A Day at the Fair

I spent the day at the Los Angeles County Fair.  It was hot and crowded and the food was expensive but hey, that's all part of the charm of the Fair.  It's been a tradtion as far back as I can remember for my sister and I to go to the Fair on the opening Saturday (one year we made the mistake of going on opening day when admission is only $1 -- 50 jillion other people had the same idea and it was not fun).  

There's something for everyone at the Fair but my favorite part is the livestock barns.  We saw a goat give birth to two kids in the "maternity" barn, and also saw pigs, sheep, cattle, horses, chickens, ducks, etc.  A young goat put her head in my hand and fell asleep.  A Queensland heeler puppy kept trying to get inside the hole left by a missing brick in a wall.  Rabbits bounced around in their pen.  There were exotic cattle breeds like Watusi, Zebu and I think even a baby yak.  A 700 pound sow kept rooting up the floor of the pig enclosure whenever her attendant's back was turned (she was supposed to root in the sandbox provided for that purpose, but she thought it was more fun to dig up the packed dirt).

Another highlight was the "Hoofprints" exhibit at the Millard Sheets Art Gallery.  Besides lots of equine artwork, they had Triple Crown trophies from the collection of Bob & Beverly Lewis, including Silver Charm's Kentucky Derby trophy (yay for Charm).  We also got to see a very handsome 4-year-old Appaloosa gelding perform under saddle in the courtyard behind the gallery.  

We saw soccer-playing Border Collies; children on bungee cords; the Budweiser Clydesdales; food stands selling deep-fried Pop Tarts and Spam; approximately 5 thousand booths selling chamois cloths; and much more that I can't remember at the moment.

Naturally, we bought the traditional Fair foods: kettle corn and P'Nuttles.  I also picked up a pair of fair-trade earrings from Ten Thousand Villages and a small robotic bug for the cats (Timothy is afraid of it; Jasper walked right up to it and picked it up with his teeth). 

Ah, the Fair ... there's nothing else like it.