Fun at the Sibley County Fair!

When you enter the gates of the Sibley County Fair, you see the carnival rides first thing. I pass them by and head for the exhibits. I usually like to stop in and see the chickens, ducks and geese but this year it was too hot and the rather sweet smell was a little too overpowering. :-) So, I headed across the road to get to the other side (like any good chick would) and checked out the Sibley County Historical Society exhibit. It was so hot that no one was interested in doing any stitching on the quilt top that was set up for display! Love that vintage Dresden plate that is hanging above it.
The fair, whether it's the county fair or the state fair, is all about farm animals, produce, handiwork, tractors, 4-H, and, of course, food! When I was a kid, the cows seemed enormous. Now they just seem big. I liked this guy. I don't know if he was a winner or not but he sure had a fine black coat. All the barns were steamy hot. I felt sorry for all those animals wearing fur coats. LOL!

Across from the Cow barn were the tractors. Nothing runs.......like a Deere. :-) My dad would have been walking around and around these tractors checking out every aspect. He loved Machinery Hill at the Iowa State Fair.

Now as soon as I saw this little tractor with it's scoop, I thought of my husband. I think he needs this to do some of the landscaping projects he's planning. I'm sure if he wanted one, I'd say yes and then say....hmmmm.....there's this new sewing machine I've got my eye on.......ha! ha! ha!

Amidst all those tractors, I found royalty. This is Erin Karl, the new Miss Sibley County 2010. I forgot to get the name of the young boy. (Erin if you are reading this, send me an e-mail with his name. )

Next on my trip around the fair was the Creative Activities building. I was headed there to see all the handiwork exhibits............like this lovely harp and little bench. I would like to have both of them. ;-)

This is the long wall full of quilts and needlework items. The large quilts are out of view in this picture. You can spot some of my items that I featured in my post yesterday.

I spotted some really lovely crochet work and wished that there had been room to see the pieces unfolded. A lady from Cologne, MN earned lots of Grand Champion ribbons for her work. I can't crochet but many years ago, my husband ordered a hand-crocheted tablecloth from a lady when he was on assignment in the Phillipines. It was beautiful. I had it less than two years when it was one of many items lost or stolen while in transit during a move across country. I don't remember the van lines, but I was sad that so many things came up missing. So, I'm wondering .....do you suppose that lady takes orders for her work?

There were lots of what must have been beautiful flowers and produce on display when the fair began, but since I was at the fair in it's last day of four very hot days......well, the flowers especially were just a little bit wilted. Not this plant, though.........I would love to have this one.......although, I'm not sure just what it is planted in. Do you think it could be an old ice cream maker? a churn of some sort? Somebody give me some ideas. I came up with nothing when I googled.

Okay, the funniest site of the day was these guys.........

Their owner is two stalls over and he's handling bags of food. They were extremely attentive! :-) Notice that these guys are not wearing their coats. Lucky fellas. Well, ...then again maybe not as they are the Grand Champion Market Trio (there's a third one that you can't see in this photo).

And then there were these goats who were as friendly as could be. They would just stick their heads out and touch your hands, let you pet them, no fear at all. See that little fella petting one of them...........

His name is Will and he was really enjoying his visit. His grandma took my e-mail address so she can get these pictures. Is he cute or what?.........

And that goat is saying "aren't I cute, too?" :-)

One of the last things to see on the far end of the grounds are the horses. I love the sound of them as they whinny and "talk" to each other. This one is cooling down with a bit of water. At this point, I was so hot, I would have joined him!

The air was so muggy and the skies were beginning to look kinda stormy and odd so I was happy to get back to the Creative Activities building and pack up my stuff and head home.

In spite of the muggy, hot weather, I enjoyed my visit to the fair. I went alone because my husband was watching a NASCAR race but I didn't even mind. I actually enjoy wandering through the exhibits and recalling those years at the fair when I was a kid. Plus, wandering with a chocolate shake in my hand makes it even better! Next fair stop.......the Great Minnesota State Fair at the end of the month and hopefully we can meet up with the kids and all enjoy a fun day at the fair!

Sandi