County Fair!

When we were kids, the county fair was a BIG DEAL!  Not only did we get a day off school with free admission, but at various times, we all entered items for judging--mom's famous elderberry jelly, or her handmade knitwear... I know I won at least one blue ribbon for a dress I made!

Today's visit was a combination of nostalgia and a research mission.  I've been wanting to try making goat cheese for a while, but non-ultrapasteurized goat milk is hard to find, and raw goat milk is impossible (and illegal, to boot!😱)

That started me down a rabbit hole to see if I could manage a couple of dairy goats at home.  The ladies hanging out in the goat and sheep section (4-H moms) were quite chatty and encouraging, but clearly this is not an endeavor to be taken lightly....!

I was hoping to catch the goat judging, but due to a last minute schedule change, I had missed that by hours.  I caught a bit of the adult sheep judging, though.

Next I had to check out the chickens.  I thought our little flock was fully grown--they are 18 weeks old.  Then I saw the entries--they were huge!  

I guess our girls have a little more growing to do!

This crazy looking fella is a Polish breed.

Baby pigs are adorable… but it’s good to remind yourself what they are like FULL GROWN!

They say a dairy cow is the most efficient and useful animal on a homestead —for milk and manure production, and for utilization of available acreage.

I also talked to the bee people.  Now that seemed a bit more manageable and would definitely help out my young orchard!

Then, of course, there are other reasons to visit the county fair!