Iowa State Fair

Since moving to Iowa, humidity has taken on a very tangible, sticky meaning. Our trip to the State Fair this year can be summed up as follows: hot, sticky, sweaty, stinky, animal smell, people watching, family... FUN!

We had a ball at the fair this year. For the second year in a row our Aunt Becky has gone with us to the fair. Anything that "Aunt Bepee" goes to is twice the rootin', tootin', jolly good time it ought to be. We sure love our Aunt Becky!

This year at the fair the boys loved seeing all the animals. We petted nearly every critter we could get our hands on. Adam especially enjoyed watching the baby chicks hatch out of their eggs and then being able to hold the chicks. That was "amazing!" We got our hands on a little deep fried food, watched people... lots of interesting people, bought some car wax, and spent some time at "Helping Hands on the Farm." That is where most of the pictures were taken.

Before we journeyed home we dropped by the Swine Barn to see the world's largest boar. Talk about a whonkin' lot of pork. I noticed two friendly looking old farmers sitting next to the pen that held the grand champ and asked if they were the proud owners. Not this year, they replied. They had come in second by a few pounds and their fine porker was in the pen right next to the biggest boar. The sign above their boar said it was a crossbreed and upon correctly identifying it as a York/Hamp cross these old farm gentlemen decided I was quite a gal! (I lucked out, that was the kind I raised growing up). After a lengthy chat, they invited me out to their farm in North English about 30 miles from here. They said my little family was welcome there anytime... classic Iowa hospitality... for a gal that knows her hogs.

Another favorite for me at the fair was getting a strong whiff of cow's breath. It sent me into a nostalgic whirl. I was homesick for childhood days of sitting in the front of the beat up old farm truck driving through the pasture while Dad would throw hay off to the cows. While he was pitching hay, the cows would try to stick their heads in the truck window. On cold mornings the warm cow's breath was visible in the truck. I miss those days of driving truck, warm cow's breath, and if we were really lucky... Doublemint gum in the ashtray.

Ah, good memories! . . . I hope the fair becomes good memories for my kids. It's the best they are gonna get for now. Cows and chickens at our place are going to have to wait until after grad school.