Here There Be Cows

Late August is time to go to the fair! It has been my tradition these past twenty-or-so years to visit the Grange Fair in late August with one of my best girlfriends. I usually meet her there (sometimes accompanied by her two daughters and her mom) in mid-afternoon and we spend the entire evening walking around, enjoying all of the fair's delights. Those who are interested may read about our prior adventures here (2012), here (2013), and here (2014).

However, this year, my friend was not able to come. We were both very disappointed. So I decided to do something a little different this year. Centre Hall is about a 20-minute drive from Penn State. So I drove to work, and then I marked a few vacation hours to go over and enjoy the fair in the middle of the day, and have lunch there. It was the first time I have ever gone to the fair alone.

It was a beautiful morning, with blue skies and puffy white clouds. And as I sat in my office planning my day, I realized that one of my favorite places - Muddy Paws Wetland - is on route 45 in Spring Mills, about 10 minutes from the fair in Centre Hall. So I went there first, and spent 15 minutes photographing the beautiful wooden boardwalk in the sun. See the second photo in the extra photos area; and you may compare this day's view with the very same view at Muddy Paws in mid-October.

And then I scooted on over to the fair! I am something of a list maker, and so I had already made a list in advance of some categories of things I wanted to see and photograph: the display buildings' veggies, quilts, and flowers; fair foods such as peach dumplings and French fries and monkey bread; animals such as pigs, cows, bunnies, and goats; tents and campers; rides, children, and pets.

I also had made a list of things I wanted to purchase. For there are many strange things to see and do and buy at the fair, and I wanted to be part of it. I had suggestions from my husband that we needed some new screw drivers (both flat and Phillips head), he needed some new socks (both cotton and wool, but not too thick). I also had my own little list of the things I love to buy: crystals, jewelry, Penn State gear, socks, shepherd's hooks. And so I came to see and do and SHOP!

The first thing on my list, though, was to address the fact that I was starving! So I had a truly delicious and beautiful peach dumpling with cinnamon ice cream as a sort of late breakfast/early lunch (see first picture in extra photos area - I think you'll enjoy viewing it large). And about an hour after that, I had a lovely hard-shell taco with everything.

I always look at the "real food" type meals they have at the fair (actual full-course meals, by which I mean healthy food, and soup in bread bowls) but they just never seem like the sort of thing one SHOULD eat at the fair. I mean, shouldn't one SPLURGE? Shouldn't one live at the end of summer such that one has no regrets when fall comes? I rest my case.

I am always alert for fun photos of livestock. And so when I walked past the judging arena, I saw the cows lined up, with their handlers all duded up in white pants, standing in front of them. And somehow I saw their feet, all in a group and organized like this, and I thought it would make a fun monochrome shot. So there I was (as one does), kneeling carefully amid the cow pies, shooting photos of the legs and hooves of cattle.

I read with some amusement a sign that I found nearby:
ATTENTION!
Grange Fair Livestock Rules
AT NO TIME SHALL LIVESTOCK
BE PERMITTED
IN THE PARKING AREAS.
(What a silly sign. Doesn't everybody know that cows can't read?!)

And I photographed the rides, and the other animals (bunnies! they have bunnies!). And I bought stuff. Oh yes, I did. One of my secret weaknesses is containers. Oh, how I adore them! The tinier, the better! And ones that match! Oh my! And so I spent $29 on Tupperware containers that I probably truly did not need, but oh how I wanted them. And other ladies (for it is always ladies) with this same secret vice came and stood by me, and we all cooed over the containers and handled them lovingly. And talked about how they reminded us of the past. And how awesome it was that we could STILL BUY them! (My only regret: a sign nearby said that ALL of the items I bought would go on sale 35% off tomorrow! But I am here today!)

Just to show you what strange shopping adventures await you at the fair, I'll include the full list of what I bought. This is entirely for your amusement. So you may begin to giggle at any time. Tupperware, earrings, a pendant, screw drivers (FOUR! of all kinds!), small plastic bags for craft storage, two rings (very reasonably priced, and yes, real stones too), a bag of tart old-fashioned lollipops, a lid for cans, a panda throw, two old bottles, 12 pairs of socks, two pill holders, a chance for a quilt, and $10 worth of classic Avon products that nobody sells anymore, except at the Grange Fair. (Isn't this marvelous? Such wonders. Can you see why I adore the fair!)

By that time, I was bumping and clunking with bags, so I quickly ran back to my car which was parked on the street, unloaded all my goodies into the trunk, and set out on one last quest to find the last few shots and buy the last few items on my list. It turns out that the crystal vendor from Florida who is there every year (and from whom I have bought several to many of my little glass menagerie, just a few of whom you have met on these pages) wasn't there this year.

The place that usually sells shepherd's hooks did not have any of the big ones this year. And I decided I didn't need the additional grease of French fries, so I skipped them this time. And I ran out of time to go check out the tents of Penn State gear, where in the past I have bought reasonably priced t-shirts. Those are the things I didn't do, didn't see.

But other than that, I was able to see everything, do everything, that was on my list. Don't think that my trip was just about eating and buying (although I did plenty of both). For the fair is a visual extravaganza as well. And so I photographed marvelous, orderly rows of canned goods. And baskets of summer veggies that could just about make you cry, they were so beautiful. And flowers and quilts and candy. And rides, yes, rides, swirling against that perfect blue sky with puffy white clouds.

And then the very last thing: I picked up a monkey bread (which is a special kind of cinnamon roll) with icing, to go, for my husband to enjoy later. Yes, it was a special request: something sweet, to remember it all by . . .

It is the next day as I write this. And even as I speak, I am itching to go back to the fair! It is another beautiful morning, sunny and cool and with blue skies and puffy white clouds. And I want another taco, and another peach dumpling. And I want to take more pictures, though I took hundreds already. Oh please please please, can't I go back to the fair?!?

The song to accompany this image is a tune by Bruce Springsteen. It was written just after Nebraska, but not released until 20 years later on 2003's The Essential Bruce Springsteen. Quite fittingly, here is The Boss, with a charming little tune you have probably never heard before: County Fair. Rolling Stones includes it on the list of the top 100 Springsteen songs of all-time . . .