Today was the much-anticipated annual trip to the
Addison County Fair and Field Days event. It's our county fair, and always a home-grown native experience to remember.
Here's what we saw and did today:
• We started in the Home and Garden barn where there were drawings, photographs, vegetables, bees and honey, pies, cakes, muffins, jam, embroidery, sewing and flower arrangements, all with various ribbons.
• Next we made our way toward the racing pigs- not the same show as last year's swimming pigs, and not as good. I let the others watch while I spent some time in the "Infant Comfort Station" (i.e. trailer for nursing).
• Following that, we went to the Children's Barn, where we saw rabbits, geese, ducks, chickens, pigs, goats, calves, mini horses and the like, most of them owned and presented by young people. There is always a pen where the kids can enter and feed or pet the goats. Very popular.
• Then we passed through the milking station to watch a cow get milked. This is Vermont, after all.
• We passed through "tractor lane" where our little boy was in heaven. Lots of big farm tractors on display.
• We took a break for a picnic dinner in the car, then returned to buy tickets for the rides. This year, the five year old was tall enough for the Ferris Wheel- a very big deal for her. Much cheering. Also, the (almost) two year old was big enough for the fire engines, helicopters, and merry-go-round. He rode them all with a stone face, grinning like crazy as he got off. He has now added the phrase "so much fun!" to his vocabulary.
• We bought our annual $4 bag of cotton candy and all had blue mouths for an hour (except Dad and baby).
• More rides, some with names like "The Zipper", "Thriller", "Landslide", "The Orient Express", and "The Himalaya" (they only rode the last two). I managed to avoid all rides this year by having a sleeping baby in the Bjorn. Maybe next time.
• Three of us also caught a little bit of music by a local church choir at the main stage, which was really lovely. (The other three were on the Ferris Wheel.)
• We rounded out the night by getting our minivan stuck in the mud. Parking for the fair is in a big field, and we've had over 10 inches of rain in the last month. Fortunately, there was a saint of a man driving his tractor all around, pulling Honda Odysseys and other poor cars out onto the gravel. We gave him $5 toward his diesel.
Fair and Field Days events we missed this year because of exhaustion:
The 4-H barn, the corn box (like a sand box, but with dry feed corn for kids to play in), the sheep and cow show barns, the fried dough (and fried onions and fried oreo) stands, the pony rides, and the tractor pull competition. There are lots of competitive events, actually. This year they added a Guitar Hero competition. We're so hip.
The day we closed on our house in 2004, our (Massachusetts native) realtor told us that the fair was going on, and suggested that we check it out to get a taste of what this place is really like. Then she paused and said, "Well, actually, you might want to wait until next year to go." And she was right; the crowd there can make a "flat-lander" like me feel out of place. It's okay, though, I still love Vermont.
The black flies are mostly gone, but the skeeters have really flourished in the successive weeks of warm thunderstorms. Last year they were not so bad, as I recall. I think 2004 and 2005 (see photo on the right) were the worst I've experienced yet. This year I'm to the point where I don't want to take my older son outside- even on a nice day- because it means two of us have to gear up and/or spray with something smelly and I have to physically monitor the bugs that land on the baby. Is it worth it? Well, I have a very strong belief in getting kids their outside time, and this kid is particularly fond of the outdoors, so we do it. He doesn't seem to mind the bites so much, but they bother me a lot. There's an argument to be made that, since the mosquitoes don't carry West Nile Virus or Malaria, I shouldn't worry so much. That's all well and good until the back of your calf is irrepressibly itchy to the point of near insanity. 
I picked it up at the Old Forge Hardware Store ("The Adirondacks' Most General Store") for more than I wanted to pay, but I think it will earn its keep. It's quirky, but very functional. With the net down, I feel like I might belong in a Victorian movie, but then I catch a glimpse of my reflection and am reminded that I look more dowdy than fetching. Too bad, because it's my favorite thing to wear these days. Beats a beekeeper's outfit.
When I was a kid, my mother made up something called the "Summer Fun Club". We each had a membership card with our picture on it, and when it was time for the fun, we went on field trips to historical sites, made crafts, and went swimming. (At least, that's how I remember it.) Looking at the next 11 weeks of unstructured summer time and knowing the intense social needs of my soon-to-be 5-year-old, I'm considering a similar venture, something fun that I plan ahead of time and have control over. I can even print out some ID cards for everyone (which is fun for me). 
