The County Fair. An Assault on the Senses.

The County Fair.  I mean, really, how much closer to America can one get?

The Fair in my little part of America is this Fair.  The Douglas County Fair.  The sights, the smells, the tastes, the noises, the feel of fur and dirt and heat.  All there. 

We like to go see the animals.  My favorite ones are found in this particular building.
Yes, the rabbits have their own building!  I take photos of the rabbits to use as "reference materials" when I happen to have a rabbit to hook in a rug.  That happens often.

This big guy was absolutely gorgeous.  There were signs posted all over that said "We Bite", so I resisted the tremendous urge to reach in there and hug him.  He is a "Satin".  He looked more like mink to me.

 Just minding their own business...  very curious about me.

Here's a pretty little Dutch Rabbit.

We're all EARS!

 

 I must be interrupting nap time.

 Your basic chicken.  I think there is something very prehistoric-looking about chickens.

 The feathers are so interesting.

The Fair is a learning experience.  I learned that chickens are very hard to photograph.  They hardly ever stop moving around, especially their heads!  I took at least 25 photos of this beautiful black and white chicken and this is the best one - even though he has no feet!  What I was trying to capture was his wonderful punk rock hairdo.

Here's his girlfriend (I am making that up based on my limited knowledge of birds.)
Again, their heads are in constant motion... but I think you can still get the idea here! 

These three amigos were my favorite chickens.  Chicken One has pushed his head through the bars of the cage in an effort to peck and possibly eat my camera.  Chicken Three looks a bit judgmental about Chicken One's behavior. 

I can't even imagine what has captivated them at this moment.  Someone may have entered the barn eating a funnel cake.  Whatever it is, they WANT it.

Always ready for action at a moment's notice.

The Three Little Pigs were there.  They were little hams.  Love.

 

One of the barns had sheep in all stages from very wooly to sheared smooth.  Even though the temperature was in the 90's, the sheared sheep all had on blankets!  This was the most beautiful one.  This sheep was so proud of its beautiful blanket that it jumped right up and walked over to me when I came up to the pen.

This one was not so recently sheared...  no blanket required.  I really love how the animals are so willing to look right at me (hence, look right at the the camera).  Most are very willing photo subjects (chickens excluded).

 

The Crested Duck.  Perfect name.  Don't you wonder how this evolved?  I'm just happy it did.

 

I also wonder what they think of us.

Under normal circumstances, I tolerate pigeons, but I'm not a big fan.  These pigeons are beautiful and stately and curious and smart, well at least smart-looking.  Who knows.  They're pigeons.     

I thought this was the most beautiful pigeon.

Check out the polka-dot goat!

Oh Hogwash!!!

In the food building we saw luscious tomatoes, onions, peppers, cucumbers, corn, potatoes, everything!

This is a prize-winning sunflower, and that's my prize-winning hubby adding a touch of color at the bottom!

Last night was the Demo Derby.  It is even harder to photograph than a chicken.  My favorite moment in the Demo Derby was when the siren when off and the officials waved their red flags and everything came to a screeching halt.  Over the loud speaker came the explanation:  "There is a safety issue."  Ha!  The whole thing is one gigantic over-the-top safety issue!!!  Someone quickly removed a wayward tire from the field of play and off they went again smashing into each other with reckless abandon.  Wreck more abandon is more like it.

 Today is the last day of the fair.  I would love to go over there are volunteer to be a pie judge, but I bet they already have that covered.