SUPPORTING THE COUNTY FAIR

My pie pumpkins did not go to the fair.

September is county fair time. When I was growing up in Orofino, it was our family tradition to visit the exhibit building at the Clearwater County Fair on Thursday evening when the judging was complete but the crowd was light. I have warm memories of that time. We seldom entered anything in the fair even though my mother’s handwork was beautiful. I don’t think she wanted her work scrutinized, and I understand that.

The county fair was important to the regional population back in the day. Even in the ‘50s, people still lived on small farms and most women worked in the home. Skill in the rural home arts was still cultured and appreciated, as both my friend Chris and I can attest. And the monetary awards for the ribbons were important, too. Winners turned that money back into their projects – garden seed, fabric, yarn, etc.

In my adult years, I lost interest in the fair, but a few years ago we visited the Lewis County Fair in Nezperce. We heard someone comment that if she and one other didn’t bring lots of entries, there wouldn’t be a fair. We were inspired to participate, but the timing was always off.

Grandma Ina's still life from 1912

This year Mike decided he would enter some of his leatherwork in the Lewis County Fair and adamantly insisted I should participate as well. “Come on!” Mike said; “you make stuff all the time. There has to be something you can enter.” So, I brought out the holiday afghan I crocheted last Christmas and the rag doll Lucy that I quickly stitched up to illustrate the 2015 advent story on this blog. None of this was made with the idea that it would be judged, and I do believe that the point is to improve the fair by improving your work. Even so, something akin to excitement and pride came out, and I hoped these things wouldn’t be passed over.

My 2017 fair entries -- $5.00 in awards

Well, we weren’t at the farm last Thursday afternoon when entries were due, and this is always what stops us, but this year Mike refused to accept it. He loaded his motorcycle bag with our entries and headed off to Nezperce (17 miles from the farm but 60 miles from Clarkston). It was a lovely afternoon, and I’m sure he didn’t mind.

The ribbon says, "Just for the fun of it."

Except for the afghan, we thought of our entries as collections (Mike’s leatherwork, the doll and her accessories) but those in charge insisted he write a ticket for each item. The results were interesting. Lucy in her dress received a red ribbon, and the simple little flannel nightgown also received a red ribbon. But the doll quilt made of squares quilted with diagonal lines and with one corner askew, received a blue ribbon. Go figure. The afghan received a “just for the fun of it” ribbon, and I totally understand. The winning afghans were tightly crocheted, while mine was a quickly made “granny.” In other words, mine didn’t involve as much work. But – it was a bright spot amongst all those others, and the judge appreciated that.

$8.50 for the ribbons. "Best of Show" = bragging rights.

Mike did better, earning blue ribbons for his gun belt, belt, and holster, a red for his gun sling, and a white for the dog collar. Actually, he tossed in the holster as an afterthought and earned a "Best of Show" for it.

So, would we do it again? Yes, I think so. We’re already talking about it. Besides crafts, we want to enter jellies from the country berries at the farm, and I’ll work harder at that next year. So, you see, the fair is a good thing. It keeps you on your toes and inspired to present your best. KW

SUMMER DAYS

The day started out with a storm sky, but the weatherman stuck to his forecast for a hot afternoon, and he wasn't wrong.  You know how it is – there’s always heat in the summer sun. But – we received so much precipitation this past week that we still see wet spots in the fields and the water runs freely in the ditch by the lane.

Yesterday morning I set about weeding the bed at the south end of the front porch. It should have been done four years ago, but I’d rather do something else. I really don’t like to weed, but I identified something that was holding me back. We had planted three woody ground cherry bushes there, and I just couldn’t pull the grass and weeds out from under the heavy ground-hugging branches. I insisted they should come out, and Mike obliged me. I never could have done it without him. The bushes are history now (I hope), and I can remove the rest of the weeds and grass by myself and then plant something else. Yes, I already have daffodils and iris, and it would be easy to do more of that, but I think I need some summer bloomers. Daisies might do well – or coneflowers -- or maybe sunflowers! Sunflowers would be fun, don’t you think? And they would fit in with the hollyhocks which have been slowly but surely making themselves to home on that side of the house for the last 15 years. Well, it’s a work in progress.

At 8 ½ weeks, little Bess the Pup is now a member of the family. She’s lost her timidity and is obviously right at home inside and out. You know, it seems to be the great fear of the hunter that he could pay big bucks for a hunting dog that doesn’t want to hunt, but we’re happy to report that Bess has all the signs of making an excellent field dog. Apparently she comes from a line that’s supposed to have a lot of stamina, and we’ve seen evidence of that, too. Yesterday she followed Mike and Nellie on the practice hike. Then she took a long nap.

 

Bess isn’t much of a cuddler, but she’ll sit on our laps and play. Her favorite game with me is “nip the flab.” Of course, she doesn’t play that with Mike, but if you can “pinch an inch” anywhere, you’re in trouble with this pup. As for Nellie and Bess, I see less pestering and more camaraderie, though at 3:30 this morning Mike had to arbitrate another dispute.

Bess’ training is going well. We haven’t had an accident in the house for several days, but I suspect that’s because we’re trained. If it’s been 15 minutes, we know she should go outside. Training sessions occur several times a day wherein the trainer (Mike) uses a clicker and rewards with little bites of weiner. However, “guess who” didn’t bring the wieners, so Thursday Mike betook himself to town on his dirt bike to buy another package. He can carry very little, but he did agree to stop by the quilt shop, “The Wild Hare,” and buy some 505 spray for me. He was rather taken aback at what it cost -- I try to keep him from knowing these things -- but I was glad he could do it because it enabled me to finish another “Fourth of July” wall hanging.

 

That’s enough for now, but let me show you one last thing. During the rainy days, Mike created this lined leather holder for his iPhone. KW