The Slowcook at Spydog Farm The Slowcook at Spydog Farm

Washington County Fair

August 22nd, 2013 · 2 Comments · Posted in Local events, rural life

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The event we’ve been waiting all year for is finally here: the county fair. Mostly, it’s about animals–cows, pigs, chickens, goats, lambs. There’s lots and lots of grooming going on: big dairy cows being washed and preened. Sheep being clipped to fabulous balls of fur. And kids of all ages are involved, cleaning the animals, leading them into show rings, making the animals perform for the judges. Everywhere you look, kids sporting numbers on their chests and backs are leading barnyard beasts from paddock to arena.

Families come in their Winnegabos and camp out the entire week.

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For instance, we could have spent all morning watching different classes of goats being shown and judged. Not only are the animals ranked, the children compete for best showman. It takes skill and concentration to get that goat to pose just so for the judge, and to prance around the ring with style.

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The kids in the Mooney family spend all year working with a local 4-H group preparing their Cheviot sheep for the fair. This is 15-year-old Olivia Mooney waiting to enter the ring in the “senior” class. She placed fourth. Her ewe was a bit rambunctious as far as the judge was concerned. You wouldn’t know it by just looking at her.

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But let’s not forget the fruits and vegetables. There are plenty of those as well. Here the display in the Youth Building included all manner of garden produce. Kids won ribbons for best tomatoes, best squashes, best onions.

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They even test their skill at turning things like corn and hay into silage for winter feed.

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One of the blue ribbon winners in the King Arthur Flour baking contest was this maple scone.

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After an hour of watching sheep judging, we were famished. They had already stopped taking breakfast orders at the 4-H food concession so we walked all the way to the midway where the Boy Scouts were still dishing up pancakes, eggs and sausages. Oh, and add an order of home fries as well. The scouts advertise “home style” meals. I’d say they were about right.

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We came back to lunch on something the scouts call a “Jobbie” (pronounced JO-bee). That would be a giant bun filled with Italian sausage, Philly steak, grilled onions and peppers and salsa, all smothered in nacho cheese.

There’s no point pretending to be on a diet at the county fair.

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  • Diane

    So wonderful! So American! I love it!

  • Ed Bruske

    Diane, I forgot to mention that promptly at 9 a.m. each day a voice comes over the loudspeakers asking everyone on the fair grounds to stop, place their hand over their heart, face the flag and join in singing the national anthem.