year. :(


I was happy to receive two special awards in the 4-H division, though:

"Outstanding Entry" Award

"Top of Show" Award

And I'm way too addicted to photography to be discouraged for long. :) Like the postage stamps--I just have to stick with it till I get there. I'm already looking through the 900+ photos I took in the last week for next year's candidates! Here are a few . . .

Oscar, our kingly kitty, turned eight a couple weeks ago and seems to be taking over Lenny's position very seriously, as you can see by his half-watchful, half-napping position. :)

I took a lot of pictures during the rodeo events at the fair. It's amazing how young some of these kids start rodeoing. They grow up to be amazing cowboys and cowgirls!

Last but not least . . . Old Glory from its best angle: horseback!

Another fair come and gone . . . that doesn't seem possible. We showed our lambs and sold them for $4.50/pound each at the Market Stock Sale.

Just think . . . only 360 days till our next county fair!

(My parents hate that line.)