When Canned Goods Go Bad (ha!)
We also spent some of the weekend at the county fair! I do love fairs and spent plenty of time at them as a child, always yearning to wear the white clothes and show an animal in the ring. I was a dedicated suburban 4-H kid, with lots of photography and arts & crafts and indoor gardening projects, but the animal realm was just a bit out of reach, alas. I lived vicariously through some cousins who showed animals and even got to SLEEP in the fair barns while their animals were there- wow! I was in awe.
The Fair is such an amazing rural tradition. This year was this fair's 116th annual event. Rows of canned goods, wilting veggies, baked goods, knitting projects and even tiny bales of hay were on display this year, as they have been for decades. It's a concept I haven't thought of in years: bring in the samples of your hard work from the year, perhaps attempting to hide your pride for the sake of MN modesty, but hoping for a blue ribbon or better. I worked toward the fair for the entire year in 4-H as a kid, but I'd somewhat forgotten that adults can do it too, showing off their products and projects. The premiums won't make you rich, but really, isn't $2.00 for blue ribbon on a bunch of rhubarb still a nice little profit?
Perhaps next year we'll bring some produce "on the road." I doubt I'd bring the chickens, though: too hard to wrap my head around the idea of travelling show chickens- what do they think of the whole deal??
3 comments:
Gosh, I think you went to the fair I use to show my horses in-I know the county I grew up in had their 116th this last weekend and I had thought of going for old times sake. Did you grow up around this area?
Our fair isn't until next month, but I'll tell you, I just cannot hide my modesty. I WANT those blue ribbons (ours come with seed catalog vouchers). In fact, I'm checking my modesty at the door, because I'm hoping for a best of show for a super secret knitting project. ;)
I was a suburban 4-Her too, doing various photography, sewing, rock collections, and other stuff. I wasn't too interested in vegetables, canning, or animals at the time, and now look at me...I'm even getting into horseback riding!
We have a little fair in a nearby town this weekend, and I just found a HUGE rutabaga in the garden that I'm thinking of entering just for fun. :)
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