Fair time!

The small town of Marcus, IA has it's own fair every August, in addition to the Cherokee Co Fair in July. Our garden club has many entries, Kim, starts planning weeks in advance, I'm slapping them together the afternoon of entry day - and it shows! Kim goes home with beautiful purple ribbons and cash award and I couldn't be happier for her. These are my hastily put together entries.

While I was slaving away in the garage, cutting, arranging and finding enough vases to hold the individual flowers, Murphy was giving me moral support. 

"My BED! I've missed you, zzzzzzzzzz!"

Our garden club had a great showing, I'm proud of you girls!

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to head back for the cattle show. Our Godson, Kirby, was going to be there with his heifer, Chubbs, his girlfriend, Lexi was going to show her. I had to stop and take a picture of these little, tired lambs cuddled up together.

Did they ever have the cattle! I was searching for Kirby and Lexi and the first ones I came upon was our young vet, Britt and her mother, Jan, putting the finishing touches on their Hereford heifer.

This little girl is getting a coaching by her father on the fine art of finishing a show calf.

It was a veritable city back behind with cattle, clippers, show chutes, generators, vacuums, electric cords and people fluffing and buffing their prize animals. 

And the inevitable cell phones.

I finally found Kirby and Lexi and Chubbs, getting the royal treatment.

After a bath, they get dried, combed, sprayed and combed some more.

In the show ring I found some familiar faces, Jill, the super girl from our COOP office....

....and Brian, who is the right hand man for our country vets when they are out on call.

I got such a kick out of this little girl, she was so intent on coiling up her lead....

.....just so.....

....such concentration...

....and off they go, around the ring with the calf losing patience.

"WAAAAA! I want my Mama!!"

Jill had to apply power to make this calf move.

Lexi and Chubbs showing their best....

....and it paid off with the 1st place ribbon!!

They went back in for the Championship and came out with Reserve, well done kids!

Back at the show ring I find Jan putting the finishing touches on the Hereford.

"I want that hair to STAND UP, dang it!"

Britt is giving her little protege some last minute advice before her first time in the show ring. 

And it just goes to show, you can't have too much BLING!

The fair was well attended, despite 3 inches of rain before and over an inch downpour the last day that did put a damper on things. Bruce and I were stuck in the Methodist church building during the rain, a great place to be since they were selling entire pies. We brought home a strawberry rhubarb and Bruce ate the last piece of pie for breakfast today, beats a bowl of Wheaties!